For four seasons after the first match in 1932, bowlers would not have had a pavilion in which to change or entertain visiting teams so the one built in 1935 must have been a welcome improvement. Little is known about this pavilion except that it was quite small (about 40 ft x 20 ft) and it had Georgian-style windows, limestone walls and a slated hipped roof. Architecturally, it would have blended with the shelter in the children’s playground.
The pavilion was badly damaged by enemy action during the Second World War. The Bomb Book entry for 12th August 1943 shows a red dot close to the pavilion and the Civil Defence sector map shows it struck through with red ink.
On 15th November 1950, the Parks and Recreation Committee considered proposals to extend the pavilion in conjunction with War Damage Repairs but agreed only to carrying the repairs and not the extension.
The pavilion caught fire in 1990 and work began the following year to alter, extend and refurbish the burnt-out structure. It effectively made a new pavilion and there is more about it in ‘Rediscovery and Renewal’.
