Treats of
THE Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) has a long history. The regiment was established under Royal Charter by Henry VIII in 1537 and is the oldest regiment in the British Army. Based within the City walls in London, the HAC was originally an infantry unit - but its formation pre-dates the introduction of the word ‘infantry’ into the English language and, at that time, the word artillery was used to refer to any weapon that projected a missile.
LONDON
NATHAN CHAPMAN is Groundsman at one of the treats of London, the Honourable Artillery Company’s ground in EC1
Boer War and the First and Second World Wars. Its base at Armoury House is steeped in history; its grounds include one of the oldest cricket squares, originally laid in 1725.
The first ever hot air balloon ascent in the UK took off from the grounds in 1784 and today the grounds are still used by helicopters transporting personnel into the barracks. It was also used as a burial site during the time of the great plague in 1665. The site is well used for recreation and sport with the Regiment and local schools utilising the field on a daily basis. The 1.75-hectare site provides enough space to accommodate two senior size natural grass pitches, one for football and one for rugby, a cricket square and outfield, plus a hockey pitch, which also doubles as a summer sports area. The HAC also promotes corporate hospitality events at the ground, which often requires large marquees being erected and left on the ground for considerable periods of time.
Main photo: The reconstructed grounds following the London Bombings of 2005.
With cannon: Nathan Chapman (l) and Rob Kendle from ATB.
Three images showing reconstruction in progress.
However,
between 1781 and 1973 the unit comprised both infantry and
artillery sub-units. Members of the regiment fought as infantry, cavalry and artillery in the
THE HAC employ a fulltime Groundsman, Nathan Chapman, who looks after the sports fields on his own. He lives on site and has been in post for three years. Nathan was previously a greenkeeper at Henley on Thames Golf Club but fancied a change and the new challenges of looking after sports pitches, particularly cricket. His main duties are centred around
regular mowing of the sports fields and pitch preparation. Nathan employs a local contractor, ATB Sports Solutions, for any additional works such as Verti- draining, end of season renovations and
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