‘The Back’
The college uses mostly Ransomes equipment
Every year, Mike and his team complete a remarkable transformation by turning The Back’s outfield into eighteen grass tennis courts for the Framlingham Grass Tennis Tournament which, now in its 115th year, comes second only to Wimbledon in terms of longevity!
Jonathan Cable maintains miles of hedges
mowing the wicket Barry Meadows
Additionally, the school has six grass hockey pitches on which the grass is maintained at a height of 5/8”. Cricket is played on four main squares and three further squares that have hockey played across them in the spring. Overseen with loving care by Barry Meadows, the strips are cut out five to six days in advance of a match to a playing height of 3mm. The main cricket pitch, ‘The Back’, has had the outfield scarified with a Koro Top Pitch Maker each of the past three years, and has also been hollow cored and verti-drained with their own Charterhouse VertiDrain. This has helped to relieve compaction, get rid of some thatch that was building up, as well as helping the roots get down in drier summers. During the summer holidays the school hosts county games and local sides and, in August, Mike and his team complete a remarkable transformation by turning The Back’s outfield into eighteen grass tennis courts for the Framlingham Grass Tennis Tournament which, now in its 115th Year, comes second only to Wimbledon in terms of longevity! Mike’s team verti-drain all the grounds on at least three occasions in the autumn and, if possible, four times in winter. The golf greens receive one major dressing a year with Banks 70/30 sand/soil dressing with an overseed of Chewings Fescue (30%), Slender Creeping Red Fescue (50%), and Browntop Bent (20%). The cricket squares are scarified and spiked with a trusty old GA30 then overseeded with a mix of Greenflash, Greenway, Tucson all at 20% and Ace at 40%, all Dwarf Ryes from Rigby Taylor. The squares are then top dressed with Ongar
Originally laid with a 23mm pile the artificial tennis courts still have a 17mm pile after eighteen year
Lawn from Binders using ten bags per strip at the preparatory school and twelve bags per strip at the college. Goal areas are overseeded with
perennial rye mixtures and, in the past two years, spring and summer fertilisers have been applied on the outfield which seems to have reduced the problems they have had with red thread. Last summer, Mike was very proud to host a delegation from the Sri Lankan Cricket Board who were visiting the Ransomes base in Ipswich. The college uses mostly Ransomes machinery: the Commander for the outfields; Mastiffs for cricket outfields and hockey pitches; and a set of Ransomes gangs for the outfields at the prepatory school. A Toro Groundmaster 3000D is used to keep the golf course rough under control and for topping the rugby pitches. Surrounding the college are mile upon mile of hedges, all of which are excellently maintained by Jonathan Cable. Everyone at Framlingham College and Brandeston Hall are very appreciative of the beautiful surroundings in which they study, work and play. It is a huge task for Mike and his team to maintain the grounds to such a high standard and he puts this success down to having the support of a versatile team of excellent staff who are proud of Suffolk, the college and the jobs they do. Mike believes that if the Duke of Norfolk was still living in Framlingham Castle (he left in the 16th Century!) his Grace would be favourably impressed by how the present incumbents are looking after the grounds!
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