The Edgbaston Priory Club are embarking on a £12 million upgrade to their facilities, with considerable financial input from the LTA.
Laurence Gale MSc talks to Grounds Supervisor, Stuart Smith, about life at one of the UK’s premier racquet clubs
Grounds for improvement
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dgbaston Priory Club is firmly established as one of the country’s most prestigious racquet and leisure clubs. It is a private members club with over
3,000 members who regularly enjoy playing racquet sport, keeping fit and socialising.
Its origins date back over 130 years. The club, as we know it today, was formed in December 1964 as a result of a merger between two very long established clubs; Edgbaston Lawn Tennis Club, founded in 1878, and Priory Lawn Tennis Club, founded in 1875. This merger came about after a disastrous fire in May 1963 which completely destroyed Priory’s clubhouse, hence the logo; a Phoenix rising from the ashes.
Set in twelve acres of beautiful
grounds, the club boasts twenty-nine tennis courts, ten squash courts, heated indoor and outdoor swimming pools, an outside spa, a technogym equipped with fitness facilities, and a licensed bar and restaurant. Robert Bray, the current Chief Executive of the club, has been
instrumental in developing its fortunes in recent years; there has been a dramatic emphasis on modernising and adding new facilities. During my visit the new Grounds Supervisor, Stuart Smith, was showing me the latest developments in terms of improving the playing condition of the natural turf courts. Grass courts one to four were having a complete new perimeter drainage system installed, with new kerb edging and new irrigation. Centre court also has had some perimeter drainage installed to prevent the likelihood of flooding during tournaments as, in the past, water run off from the temporary spectator stands would often cause problems. This work should prevent this from happening again.
Stuart has been at the club six years and was promoted to Grounds Supervisor three years ago, taking over from Karen Carter, who had been at the club for sixteen years. He has three colleagues who help him prepare and maintain the courts; Antony Knight (ten years service), Paul Woodford (nine years service) and a new apprentice, Tom Pardoe, who has only been at the club
three months.
They start at 6.00am to ensure the courts are all prepared and ready for play before 9.30am.
They work a split shift system; two members of staff will come in at 6.00am and finish at 2.00pm, whilst the remaining two start at 8.00am and finish at 4.00pm. Every morning they carry out the same routine: set all courts, check/empty bins, litter pick amenity areas, tidy beds and borders and water hanging baskets and tubs.
The twenty nine tennis courts offer five
different playing surfaces; nine grass, one tarmacadam, six artificial sand filled, four American fast dry clay and three indoor acrylic.
The grass courts are built to the same specification as Wimbledon, with courts built on a gravel raft drainage layer, overlaid with a 50mm clean gravel blinding layer, over which the clay loam soils are laid. The clay content of the loam is 23%, which gives it the playing characteristics required for tennis. The grass courts are renovated, both in the spring and autumn, with the focus of the autumn renovations on full court
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