Educational Establishments
As I was going to St Paul’s...
Originally sited by the world famous cathedral from whence it gets its name, St Paul’s School moved four times before occupying its present site on the banks of the River Thames in 1968. It survived the Plague and the Great Fire of London and, in 1870, was one of only two day schools included by the Clarendon Commission as one of the ‘nine great public schools’ of England.
With a soil profile that is 100% landfill, Head of Grounds and Gardens, Neil Dixon, certainly has his work cut out to provide the quality playing surfaces required at such a prestigious establishment
playing fields were originally filter beds for Thames Water, and they still have drinking water storage under three of our junior pitches - the ‘tank’ area. This prohibits the use of fertilisers and pesticides, has a restrictive weight limit and, with just about twelve inches of soil, makes grass development rather difficult.” “The senior pitches I would describe as silty clay; the top fourteen to sixteen inches are just about passable as decent topsoil but, below this, it is a real mixture of rubble, clay, and anything else that was used during the landfill stage.” Fortunately, Neil’s wealth of experience means that he is just the right man for the job.
N “I initially began working at Royal Mid
Surrey Golf Course in my summer holidays,” he explains. “When I left school, they offered me a full time job and I stayed there for seven years. But I had always wanted to work at a multi- sports club so, when a job at Brunel University’s Osterley campus came up, I applied and was offered the post.
eil Dixon begins with a statement that will have many a groundsman shuddering. “The soil profile is 100% landfill,” he confirms. “Back in the 1960s, the
Unfortunately, this didn’t work out as I had hoped as most of the sport was played at the main Uxbridge campus so, after about eighteen months, a job at The Lensbury Club at Teddington was advertised, with a certain Mr Peter Craig as Grounds Manager.” “The good facilities and multi-sports at Lensbury was exactly what I was looking for but, at this time, the club was going through something of an evolution and, being ‘last in’, I wasn’t quite sure where it would end. So, when the head groundsman’s job became available for the Honourable Artillery Company, I applied, was invited for interview and, subsequently, was offered the post.” “I had an enjoyable five years at the HAC, but felt I had outgrown the role, and wanted a new challenge so, when St Paul’s advertised for a Head of Grounds and Gardens, I applied and the rest, as they say, is history.” That was ten years ago. “Presentation is the most vital aspect of the work we do here,” states Neil. “We will regularly put out over twenty teams at the weekend, with eleven of these playing at home, so presentation ranks very highly. I want parents and visiting schools, as well as being entertained, to go away impressed with our facilities.”
82 PC DECEMBER/JANUARY 2014 St Paul’s School occupies a riverside frontage close to Hammersmith Bridge
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