The High Bickington Playing Field Association

Registered Charity Number: 1073333

The first meeting of the High Bickington Athletic Club, later to become the High Bickington Playing Field Association, a registerred Charity, was held at the local school on Tuesday 15th June 1937.

At this time there were various sporting groups active within the village including at least two football teams, a cricket team, hockey team and a tennis club. These played at various venues around the village, mainly fields rented from local farmers and the tennis courts at the rectory, (now the site of the new Rectory). The main outcome of this and subsequent meetings was to bring all these clubs together under one governing umbrella which was named 'The High Bickington Athletic Club'.

The second world war put a hold on the major development of this new club but with the end of the war the club began to flourish once more, especially when in the late forties an opportunity arose to purchase land which forms todays Playing Field.

The initial purchase of the land from the County Council was made possible with the help of loans made by club members which were subsequently repaid from money raised through fundraising activities, such as dances, bingo and other social evenings and especially from the local carnival, which remained a great source of funds until its final demise in the late sixties/early seventies. Those original sponsors were thanked by the club by being given the honour of being Trustee's, holding the title to the land on behalf of the club members and ultimately, the village.

In the early 1950's the club benefitted greatly from a substantial donation given by a Mrs Woolacott from America, a relative of the Woolacott family still resident in the village. This donation enabled the construction of the Pavilion. Mrs Woolacott also donated money for the construction of the village bus shelter.

By the 1980's many of the original Trustee's had passed away and new Trustee's were appointed from staunch supporters of the club along with a representative nominated by the Parish Council. These Trustee's remain guardians of the field today. Unfortunately there then followed a period of decline when the adult football team folded and interest in fundraising etc for the continued maintenance of the field and pavilion declined.

By the late 1980's the Trustee's and remaining club members organised an emergency public meeting to consider the future of the club and field. Some Trustee's felt that if there was no new interest in helping to run the club and organise fund raising then the only option they saw was to sell off the field and call it a day.

Thankfully those Trustee's had not forseen the amount of support that was generated as a result of the public meeting. Many new and younger Parishoners had not known of the clubs existence and had assumed the playing field was provided by the district council and funded from ratepayers money. As a result of the meeting a new Governing Committee was formed to revitalise the club and ensure the future of the playing field.

This renewed interest in the playing field was helped greatly by the formation at the time, of a new junior football team, later to blossom into no less than four teams before its eventual dissolution in the mid 1990's. Many of the original junior team members now play for the new, presently very successful adult football team. The Cricket team also saw a revitalisation with the formation, for a time, of a Colts team. Again, many of these team players now represent the adult team.

Fund raising was also revitalised during the 1990's which included three very successful 'Spring Fayre's', raising around Ł1000 each time. This fundraising enabled the club's, (it was a joint venture between the 'Athletic Club', Cricket and Football Clubs), to totally revamp the old baths in the pavilion changing rooms and to fit a more modern shower system heated by a gas boiler. In addition the toilets were also overhauled and improved, a generator was purchased and used to give lighting and power to the pavilion and to pitch flood lighting.

The Club also entered into a joint venture with the 'High Bickington Play Area Development Group' to raise funds and provide a well equiped childrens play area on the field.

Two milestones in the Athletic Clubs history took place, firstly in the mid 1990's a decision was taken to change the name from 'The High Bickington Athletic Club' to 'The High Bickington Playing Field Association' as this better depicted the clubs new role a purely providers and maintainers of the playing field and pavilion, with individual sporting interests being catered for by their own clubs and representative committee's. The second followed a long process of drawing up a new Trust deed and Governing document which resulted in the successful application for 'Charity Status'. The High Bickington Playing Field Association was officially confirmed as a Registered Charity Number 1073333 in late 1998*.

Recently the Association has seen a decline in interest again but with continuing strong support for the Football and Cricket Clubs its future will hopefully be secure...

* For more details and a copy of the associations charity documentation or for details of how you can support the association in its work please contact the Secretary.