Opening of the Shrewsbury Fives Courts – 9th October 2010

Richard Barber reports:

The project to refurbish the School’s Fives Courts started in 2003 when the OSEFC brought to the then Headmaster’s attention a multitude of problems, including dangerous roofing, cracked floors, sweating courts, poor lighting, a hazardous apron surround, crumbling pointing and a poor standard of general maintenance.

As these amateur observations turned into a professional assessment, there began to emerge from the ocean of correspondence the dim shape of a project of unimaginably vast proportions – vast in terms of scope, of timescale, of finance and of precedent – to the extent that no project on such a scale has been attempted on Fives courts anywhere within living memory.

Funds of course were key to the whole project, and in 2004 Richard Barber launched an appeal without precedent in the annals of Eton Fives, namely to add to the funds committed by the School a sum raised from Salopians of all ages of about £300,000. The School would attend to every aspect of renewing the infrastructure – new Georgian glass roofing and glazing bars, re-pointing the gable ends, renewal of the guttering, downpipes, aprons on both sides and bringing the lighting up to squash court standard. At the same time a specialist court builder, recommended by the Eton Fives Association, was commissioned, who assessed, scoped and eventually carried out the necessary and in some cases extremely complex work on the courts themselves.

The School and the OSEFC worked closely together throughout, and everything came together last year – the infrastructure work was completed, the work on the courts themselves commissioned and the funds finally raised, hugely supported by Peter Worth who gave a sum of unique generosity which proved decisive in the whole decision to go ahead. Many other Salopians contributed on a scale previously unknown in the Eton Fives world, and the names of the most generous of these are now inscribed in perpetuity on each one of the 14 courts.

The School’s Governors too were inspired by the Old Salopian community’s response to decide on a significant additional allocation of funds, and just as importantly they resolved formally that “for the foreseeable future Fives would continue to be a major school sport at Shrewsbury School.”

The final work on the courts was finished by the contractor at the end of September, two short weeks before the Grand Opening which took place by the courts on the lovely sunny afternoon of the OS week-end. The Headmaster, Mark Turner, informed us of his own fives pedigree at Rossall and his enthusiasm for the game, and the President of the OSEFC, Richard Barber, who has led this project from the beginning, said the following:

“Headmaster, it’s tremendously appropriate for the future of Shrewsbury’s fives that the first formal act of your headmastership should be this opening of our courts.

When I became Chairman of the EFA some years ago, I held a dinner for all the Masters in charge of Fives around the country, during which I asked them what they thought was the single most important factor in sustaining a vibrant Fives activity at their schools. Their reply was unanimous. They said: “the visible and enthusiastic support of the Headmaster”. It’s clear from your remarks this afternoon that you fully subscribe to that view too. Fives here can only continue to flourish under your leadership, and the whole Salopian Fives community wishes you every possible success in the coming years as Headmaster and therefore as custodian-in-chief of Fives at Shrewsbury.

No one here doubts that Eton Fives is the best court game in the world. Each new generation discovers this for themselves. Now Shrewsbury’s girls have discovered it too. They are now an integral part of our Fives tradition, and we’re all delighted that the Old Salopian Fives Club is the first Eton Fives club in the land to have appointed a lady – Alice Walker, last year’s school captain of girls’ fives – as a member of our committee.

The illustrious names of our greatest ever players, Moulsdale and Kittermaster are now inscribed on our courts – and how wonderful to see Robin here today, kitted out and still involved in the fray! And among the great deeds done here, in 1989 Craig Webster, Robert Lonsdale, Stuart Parker and Mike Wycherley played fives non-stop for 40 hours, thereby putting Shrewsbury School straight into the Guinness Book of Records!

These names demand that the great Salopian tradition of excellence in Fives must go on and on.

Our courts are now fully worthy of that great tradition;

Worthy too of the game as a Major School Sport at Shrewsbury;

Worthy of the reputation of Shrewsbury as one of the 2 premier Eton Fives playing schools in the land, and as the venue for some of the major national championships of Eton Fives;

Worthy of the loyalty of so many Salopians who have loved the game here and have supported this project with a generosity beyond any possible imagination when we started out;

And worthy too of the overall setting of our courts in this wonderful site, standing as they do half way to heaven between the 1st XI wicket and the Chapel What other fives courts enhance the beauty of their schools as ours now do?

Today brings to a climax some seven years of hard endeavour. The new courts and their lighting now look absolutely wonderful, with only a few tweaks remaining which the Foundation has assured me will be addressed. And the whole project is a tribute to so many people who deserve our gratitude for carrying this great project through to completion.

Here at the School I especially salute the Trojan efforts of Simon Dowson and John Rolfe, the advice and guidance of Andy Barnard and the ever-ready support of Tony Walters.

Among the Old Salopian Fives community, so many have contributed to our Appeal, and the names of the most generous of these are now recorded for ever in gratitude on each court.

But nothing in the huge generosity of so many people exceeds that of Peter Worth, who to my great delight has succeeded me this very week as Chairman of the Eton Fives Association, for whom Fives is a passion, and who has supported this project throughout in the most epic way imaginable.

Peter, I now call upon you formally to open ‘the Worth Courts’. "

Peter Worth then spoke of the passion which three generations of his family have had for Eton Fives, the unique training which fives provides for every other ball game and the importance of Fives continuing as a major sport at the School. He then cut the ribbon to open “The Worth Courts”, now formally named to mark the distinction with which three generations of Worths have represented Shrewsbury at Fives at the highest national level for some 90 years, and the outstanding generosity with which Peter himself has ensured that this project has been carried through to such a successful conclusion.