The tennis championships were originally held between 1877 and 1921 at this site on Nursery Road, off Worple Road, before moving to their current home on Church Road in 1922. During this period the tournament developed from a garden party atmosphere, watched by a few hundred spectators, to a highly professional and international event.
This project entailed the refurbishment and extention to the existing building, alongside preserving and highlighting the rich history of the pavilion, through a carefully designed and sympathetic intervention. The works delicately improve the facilities of the buildings for current school needs with the reintegration of some of the building’s original features.
Externally the new canopy draws visitors into the site, across the face of the original pavilion and towards the main entrance; becoming the roof of the classroom extension. The contemporary elements aim to link the new and existing parts of the pavilion together and unify a building which has evolved over time.
The internal layout of the pavilion has been rearranged to meet the schools current needs. The changes to the ground floor layout include a new official change and medical area with a separate entrance, which includes a DDA shower and WC area to the west of the building. At the centre of the pavilion there is an increased changing area and WC provision accessible from the renovated clubhouse. To the east, a new extension adds a class space, accessible directly from the clubhouse, which opens out onto the grass lawn to the south of the pavilion.
Historic images courtesy of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum: photograph of original pavilion for the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club and original washbasins from changing rooms at the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum.
Renders by Haverstock
