M.B.C.
Olney Town CrickeDavid
Cricket CBy the middle of2004 and through the club's own  nd-raising e orts, assisted by two substantial grants from Olney Town Council and the Milton Keynes Community Foundation, we had raised su icient
   BUILDING & TIMBER MERCHANTS GARDEN and
T
H E
provided, courtesy of Alfie Harrison, the local baker.
first DIY SUPPLIES reference ----------  to cricket being played in Olney appeared in the Almanack of 1883. In the early days cricket was played at several locations
This pavilion was still far too small so, by 1960, someone spotted an advert for an unused chicken broiler house for sale locally. The main attractionwasitssize,some50feetby 40 feet. The building was purchased and a military style
operation to
dismantle and re­
erect it at the
ground was
masterminded by
Alfie Harrison.
in the town.
These included "Hatch Green" - a field now taken up by the Carey Way estate, "Cherry Orchard" - now the site of the Conygere estate - and then on a field in Yardley Road, believed to be where the Moores Hill estate now
This building
Chicken Broiler House
 lS. "Olney  celsior Cricket Club" Finally, in 1898 Olney Town Cricket Club (or as it was then known "Olney Excelsior Cricket Club") moved to the Recreation Ground
proved adequate for many years with several mmor improvements being added at intervals.
where we remain to this day.
Prior to World War II, the club had
By the early
a small pavilion situated at the church
end of the ground. This pavilion
served us well until 1 939, when it was
demolished and the ground ploughed
up to produce food, potatoes etc for
the war effort. The ground was re­
sown with grass after the war and standards expected levelled. by both club
Mrs Looms' Tea Rooms members and Cricket recommenced in the 1 947 visiting teams.
season with no pavilion but the use of Floods
a small hut belonging to the Rugby Conclusive Club for kit storage and shelter. Teas evidence of the end were taken on the Market Square at of one era came
Mrs Looms' Tea Rooms.
with the floods of
October 2000 which wreaked further damage to the condition of our old pavilion.
money to take the decision to go ahead and build the new pavilion you can now see at the Recreation Ground.
By 1 948, club members had their collective skills together and built a new pavilion at the railway end of the ground in a very similar style to the pre-war one. A few seasons later a small extension was added to create a kitchen from which teas were
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 PAGE 32
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teas, showers and a post-match beer.
put
In 2002, the club decided to demolish the old pavilion and, armed with just over £7,000 and planning permission  r a new pavilion, club members crossed fingers, toes and any other loose bodily appendage they could find and hoped for the best.
1990s it became increasingly obvious that an ex-chicken
hut
could not
provide the
Two years were spent lodging in a site hut kindly provided by Francis Jackson Homes and squatting with our friends at the Football Club who kindly provided accommodation for
Souls oThe cricket club is indebted to a huge number of local people and  rms who have given time, money and technical expertise to make the pavilion happen.
Indebted