Bramcote Tennis Pavilion repairs
Following the Victorian Society’s call for action from North Yorkshire Council in February 2025 in relation to the Bramcote Tennis Pavilion, repairs are now taking place to this remarkable surviving piece of international tennis history.
The Bramcote Tennis Pavilion was placed on the Victorian Society’s influential Top Ten Endangered Buildings list in 2024. Local people and Councillor Maw raised their voices in concern this winter following storms that had impacted on the building. The Victorian Society wrote to North Yorkshire Council and the local MP to back the community’s calls for repairs and proper restoration.
The Council attended the structure in the Spring on an enforcement visit. Following this a course of action was agreed with the owner, Scarborough College, and the lessee of the land that includes the pavilion that would include immediate pressing repairs, and a proper plan for the long-term restoration of this building which is a crucial part of Scarborough’s and the international history of the sport.
Thomas Ollivier, Northern Conservation Adviser for the Victorian Society said:
‘The Victorian Society and the local community are very pleased to see that Bramcote Tennis Pavilion is now being looked after the way it has long needed. This Grade II building, recognised for its national significance and special interest, is undeniably a jewel of Scarborough’s history and important in its role in the formation of lawn tennis.’
This Arts and Crafts veranda-style bungalow was once a lawn tennis pavilion, among the earliest structures for the modern sport internationally. Dating back to the sport’s inception in the 1860s-1870s, it holds significance in Scarborough’s tennis history which included championship-level competitions. It was commissioned for the North of England Lawn Tennis Club from local architect John Hall. The building boasts changing rooms for both sexes, a significant social aspect of the sport demonstrating that women were playing early in the game’s history. Scarborough was an important place for tennis into the Twentieth Century.
The Society’s Top Ten Endangered Buildings campaign highlights dilapidated and neglected buildings around England and Wales that are in desperate need of help. The media coverage the campaign gains helps to spotlight buildings that would otherwise lie forgotten and decaying. This publicity can alter their fate for the better. The Victorian Society has announced its Top Ten of Endangered buildings fourteen times. The list is based on public nominations from across England and Wales, and the buildings selected represent industrial, religious, domestic, and civic architecture from across the nation with unique historical and community significance and value. Nominated buildings must be dated between 1837 and 1914.
The Victorian Society will call for nominations for its 2026 Top Ten Endangered Buildings list later this autumn.
