Grange Park Golf Club
In his Centenary book the late Bert Fairclough referred to the theft of the original Minute Books which left historians with little information regarding the first 26 years of Grange Park Golf Club. Newspaper articles from that time have helped to establish that the first meeting of interested parties took place in 1890 at the home of Mr Benjamin Bradshaw Glover who was appointed Captain when the club was formed in the following year. The task of finding a suitable plot for a 9 hole golf course was given to Mr C H Jolliffe and he eventually located a 42 acre site on the south side of Prescot Road, opposite to the entrance of the present course. After using 24 Lugsmore Lane as a clubhouse for the first 10 years the men moved into the upper rooms of the Grange Park Hotel with the ladies in Grange Park Farmhouse.
The course was “marked out” by the Hoylake professional, John Morris, with the holes varying between 185 and 220 yards in length. The fortunes of the club suffered fluctuations during the early years with falling membership and shortage of funds which tempted the club Council in 1900 to accept a fee of £25 to allow the Royal Lancashire Agricultural Show to use the site. The success of the show was not shared by the club which was left with a major reconstruction problem after 15,000 spectators had trampled all over the tees and greens to watch horse jumping and similar activities.
On 22 April 1911 the club was incorporated into a Company Limited by Guarantee with a unique clause in its constitution. This stated that in the event of a winding-up any surplus assets would not be distributed among the members but would be given to some institution having similar objects, thus ensuring that the funds would be ploughed back into the game of golf. Two years later an extra 9 holes were added of which 8 were on the other side of Prescot Road and required the golfers to cross the road twice. The 1913 course of 18 holes would undergo a further 6 major transformations over the next 78 years. Changes of location and layout in 1923, 1927, 1957,1967, 1969 and 1991 have now established the course on the north side of Prescot Road with two loops of 9 holes.
The clubhouse from 1926 to 1957 was the Sycamores, an old Victorian Building in Prescot Road. The present clubhouse, built in 1957 at a cost of £25,000, has since been extended and refurbished. The land on which it stands was purchased from Pilkington Brothers and no mention of Grange Park would be complete without reference to this family. Having grown to be one of the world’s leading producers of flat and safety glasses as well as providing employment to the local population, Pilkington Brothers has also been generous to the golf club. In 1968 Lord Pilkington agreed that his Company would sell the leasehold interest in the course for £40,000 and for the ensuing 999 years the club will hand over a red rose as “rent” each Midsummer. Following the death of Lord Pilkington, the Chairman of the Company is now the regular recipient of this traditional gift.
Grange Park joined the Society in 1931 and has produced four Captains, Ben Spaven (1960/61), Leslie Stewart(1975/76), John Currie (1999/2000) and Andrew Barr (2022/2023). Andrew Barr previously served as President of the Lancashire Union of Golf Clubs in 2016/2017 as did Leslie Stewart in 1980/1981 and in the 1952 Open Championship John William Jones was the leading Amateur and Silver medallist.
In 1977 Ben Spaven presented a trophy for the over 65s which is competed for at the Annual Competition.
The course was “marked out” by the Hoylake professional, John Morris, with the holes varying between 185 and 220 yards in length. The fortunes of the club suffered fluctuations during the early years with falling membership and shortage of funds which tempted the club Council in 1900 to accept a fee of £25 to allow the Royal Lancashire Agricultural Show to use the site. The success of the show was not shared by the club which was left with a major reconstruction problem after 15,000 spectators had trampled all over the tees and greens to watch horse jumping and similar activities.
On 22 April 1911 the club was incorporated into a Company Limited by Guarantee with a unique clause in its constitution. This stated that in the event of a winding-up any surplus assets would not be distributed among the members but would be given to some institution having similar objects, thus ensuring that the funds would be ploughed back into the game of golf. Two years later an extra 9 holes were added of which 8 were on the other side of Prescot Road and required the golfers to cross the road twice. The 1913 course of 18 holes would undergo a further 6 major transformations over the next 78 years. Changes of location and layout in 1923, 1927, 1957,1967, 1969 and 1991 have now established the course on the north side of Prescot Road with two loops of 9 holes.
The clubhouse from 1926 to 1957 was the Sycamores, an old Victorian Building in Prescot Road. The present clubhouse, built in 1957 at a cost of £25,000, has since been extended and refurbished. The land on which it stands was purchased from Pilkington Brothers and no mention of Grange Park would be complete without reference to this family. Having grown to be one of the world’s leading producers of flat and safety glasses as well as providing employment to the local population, Pilkington Brothers has also been generous to the golf club. In 1968 Lord Pilkington agreed that his Company would sell the leasehold interest in the course for £40,000 and for the ensuing 999 years the club will hand over a red rose as “rent” each Midsummer. Following the death of Lord Pilkington, the Chairman of the Company is now the regular recipient of this traditional gift.
Grange Park joined the Society in 1931 and has produced four Captains, Ben Spaven (1960/61), Leslie Stewart(1975/76), John Currie (1999/2000) and Andrew Barr (2022/2023). Andrew Barr previously served as President of the Lancashire Union of Golf Clubs in 2016/2017 as did Leslie Stewart in 1980/1981 and in the 1952 Open Championship John William Jones was the leading Amateur and Silver medallist.
In 1977 Ben Spaven presented a trophy for the over 65s which is competed for at the Annual Competition.