On 3 April 1946, the first Viscount Bledisloe and his friend John Watts jointly gave 29 acres, including an area of marsh land, to form Lydney Recreation Trust. The chief aim of the Trust was to provide playing fields for the healthful recreation of the public of Lydney. A sum of money was also invested in order to support the future financial prospects of the Trust.
In 1949 the Cricket Club and the Football Club started to play on the land and in 1950 the Trust increased its acreage from 29 to 45 acres. 1950 also saw the diversion of part of the River Lyd and over the following three years a particularly marshy section of land was turned into a boating lake. Six tennis courts (four hard, two grass) were also created and other parts of the Trust’s land were improved. However, the land continued to flood and in 1954 a drainage scheme and comprehensive pumping equipment were installed at the recreation ground, in order to provide a solution to the flooding problem.
A grounds man’s house was built in 1958, together with a tennis pavilion in 1960 and over the next few years improvements to the ground continued. New entrance roads were constructed, together with 18 new garages, and the Trust looked set for the future. In 1964 Viscount Bledisloe gave a further six acres of land to the Trust which increased its acreage to 51 acres.
Lydney Parish Council was appointed sole Trustee of Lydney Recreation Trust in 1968 and Lydney Town Council continues to operate the Trust as a Charitable Trust. Today the recreation ground provides facilities for rugby, football, cricket and fishing and also a skateboard park. So, what of the future?
The Trust faced a momentous challenge to replace the original drainage system and this work was finally completed in 2020.
