Eton Manor

Eton Manor lies in the London Borough of Waltham Forest, just north of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. The site began in the 1880s as a mission run by Eton College to improve living standards in the East End. In 1909 four Old Etonians founded Eton Manor Boys’ Club and bought Manor Farm in 1913. By 1920 the old rubbish tip became The Wilderness sports ground with football, rugby, cricket and tennis facilities. The club closed in 1967 and the ground stood unused until it was chosen for the 2012 Paralympics. A charitable trust set up in 1924 still operates under a new name, Villiers Park Educational Trust. The site became the only purpose-built Paralympic venue in 2012, hosting wheelchair tennis with nine competition courts and four warm-up courts. Ten thousand five hundred spectators could watch on a 5,000-seat centre court. Temporary pools served swimmers and water polo players during the Games. Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy wrote a poem for Eton Manor, now inscribed on a brass plaque at the entrance. After the Games the venue was converted into a public sports centre. Today the Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre has two hockey pitches and ten tennis courts, four indoors and six outdoors. It stages international hockey events including the 2018 Women’s Hockey World Cup and hosts Great Britain’s home matches in the FIH Pro League. The venue also runs programmes from grassroots to elite level and hosts the annual NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters. The surrounding parkland offers wide views across the former Olympic Park.