Catch These Sporting Icons!

You cannot argue with London’s sporting pedigree. After all, London is home to over a dozen world-famous football clubs and it hosts a dazzling line up of top tier sporting events including the FA Cup Final, the Wimbledon Tennis Championships, the London Marathon and the Boat Race. Besides, no other city except Paris has put on as many as three Olympic Games. The first was in 1908, taking place at the newly built White City Stadium. Then came the so-called ‘Austerity Games’ of 1948 which began in a devastated metropolis still struggling to shake off the effects of the Blitz.

The Games returned in 2012 to revitalise areas of the East End and were focused in and around Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford. The area contains both Zaha Hadid’s London Aquatics Centre (left) and the purpose-built London Stadium where Usain Bolt won gold at the 100 metres.

Away from the glare of the stadium floodlights, practically every sport going is available to watch or participate in within these city limits. In medieval times, Londoners would have taken part in jousts or blood sports and, when the temperature really dropped, would turn the frozen Thames into an outdoor ice rink. These days, rugby union, darts, ice hockey, archery and Gaelic football are just a few of the sports that Londoners either practice or follow regularly. One legacy of this proud heritage is the inspiring yet often random collection of sporting structures that continue to catch the eye today. Most of these icons are easy enough to find. Others require a little more investigation and will take you off the beaten track. So why not lace up your best pair of trainers and follow us on this tour of London’s recreational past and present?

Football

Fulham FC can claim to be the oldest club in town and have played at their Craven Cottage ground since 1896. ‘The Cottage’ has been modernised over the years yet retains the oldest stand in the Football League. The Arsenal Stadium is famous for its Clock End and East and West Stands which date back to the 1930s. The Art Deco-inspired East Stand was once the grandest of grandstands in the country and contained within it a series of marble halls which housed both the players’ tunnel a wood-panelled boardroom, built presumably to underline the club’s growing status.

Gyms & Fitness Centres

Arguably the most stunning gym is the German Gymnasium next to Kings Cross St Pancras station. Opening its doors in 1865, it was the first purpose-built gym in the country serving mainly the local German community. Crowds flocked to see London’s first indoor Olympic Games here the year after, then again in 1908. Repton Boxing Club has the motto, ‘No Guts, No Glory’ which you immediately notice at the entrance. Inside are heavy leather punch bags, a simple elevated ring and, on the sweat soaked walls, dozens of faded fight posters, including one featuring the Kray Twins, the East End gangsters who frequented the gym in the 1950s.

Racetracks & Velodromes

The National Sports Centre at Crystal Palace was originally equipped with a 50-metre competition pool, high diving boards and a 15,000-capacity stadium. Although this 1960s sports complex has admittedly seen better days, the empty stands still echo to the sound of some memorable race meets. Nearby Herne Hill boasts the banked Burbage Road track, which has attracted local cyclists since 1891, serving briefly as the facility for the 1948 Olympic Games. The popularity of races at Herne Hill Velodrome (above) peaked in the 1950s but there followed years in the doldrums until funding enabled much-needed improvements including the opening of a new pavilion designed by Hopkins Architects, designers also of the Lee Valley Velo Park, built for the 2012 Olympic Games.

Summer Games

Lord’s Cricket Ground, home of the famous MCC, has been at its current St John’s Wood site since 1814 and boasts countless architectural gems including the Grace Gates, the Father Time weathervane and clock and, more recently, a state-of-the-art media centre.

South London’s The Oval, home to Surrey CCC, harks back to a similar age, and is recognisable globally by its iconic gasholder which still looms over the ground from the Vauxhall End. The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon is a mecca for tennis fans during the annual tennis Championships in June. But perhaps less well-known is The Queen’s Club in Baron’s Court where lawn tennis and other racquet sports including the idiosyncratic ‘real tennis’ have been played since its foundation in 1886.

Sailing & Rowing

From bucolic boathouses in Richmond and Teddington to more industrial slipways of the broader Thames Estuary, London has always been spoiled for choice when it comes to sailing and rowing facilities. The Mall and the nearby pier at Chiswick are ideal spots to catch the annual Oxford vs Cambridge Boat Race and along this elegant strip of the riverbank stands the unusual looking Race Starter’s Box (left), built in 1964 for use by the London Corinthian Sailing Club.

Swimming Pools & Lidos

The first bathing area to be called a lido was The Serpentine Lido, a small swimming area attached to the eponymous lake in Hyde Park. Then came Brockwell Lido aka ‘Brixton Beach’ in 1937 and Parliament Hill Lido a year later. Before the spread of London lidos, swimmers would head for their local public baths, a distinctly Victorian institution built often in red brick, ceramic tiles or marble. One such building, The Porchester Hall in Bayswater opened in 1929 and retains many of its original features today including a rare 1920s spa with Turkish baths.

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