Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre is a sports and leisure venue located in Leyton, London Borough of Waltham Forest, to the north of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. It is regularly used for international

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shootin ...

fixtures by both the Great Britain men's and women's field hockey teams. It hosted the 2018 Women's Hockey World Cup. Owned and managed by Lee Valley Regional Park Authority, the site was previously known as Eton Manor and was a wheelchair tennis venue for the

2012 Summer Paralympics The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Summer Paralympic Gam ...

before being converted for public use and reopening in June 2014.

History

Eton Manor

The site was originally known as Eton Manor, the name taken from

Eton College Eton College () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI of England, Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. i ...

, which from the 1880s had run a "mission" to raise living standards in the

East End of London The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have un ...

. In 1909, four Old Etonian philanthropists founded Eton Manor Boys' Club to provide sporting facilities in the Hackney area, purchasing the former Manor Farm in 1913. In 1920, an old rubbish tip site was converted into the club's new sports ground, known as The Wilderness. Facilities included nine football pitches, two rugby pitches, cricket pitches, six tennis courts, a bowling green, a squash court and a running track. Eton Manor Boys' Club closed in 1967 and the club ground fell into disuse in 2001 before being selected for use during the 2012 Olympic Games. The charitable trust set up in 1924 to run and support Eton Manor Boys' Club still continues with different aims and a new name, Villiers Park Educational Trust. Four sports clubs originating from Eton's "mission" are still in existence: * Eton Manor RFC, now playing at The New Wilderness ground in

Wanstead Wanstead () is a town in East London, England, in the London Borough of Redbridge. It borders South Woodford to the north, Redbridge, London, Redbridge to the east and Forest Gate to the south, with Leytonstone and Walthamstow to the west. It is ...

* Eton Manor FC, now groundshare and are playing their matches at Waltham Abbey's ground in Waltham Abbey * Eton Manor A.C., meeting at Waltham Forest Track and Pool in

Walthamstow Walthamstow ( or ) is a large town in east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London and the ancient county of Essex. Situated northeast of Charing Cross, the town borders Chingford to the north, Snaresbrook and Sou ...

(young athletes) and The Cottage, Marsh Lane, in Leyton (senior athletes) * Eastern Otters Water Polo Club (formerly Eton Otters) who currently play at the new Becontree Heath Leisure Centre in Dagenham (www.eastenotters.co.uk) Eton College has a second connection to the 2012 Olympic Games, as the rowing events were held at the college's private facility, Dorney Lake.

London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games

During the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Eton Manor was the only purpose-built Paralympic venue. It hosted the wheelchair tennis. The venue comprised nine competition courts and four warm-up courts. There were a total of 10,500 seats for spectators, with a 5,000 capacity centre court. The 27-acre site also housed temporary training pools for participants in aquatics events, including three 50m pools for swimmers and smaller pools for synchronised swimmers and water polo competitors. Before the Games, Poet Laureate

Carol Ann Duffy Dame Carol Ann Duffy (born 23 December 1955) is a Scottish poet and playwright. She is a professor of contemporary poetry at Manchester Metropolitan University, and was appointed Poet Laureate in May 2009, resigning in 2019. She was the first ...

was commissioned to write a poem about Eton Manor to celebrate its history and legacy. The poem is inscribed on a brass plaque at the entrance to the venue and was part of the Winning Words initiative, a national poetry scheme inspired by London 2012 which integrated permanent and temporary poetry on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

Post-Olympics

After the Olympic Games, Eton Manor housed the scaled down Olympic Hockey Centre which was relocated from Riverside Arena. The venue was made public following a £30 million conversion and was renamed Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre. Run by the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority, it has two hockey pitches and ten tennis courts four indoor and six outdoor. The venue offers a range of events and programmes from grassroots to elite level.Anderson, Gary
Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre officially opened after £30 million revamp
Inside the Games (17 June 2014). Dunsar Media Company Limited. Retrieved 12 July 2022. In December 2012, the

International Tennis Federation The International Tennis Federation (ITF) is the governing body of world tennis, wheelchair tennis, and beach tennis. It was founded in 1913 as the International Lawn Tennis Federation by twelve national tennis associations. As of 2016, there ...

announced that the venue would stage the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters, an annual event, on its indoor courts.

International field hockey

Since 2014, Lee Valley has staged a number of major international events, most notably the 2018 Women's Hockey World Cup, which was the 14th edition of the tournament. It also hosted the 2016 Women's Hockey Champions Trophy and the 2016 Men's Hockey Champions Trophy. From 2019, it has been the home venue of both the Great Britain women's and men's field hockey teams for their home matches in the Women's FIH Pro League and Men's FIH Pro League, most recently in May and June 2022 for the

2021–22 Women's FIH Pro League The 2021–22 Women's FIH Pro League was the third edition of the Women's FIH Pro League, a field hockey championship for women's national teams. The tournament started in October 2021 and finished in June 2022. Format The home and away principl ...

and the

2021–22 Men's FIH Pro League The 2021–22 Men's FIH Pro League was the third edition of the Men's FIH Pro League, a field hockey championship for men's national teams. The tournament started in October 2021 and finished in June 2022. Format The home and away principle was ...

. The women's team played its first Pro League match at Lee Valley against the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

on 27 April 2019.2019 FIH Hockey Pro League (W). Match report (27 April 2019)
International Hockey Federation. Retrieved 12 July 2022. For major hockey events, the stadium capacity is increased from the default 3,000 to 15,000 all seated.

References

External links

2012 Paralympics profile

Lee Valley Regional Park Authority
{{2012 Summer Paralympics venues 2014 establishments in England Field hockey venues in England Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park Sports venues completed in 2014 Tennis venues in London Parks and open spaces in the London Borough of Waltham Forest Venues of the 2012 Summer Olympics Wheelchair tennis at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Sport in the London Borough of Waltham Forest Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Waltham Forest 2012 Summer Paralympic venues