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No-one for tennis!
No more tennis: The cleared site off Whittingham Lane which once housed tennis courts belonging to the United Reformed Church in Longridge
Mystery still surrounds the future of the site off Whittingham Lane in Longridge which once resounded to the summer sounds of the call of tennis scores.
They were from the players on the site’s former tennis courts, which belonged to the United Reformed Church in Longridge.
The courts have now totally disappeared and the land cleared of all the overgrowth which had sprung up since the courts fell into disuse.
A “For Sale” sign was put up about a year ago and a URC spokesperson told The News that the sale eventually went through to a private buyer.
“We are not able to reveal who the buyer was, so do not know what it will be used for now, but at the moment we are not aware any houses are planned for the site,” said the spokesperson.
The history of the courts goes back to 1926 when the land was left to the church for recreational purposes by local solicitor James Dukes.
The tennis courts were erected and well used until about 20 years ago.
“The land behind the courts was turned into allotments, probably before the war, but we kept the current allotment holders fully aware throughout the sale negotiations as to what was happening,” added the spokesperson.
“They were lovely in the way they accepted that the courts had to go because we could not have met the costs of bringing them back into use again.”
The allotment holders are understood now to be tenants of the new owner of the site.
It was in 1988 that the Methodist and United Reformed churches in Longridge joined together.
The Methodist congregation moved to worship at the URC church further down Berry Lane, and the Methodist church was sold to help the refurbishment of the URC building.
The former Methodist church became an IT training centre for a time and the building is now the home of the craft, gift and furniture business Boheme.
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Weather for Longridge
Saturday 25 May 2013
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 7 C to 13 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: West
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 9 C to 14 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: West
