Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre is a sports and leisure venue located in

Leyton Leyton () is a town in east London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It borders Walthamstow to the north, Leytonstone to the east, and Stratford to the south, with Clapton, Hackney Wick and Homerton, across the River L ...

London Borough of Waltham Forest The London Borough of Waltham Forest () is a London boroughs, London borough in north-east London, England. Its population is estimated to be 276,983 in 2019. It borders five other London boroughs: London Borough of Enfield, Enfield to the nort ...

, 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 shooting ...

fixtures by both the Great Britain men's and women's field hockey teams. It hosted the

2018 Women's Hockey World Cup The 2018 Women's Hockey World Cup was the 14th edition of the Women's Hockey World Cup, a field hockey tournament. It was held from 21 July to 5 August 2018 at the Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre in London, England. Defending champions t ...

. 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 Ga ...

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 univ ...

. 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 Eton Manor Rugby Club is an English rugby union club based in the London Borough of Redbridge. The first XV team currently plays in London 1 North. The club spent a single season in National League 3 London & SE - 2015-16 - but was immediately r ...

, 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 to the east and Forest Gate to the south, with Leytonstone and Walthamstow to the west. It is located 8 mi ...

* 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 Sout ...

(young athletes) and The Cottage, Marsh Lane, in

(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 Dorney Lake (also known as Eton College Rowing Centre, and as Eton Dorney as a 2012 Summer Olympics venue) is a purpose-built rowing lake in England. It is near the village of Dorney, Buckinghamshire, and is around 3 km (2 miles) west of ...

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 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 announced that the venue would stage the NEC

Wheelchair Tennis Masters The Wheelchair Tennis Masters refers to a pair of end of year tennis events for wheelchair athletes held on an annual basis under the jurisdiction of the International Tennis Federation. The Wheelchair Tennis Masters for singles is an end-of-yea ...

, 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

, which was the 14th edition of the tournament. It also hosted the

2016 Women's Hockey Champions Trophy The 2016 Women's Hockey Champions Trophy was the 22nd edition of the Hockey Champions Trophy for women. It was held between 18 and 26 June 2016 in London, United Kingdom. Argentina won the tournament for a record seventh time after defeating the ...

and the

2016 Men's Hockey Champions Trophy The 2016 Men's Hockey Champions Trophy was the 36th edition of the Hockey Champions Trophy for men. It was held between 10 and 17 June 2016 in London, United Kingdom. Australia won the tournament for a record fourteenth time after defeating In ...

. 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 The Women's FIH Pro League is an international women's field hockey competition organised by the International Hockey Federation (FIH), which replaces the Women's FIH Hockey World League. The competition also serves as a qualifier for the Hocke ...

and Men's FIH Pro League, most recently in May and June 2022 for the 2021–22 Women's FIH Pro League and the 2021–22 Men's FIH Pro League. 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 Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

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