'Big dreams can start in small places': Offiah returns to Woolverstone Hall

Why it matters: The pavilion at Woolverstone Hall, home to Ipswich High School, is believed to be England's oldest thatched cricket pavilion. Its restoration comes as the school prepares to celebrate its 150th anniversary.

The details: Offiah, MBE, cut the ribbon on the newly refurbished pavilion at 1pm on Thursday, 25 June, ahead of the school's Senior Sports Day. The rugby league and rugby union star, who scored more than 500 career tries and represented Great Britain and England, is a Woolverstone Hall alumnus. He played for major clubs including Widnes and Wigan Warriors and was inducted into the Rugby League Hall of Fame.

What they're saying: "It's a real honour to be back at Woolverstone Hall and Ipswich High School to open this historic pavilion," Offiah said. "Sport has been one of the biggest influences in my life, shaping who I am both on and off the field. Seeing this iconic building restored brings back so many great memories."

"Woolverstone Hall is where my sporting ambitions were born," he added. "As a young boy playing for the 1st XI and having tea in this very pavilion, I could never have imagined that one day I would have a statue outside Wembley Stadium. This pavilion is a reminder that big dreams can start in small places. I hope it continues to inspire future generations to create their own memories, friendships and legacy through sport."

Headmaster Dan Browning said: "We are absolutely delighted to see this beautiful and historic pavilion restored and ready for a new generation of pupils, families and visiting teams to enjoy. It is a building with a remarkable story and an integral part of the sporting and social history of Woolverstone Hall. As the school prepares to celebrate its 150th anniversary, it feels especially fitting to have the pavilion restored and ready for the future."

He added: "We are hugely grateful to everyone whose generosity, skill and hard work has made this refurbishment possible. To have Martin Offiah, one of our own alumni and one of the greatest names in rugby league, return to open the pavilion on Senior Sports Day will make the occasion even more special."

For context: The pavilion was built in 1894 by estate workers for John Berners, under the direction of Charles Tebbit. The first recorded cricket match, between Woolverstone Park and Colchester Garrison, took place that same year, beginning a tradition that continued for decades through the Berners family's Cricket Week.

Visiting players during Cricket Week included national and county cricketers, England cricket players, Old Etonian "Ramblers" and divisions of the British Army, with the England cricket team understood to have played an annual game at Woolverstone Hall as part of the tradition. In June 1895, the East Anglian Daily Times described the pavilion as "a permanent pavilion of picturesque design", with rustic oak walls, rough-cast gable ends, a thatched roof and a verandah commanding "a splendid view of the field".

Woolverstone Hall itself is Grade I listed, though the pavilion is not part of that listing.

The bigger picture: Now approaching 130 years since it first opened, the pavilion has hosted hundreds of visiting sports teams and post-match teas – first for the Berners' Cricket Week, later for Woolverstone Hall School, and now for Ipswich High School.

The restoration was supported by Orwells Furniture, which completed the kitchen fit-out, Belmont Electrical, the Woolverstone Hall Old Boys' Association, the Ipswich High School Association (the school's PTA), Adam Peaty Race Clinics, donations from parents and alumni through a GoFundMe campaign, and the school's estates team. A permanent board will recognise donors who gave more than £200 towards the restoration fund.

The bottom line: More than a century after estate workers built it for the Berners family's Cricket Week, Woolverstone Hall's historic pavilion has been given a new lease of life – reopened by one of its own former pupils just as Ipswich High School prepares to mark 150 years.

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