After nearly 50 years at Oxford’s Magdalen College School, Toni Davis approaches retirement from his post as Head Groundsman by reflecting on his experiences and involvement in delivering high-class sports surfaces at one of the UK’s top independent schools. Siobhan Harper reports.
“When I started here as a 17-year-old groundsman on just £4 a week, it was a very different place to what it is today. There was a gardener, a caretaker and a groundsman plus me, so we all mucked in to do what needed to be done. In the early days, a horse was kept at the bottom of the sports field to pull the gang mowers and horse roller: the horse is long gone, but the roller is still there! Pro, the groundsman, had been here since 1928, though while serving in the Italian campaign during WW II,an 80-year-old ‘local’ looked after a small part of the field so the boys could continue their cricket.Pro told me that when he returned in 1946, the grass had reached 3 feet, so he cut it with a scythe and set fire to it like a cornfield.”
With no formal training – having learnt all he knows from his predecessors - Toni took over as Head Groundsman when Pro retired in 1978, and this made him only the third Head Groundsman at the school in 110 years.In the mid-70s, there were just 400 pupils and seven acres of grounds to maintain compared to the current figures of 700 boys (aged 7-18) and 24 acres of sports surfaces across four sites.
Founded in 1480 by William Waynflete, who also founded the College, Magdalen College School (MCS) is located in central Oxford on the banks of the River Cherwell. Some of its buildings date to the 15th century and these are intermingled with modern facilities, with the most recent addition being a £6 million block containing refectory, classrooms, common room, art studios and reception.
In the early days, Toni says he was tasked with a variety of jobs ranging from marking out the athletics track to making fires to heat water for washing up.He even recalls cleaning the choristers’ shoes.During his first summer, a swimming gala on the Cherwell saw Toni making lanes with a rope and corks.
His first winter at the school - 1962-3 - was the coldest of the century, and he recalls ice hockey being played on the Cherwell. “The weather has obviously always impacted my work; throughout the ‘60s, most summers were very wet (though I can’t remember the field flooding) while during the 1970s, the summers were so hot that the school field turned brown.
“Memorably, we lost a lot of trees in the great storm of 1987.In fact, during my time here we’ve lost a lot of trees; the receding banks of the Cherwell have made the situation worse, but a planting scheme is now underway.
“Flooding was common during the ‘80s; in 1980 and 1981 it was so wet that cricket could not be played until half term though the worst I have known was on Good Friday 1998, when the tennis nets were in the trees and benches were swept off the field, down the Cherwell and into the Thames, never to be recovered!At other times, sight screens, mowers and rollers have ended up in the river! Easter 1997 was the latest time of year we’ve experienced flooding.”
The last time the drainage system (clinker based) was updated was 40 years ago and Toni thinks it is unlikely to be changed in the foreseeable future. “We are on solid clay, and with limited access, the effects of change may be more detrimental than the flooding.”
Sport is an integral part of the MCS curriculum with rugby, cricket, hockey and tennis being complemented by sailing, athletics, rowing, badminton, rounders, baseball and even frisbee.In 2001, the school opened a £2 million sports complex including a large sports hall, fitness suite, squash court and outdoor floodlit all-weather surface. Also for outdoor sports, MCS has use of and maintains the sports surfaces at neighbouring Magdalen and Christchurch Colleges as well as Magdalen and Merton College playing fields, with significant upgrades having been made at these during recent years.This is in addition to its own school field and the use of astroturf and athletics facilities at the nearby university.
Toni recounts some of the changes he has seen. “In the early days sport was played only on Wednesdays and Saturdays, but now it is all day every day across a number of sites. To accommodate this increased uptake the school has expanded its grounds over the years. In 1966, we acquired Merton College playing field, which had previously been part of Christ Church Meadows – I remember clearing it with a scythe so it could be developed as extra rugby and hockey pitches.
“Sandford was acquired in the early 1980s as a Quincentenary gift, and this was meant for hockey but was never really successful because of drainage problems.In the late 1990s, we took on Magdalen College sports ground to accommodate the newly-formed prep school.And during the last few years we have taken over the management of the Christchurch College sports ground, which has been invaluable in gaining additional facilities.The pavilion has also been improved with the installation of electricity and main sewerage.”
Toni is impressed by the standard of sport being played there. “The 1960s were outstanding years for cricket, rugby, hockey and tennis.The school won the Youll Cup for tennis two years running.I also remember Jim Rosenthal (ex-ITV sports commentator) playing hockey and cricket, and Nigel Starmer-Smith practising – he went on to play rugby for England.In the early 1980s, Sam Mendes (acclaimed film director) was captain of cricket for two years, and the school is currently national champions of sailing, County U18 rugby, U18 hockey, U13 hockey and U12 cricket.”
When he took over as Head Groundsman, Toni’s first big event was to prepare for the school’s Quincentenary in 1980. “I remember it as one of the best times, but it took a lot of preparation.There was a huge firework display which meant the school field was covered in empty cartridges the morning before Commemoration.Harold Macmillan, then Chancellor of Oxford University, visited the school and I put strips of hardwood down to help him walk across the bridges.”
Other memorable events during Toni’s tenure include sculpture exhibitions in the 1960s with works loaned from the Ashmolean (Museum of Art and Archaeology) and the grounds being used in the 1970s for films and TV productions including Inspector Morse and Lewis. Jonathan Markson’s Tennis Camp has been held at the school for ten years, and the grounds are regularly hired for cricket matches by corporate companies.
Investment in the grounds and staff has also changed over the years.“By the time I took over we had just two 34 inch Dennis mowers, so I started spending as soon as I could.In the ‘80s the bursars began recognising the need to invest in the grounds, which were a real selling point.Today, we have all the kit and equipment we need to deliver to the high standard that is expected and required,” he explains.
Although Toni feels ready for retirement, which will allow him to pursue his other passions including painting and travelling, he will remember his time at the school fondly. “I’ve completed 47 years of unbroken service and I haven’t had more than two or three weeks off sick. There have been major changes to the school buildings but the school field remains what it has always been: the best part of the school. It is remembered by all the boys, and is surely one of the most beautiful sports grounds in the country.”
