Collection: Played in Britain Collection
- Date:
- 1980 - 2019
- Reference:
- PLA01
- Type:
- Collection containing Electronic material
The Played In Collection contains ten (10) series of digital colour photographs, totalling two-thousand one-hundred and seventy-six (2,176), depicting building, structures, sites and memorials related to sport in England.
The photographs were taken by Simon Inglis. Each series contains photographs taken for one of the ten books in the 'Played in Britain' series published by English Heritage between 2004 and 2015. Around a third of the photographs in the collection were published in the books:
'Played in Manchester' by Simon Inglis (2004), 'Liquid Assets: The lidos and open air swimming pools of Britain' by Janet Smith (2005), 'Engineering Archie: Archibald Leitch - football ground designer' by Simon Inglis (2005), 'Played in Birmingham' by Steve Beauchampe and Simon Inglis (2006), 'Played in Liverpool' edited by Ray Physick (2007), 'Great Lengths: The Indoor Historic Swimming Pools of Britain' by Dr Ian Gordon and Simon Inglis (2009), 'Played in Tyne and Wear' by Lynn Pearson (2010), 'The British Olympics: Britain's Olympic heritage 1612-2012' by Martin Polley (2011), 'Played in London' by Simon Inglis (2014), 'Bowled Over: The bowling greens of Britain' by Hugh Hornby (2015).
Highlights include Victorian and early 20th century swimming baths, sports pavilions and clubhouses, and stadiums.
Sports sites which are well-represented include Goodison Park, Aintree Racecourse, the Stadium of Light in Sunderland, and football grounds including Craven Cottage, Ayresome Park, Fratton Park, Goodison Park, Roker Park, St James' Park and Villa Park.
There are also several events and competitions depicted in the collection, such as the 2009 Cotswold Olimpick Games held near Chipping Camden, and bowls competitions including the English Bowling Association's 2005 Men's Championship held at Beach House Park, Worthing, the 2011 Knights Competition at Southampton Old Bowling Green, the Waterloo Handicap Finals Day at Blackpool, and the 2015 Club Finals of Lewes Bowling Green Society.
Many of the structures and buildings shown are photographed soon after restoration, such as lidos and outdoor swimming pools in PLA01/10. Others are shown in a state of disrepair. Many have been altered, redeveloped, refurbished or demolished since the photographs were taken.
© Historic England Archive
Leisure And Recreation
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