Pavilion where WG Grace once played saved by birds' nest
A 140-year-old pavilion where cricketing legend W G Grace once strapped on his pads has avoided demolition after a birds' nest built there allowed a city council to save the landmark.
The pavilion at Cinderella Sports Ground, Worcestershire, hosted the batsman when he was 20-years-old, during one of his appearances for Worcestershire XI in 1870.
And when the famous Australian side of 1878 first came over to play in England they also used the quintessential English pavilion, which was built in 1866.
But in 2006, the city council announced that the area, the original 19th-century home of Worcestershire County Cricket Club, was to be demolished to make way for property development.
The council managed to win a stay of execution, first by applying unsuccessfully to have the building listed, and then - as the bulldozers moved in - when an officer found birds nesting in its roof.
The delay bought the city enough time to set up a protective conservation area around the ground - but this was scrapped this March by a High Court judge, who ruled the council had misused its powers.
Now, a deal between owner Arndale Properties and the council means both sports ground and pavilion should soon be offered back to the city at a peppercorn rent.
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The pavilion at Cinderella Sports Ground, Worcestershire, hosted the batsman when he was 20-years-old, during one of his appearances for Worcestershire XI in 1870.
And when the famous Australian side of 1878 first came over to play in England they also used the quintessential English pavilion, which was built in 1866.
But in 2006, the city council announced that the area, the original 19th-century home of Worcestershire County Cricket Club, was to be demolished to make way for property development.
The council managed to win a stay of execution, first by applying unsuccessfully to have the building listed, and then - as the bulldozers moved in - when an officer found birds nesting in its roof.
The delay bought the city enough time to set up a protective conservation area around the ground - but this was scrapped this March by a High Court judge, who ruled the council had misused its powers.
Now, a deal between owner Arndale Properties and the council means both sports ground and pavilion should soon be offered back to the city at a peppercorn rent.