Brent Valley Golf Club

Brent Valley Golf Club is located in Hanwell, near Greenford, London. The club is a member of the English Golf Union and is based on the Brent Valley Golf course, which is owned by Ealing Council. The club also belongs to the National Association of Public Golf Clubs and Courses.[1] The club currently has just over 100 members.

Brent Valley Golf Club clubhouse, 2009

The club is located within the large Brent Valley Golf Course, adjacent to further green open spaces Brent Valley Park, Brent Lodge Park, and West Middlesex Golf Course in Dormers Wells.

History

The club was founded in 1909 [2] by Albert Toley (1855–1924).[3] Before the club was founded in the 1800s the land on which Brent Valley was later to stand was owned by the Rector G.H. Glasse.[4] The course was designed by JH Taylor [5] in the early 1900s. At the first annual club dinner held on 5 April 1910 at the Trocodero, Hanwell membership was reported to be over 300.[6] In 1933, the club won the Middlesex CGU Coronation Bowl in the second year it was played. In 1938, Ealing Council acquired the course to preserve it from being developed and a lease with Brent Valley Golf Club was signed.[7] The new public course was opened on 20 July 1938 by the Mayor of Ealing.[8] In 1966 the old clubhouse, the "Dublin House" was demolished by the council and the present one built and the course was remodeled to the present format. It was believed that the remodelling was carried out by Peter Alliss but he has stated that this was not the case.[9] In 2009 the club celebrated its centenary, which was marked by a ceremonial tee-off by the then Mayor of Ealing, Barbara Yerolemou . The course is now run by a private contractor Everyone Active as of 1 October 2014, through a contract with Ealing Council.

  • The Brent Valley clubhouse (Dublin House) c. 1910
  • The Mayor of Ealing officially opens Brent Valley Golf Course on 20 July 1938 after it was acquired by Ealing Council.
  • Albert Toley

Albert Toley

Albert Toley was Brent Valley Golf Club’s founder and first President, in 1909. Born in 1855 in Devon, he lived in The Grove in Hanwell from 1906, which it is believed was later used as Brent Valley’s club house and later renamed Dublin House. Albert was a public benefactor and property developer. But his first post in London was as a teacher at the United Westminster School near Victoria Station aged 17. In 1876 he took over the school’s sports and found that the school lacked playing fields. He had the idea of renting land, in Willesden, for the school’s games and sub-letting some of it to local sports clubs. Sensing demand from other clubs, he repeated the exercise with other land. So successful was the venture that he gave up his teaching job and acquired other sites. At one point he was managing over 1,000 acres (4.0 km2). One of the plots of land he acquired was later to become Brent Valley Golf Course, where he founded the club. Although he managed many other sites and founded other clubs, Brent Valley held a special place in his heart since he lived in The Grove, which was on the course, and he was the Club’s first president. Local newspapers report him playing in matches for Brent Valley, alongside his son Frank, against other local clubs with a handicap of 9 at the age of 64. Albert Toley died on 6 September 1924.[10]

The Course

Brent Valley is a traditional parkland style golf course and while not the longest course in the area at 5446yards is designed to offer a good level of golf for all handicaps. The use of the natural land shape in the design of many of the holes with the addition strategically placed bunkers and hazards to challenge players of all levels.

Hole No.YardsParScore IndexHole No.YardsParScore Index
1308491035046
23614511327410
335941312160314
412631713207312
5436431435942
64394115279418
716031516175316
82774111737744
9381471836548
284734IN259933
OUT284734
TOTAL544667

References
  1. National Association of Public Golf Clubs and Courses (NAPGC).
  2. Nisbet's 1911 Golf Yearbook, British Library
  3. Obituary in Middlesex County Times, 12 September 1925 (Ealing Library)
  4. British History Online, http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=22339
  5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 16 August 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. Middlesex and Hanwell Times of 9 April 1910 (Ealing Library)
  7. Middlesex County Times, 29 January 1938 (Ealing Library)
  8. Middlesex County Times, 23 July 1938 (Ealing Library)
  9. Email to Richard Gray, the club historian, dated 20/8/10
  10. Middlesex County Times, 12 September 1925 (Ealing Library)

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