The History of the Lye Field

... held upon trust for a recreation ground for the benefit of the inhabitants of the parish of Seend in the County of Wiltshire.

The Lye Field was offered for sale to the village of Seend by Mrs Gibb in 1967.  A committee was set up, chaired by Mr Archie Kidd, and the field was purchased with a combination of grant and local fundraising.

There then followed a major fundraising campaign to fund the building of the Pavilion.  'Fowler' Jack Holloway, (below left), was a local traction engine enthusiast who inspired the major fundraising event that was the annual Traction Engine Rally, which took place over a number of years on fields at Craysmarsh Farm adjacent to the Melksham-Devizes road.  These rallies became well-known throughout the West Country, and sufficient money was raised to allow building of the Pavilion to start in 1972.  The opening ceremony took place on 12 May 1973 and the Pavilion now bears the name of just one of the many kind benefactors, Irene Usher (above right).  

​A more comprehensive, illustrated and often amusing history was published by the late John Smallshaw.  Copies of this 47 page publication are now rare.  A scanned copy of 'A Village Achievement' (Smallshaw, John S, 1993) can be downloaded (30mb) from this link> ​A Village Achievement