Moreton Morrell Tennis Court

The Moreton Morrell Tennis Court, built in 1905, was commissioned for CT Garland of Moreton Hall. It is a well-preserved example of a real tennis court and remains in use.

The court is constructed of brick with pebbledashed panels, ashlar or reconstructed ashlar dressings, and a hipped tiled roof with glazed sections and corner stacks. The architectural style is Edwardian Baroque. The main structure is a single-story, nine-bay range with lower, flat-roofed ranges extending to the front and left return.

The entrance, located to the left of centre, features a doorcase with a consoled segmental pediment and a fanlight above a half-glazed door, accessed by four steps. A half-round bay window to the left is topped with a blind balustrade. The tennis court itself is set back and rises above the lower range, supported by brick pilasters and a stone and brick frieze.

The left return, facing the road, has a low range with flanking three-window ranges set back, featuring projecting end sections. It incorporates a stone and brick frieze, cornice, and parapet with blind balustrading. The central section showcases an aedicule with Corinthian pilasters and an open pediment framing a blind Venetian window. Above this Venetian window is a crest and cartouche dated 1905, with the frieze continuing over rendered panels and end pilasters. The flanking ranges have windows with sills, aprons, and lintels, while the end projections feature tripartite windows. The tennis court area is raised and has seven pairs of 6/9 sash windows, framed by brick giant pilasters, with blank panels at either end. An iron catwalk runs in front of the windows. The right return mirrors these details, with similar elements above blank panels and framed by pilasters.

Inside, a small entrance hall has a mosaic floor, a plaster relief panel, and a modillioned cornice. The dining room and club room share similar cornices, enriched plaster panels, and central skylights, along with Louis XV-style marble fireplaces—the dining room fireplace is of mauve marble. There are said to be original fittings in the dressing rooms, baths, and showers. The court playing surface is black plaster, applied by Joseph Bickley, and includes lean-to galleries, ashlar-scored plaster above, and a rich cornice with festoons. Slender iron roof trusses support the roof. A squash-tennis court is present with tongue-and-grooved panelling and a gallery with a balustrade. The principal gallery leads to a workshop and the professional's flat.