History of the Museum

The story of how the world’s first museum for hockey came to be.

The Hockey Museum » Our Charity » History of The Hockey Museum

Saving English Hockey’s Heritage

The idea for a hockey museum began with former Hockey Association (HA) President Phil Appleyard in the 1980s. This followed a successful heritage display at the 1986 Men’s Hockey World Cup in Willesden, London, created by Ken Howells, Mike Smith and David Wareham. Plans were drawn up by the HA to establish heritage displays at the new National Hockey Stadium in Milton Keynes.

Yet Phil’s dream of a permanent national museum for hockey faded following the closure of the Stadium in 2003 and English hockey’s heritage material was left in a perilous position. Much of it was rescued from Milton Keynes by Mike, David, Diljit Bahra and Patrick Rowley and stored at Mercian Sports Co. in Woking, Surrey.

Then in 2005, England Hockey (EH) uncovered further archive material relating to the All England Women’s Hockey Association (AEWHA). Under the guidance of Ian Wilson, then EH Finance Director, arrangements were made for this material to be taken on loan by the University of Bath. The partnership with Bath provided for professional storage and cataloguing by the University’s archivist Lizzie Richmond.

OUT OF STORAGE AND INTO OUR FIRST HOME

To oversee and develop the heritage material, the Archives Steering Group (ASG) was set up by EH in July 2007. Ian was joined by Mike, David, Dil and Pat and in November 2010 Katie Dodd was invited to join the ASG bringing a wider knowledge of women’s hockey. The members of the ASG are pictured, from left to right: Ian (inset), Katie, David, Mike, Pat and Dil.

In 2010, Mike was invited by Woking Borough Council to curate a hockey exhibition for the London 2012 Olympic Games. Sensing an opportunity for something greater, he persuaded the Council to grant premises for a physical museum site. They offered offices in an old warehouse and we were up and running. Mike became our first Curator, Katie our first Chairperson, Ian our Treasurer and the other members of the ASG formed the founding Trustee Board. In October 2013, Mike Barford took over as Treasurer from Ian and later became a Trustee.

In 2011, the material rescued from Milton Keynes came out of storage at Mercian, volunteers from the hockey family began arriving at the new Woking premises and the world’s first museum for hockey opened its doors in October 2012.

THE NEXT DECADE

From those early steps taken by a few hockey enthusiasts, the Museum came a long way in its first decade. Some of the key developments have been:

We acquired over 1200 collections of varying size.
In 2013 we registered as a charity, initially as the National Hockey Museum, later changing to The Hockey Museum.
We adopted professional museum systems and policies, and in 2015 we employed out first member of staff.
In 2015 we gained official recognition in the hockey world entering partnerships with the International Hockey Federation (FIH) and England Hockey. We won the FIH’s Presidents Award in 2018.
In late 2017 we moved into our third and current home, a town centre location at 13 High Street Woking, re-opening in April 2018.
In 2018 we were awarded Accredited Museum status by Arts Council England.
In 2022 we appointed our first professional Curator, Shane Smith, who took over from museum founder Mike Smith (no relation). Mike is now President and Honorary Curator.

This has been some journey. Throughout, we have worked to publicise the existence of the Museum through exhibitions at numerous national and international hockey tournaments, as well as presenting at museum conferences. We now manage an enthusiastic team of over 50 volunteers drawn from the hockey family, academia and local residents who undertake a wide range of duties, both in Woking and remotely in all corners of the UK and overseas.