Photos courtesy of Adam McEvoy
Sutton in Surrey was once quoted on the front page of the daily papers as having ‘the highest youth crime rate in the UK‘ with photos of 8 year old thugs dressed in Nike’s and gold earings. The good news though is that one of Britain’s best loved comic entertainers and Goon Show extraordinaire, Harry Secombe lived there which made it alright.
My family grew up on the St Helier estate, only a mile from Sutton high street but I managed to bump into skateboarding and music at a skate park and it was these 2 pastimes that handed me my escape route at an early age. Looking back though, it was all because of the park. It brought people together and we should be so lucky people care to build them.
Recently, news surfaced that a new bowl had been built in the Sutton area by our good friends at Gravity Skateparks and there’s no doubt that it jogged some good memories.
Collingwood Rec had a concrete BMX jump laid in the late 70’s that lasted for decades. My BMX obsession ended though after a relative came back from Philadelphia with BMX Action Magazine for me and inside beamed Tony Hawk hucking out an indy air at Del Mar. It changed everything, I was more than intrigued. The bike rusted in the shed and skateboarding was it.
Growing up at Collingwood was gnarly in the late 70’s early 80’s. Skinheads used to sniff glue from bags at the steps, looking like they were gonna smash yer face in at any moment and fights were always kicking off. The skinheads were fucking cool though, they had something I wanted, independence. The day I mentioned to my Mum that they hung out there cracking bags and puking everywhere, I was banned for what felt like an age. I was gutted as this was my escape from boredom being 12 yrs and down for anything.
A few years later when we had moved from the area, a vert ramp appeared out of nowhere, constructed and leveled on the concrete there. Matthew Bott’s nosepicks that were witnessed on this tiny, but scary ramp were insane. Once that ramp had been burnt down the local Sutton scene had spread to Croydon’s Fairfields and over to Worcester Park where the Dorchester spine ramp was born. It was like the search for Animal Chin was over for us at the time. He was right here in our own back yard! Everyone skated this ramp, people would travel from afar for a session, pro’s and local bro’s had that set up wired. It’s also a fact that many girls went under that ramp for cover and the sessions were often hilarious. That ramp like all of them back then burnt down too but the memories remain, just ask Simon Evans (artist) , Richard File (U.N.K.L.E), Gorm at Tweaker or skate photographer Richie Hopson if you bump into them skating, it was an amazing couple of years at that spot.
So anyway, here’s the Collingwood Park spot check. This was probably too much information but this park meant a lot looking back so it’s a pleasure to get it out of the system after 8 years of Crossfire. Throughout those years, so many new skateparks have been built in areas all over the UK that really need them. Hopefully the inspiration of this build will help others to get into skating as there’s no doubt that most of us see life in a different way which leads to understanding that working for a living can actually be fun.- Zac
We caught up with Gravity Parks designer and Vans/Creature skater Marc Churchill about the build.
How the hell did you manage to build a bowl in Sutton?!
That’s what I was thinking! Haha! We were contacted by a main contractor who had the job to refurbish the park (Collingwood) and one of the main items on their list of works to be carried out was to provide and new skate facility. So they contacted us to meet on site to discuss what was possible at the location and for the budget.
The local skaters there will be stoked, was there input from them or did you just plough on with it?
I was very pleased to see old Pacer pro Ian Scudds better known as the legendary DAVROS at the meeting, he had made a scaled model of what the user group wanted and gave me a design also.
It’s a small bowl but whippy, is it the smallest build Gravity has done to date?
Yeah it is a small bowl, I wanted to make it a bit deeper and my first design showed that but after closer consultation with Davros we decided to make it the depth it is today. I made the transitions a bit tighter so that it didn’t feel like your classic small ramp, and I feel it keeps your speed better at that size.
Tell our readers what to expect when they get there.
Well when you get there you will find a classic keyhole shaped bowl, 3 feet in the shallow end and 4 feet in the deeper end with a 6 foot extension facing the waterfall. Probably some kids on mountain bikes and a snarling, hairy creature slashing around the place called DAVROS.
What’s coming up next for Gravity?
Things are looking very exciting to be honest! We have quite a few parks coming up, some of which had some very unique features. I am trying to put a lot of street style objects into parks but with an aesthetic look, and after the success with the brick transition and bank at Barnstaple we should be seeing a lot more different textures and strange configurations, so keep your eyes peeled for some more original skate parks from us soon.
Drawing Boards head honcho Adam McEvoy is local to the park and shares his
Top 10 things to know about Collingwood Park Bowl.
1. The workmanship and finish on the bowl is good.
2. It was built by the guys from Gravity who deserve praise for what they are doing for skateboarding in the UK.
3. Don’t go there during there after 4 on a weekday unless your riding a scooter or BMX!
4. The drainage actually works.
5. The bowl is there partly due to the hard work of Davros.
6. It’s fun to pump around for the mature skater and great for beginners to learn in too.
7. Sutton United FC next door was a ground that Vinny Jones played at during his career.
8. The coping is fine.
9. It’s lots of fun.
10. Take broom if you can, it gets pretty dusty in there.
Collingwood Park is based in Sutton, Surrey. Nearest train station is West Sutton and you can easily skate here and the new Tolworth bowl in the same day. Click here for a map.
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