CAST INTO THE WILDERNESS
velopment of the Olympic Park and the subsequent legacy provisions , a golden opportunity to re-unite the now disparate Eton Manor clubs close to their Hackney Wick roots has been missed .
It was in the late 1880s that Eton College set up a mission to assist the poor in London ' s East End , through the St . Mary of Eton church in Hackney Wick . From this mission two boys club were started in 1909 , one for the " rough " lads and the other for " gentler " types . These clubs later merged under the banner of Eton Mission Boys ' Club . Four years later the Eton Old Boys Club emerged for those that had outgrown the mission club and eventually moved into its own clubhouse on the site of the former Manor House dairy farm in Riseholme Street , Hackney Wick - when the name Eton Manor came into being .
Manor House dairy farm in Riseholme Street , Hackney being inspected by Old Boys Club officials before being demolished and turned into a new clubhouse
Members of Old Boys club were able to partake in a wide range of activities , including summer camps , athletics , boxing , rugby , cricket and tennis to name but a few . The boys ( and eventually girls ) were encouraged to look on the club as a second family and many were helped into employment and accommodation by the club ' s wealthy benefactors .
The continued growth of the club led to 32 acres of land at Hackney Marshes being acquired in the early 1920s . The area , between Temple Mills Lane and Ruckholt Road , was named " The Wilderness " and was developed into a sporting Mecca featuring space for football , rugby , tennis , cricket , squash , netball , bowls , rifle shooting , boxing and athletics . The football section of Eton Manor ran up to a dozen teams , with there being nine full-sized pitches at The Wilderness , and eventually the senior team was elected to the First Division of the London League in 1933 / 34 . The club took well to senior football winning the title and promotion to the Premier Division in their first season . They entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1935 / 36 when they beat Clapton 3-1 in front of an excited crowd at The Wilderness . Manor ' s first major silverware came in 1937 / 38 when they were crowned London League Premier Division champions , a title they won again in 1952 / 53 , 1953 / 54 and 1955 / 56 . Their best-ever FA Cup performance came when they reached the fourth qualify-
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