[1] The ground was originally owned by J. Samuel White & Co. Ltd., a ship builders based in Cowes.
[3] However, J.Samuel White & Co. Ltd. fell on hard times, with the company's Cowes shipyard closing in 1963, bringing to an end Hampshire's use of the ground.
The council sought to offload the ground to a community-based organisation in 1984, with a lease being agreed with the Plessey Club.
When first acquired, the clubs membership was only open to employees and ex-employees of Plessey's and J. Samuel White & Co.[1] Having been disused by until 1984, the cricket ground and football grounds had been used for hay making, the tennis courts and bowling greens were in a state of disrepair, as was the pavilion.
[1] Hampshire returned there for a match in 1987 in aid of Malcolm Marshall's benefit,[2] though the game didn't carry first-class or List A status.