Mr George Lawrence, a local businessman and philanthropist, gave the village a number of gifts in the 1930s, including tennis courts, a bowling green, a bandstand, an additional hall at the village War Memorial Hall, the laying out and equipping of a playing field, £5,000 towards the construction of a Methodist Chapel, and a swimming pool in 1936.

Mr Lawrence, along with eight of his workers, was tragically killed in the Sheffield Blitz after leaving the relative protection of his Hathersage house to see his staff at work. Although the tennis courts have been transformed into an all-purpose, all-weather recreational facility where other activities may be played alongside tennis, his contributions to the community have all survived.