The start of the year looked bleak with a grand sum of £5 13s 0d in the bank and £9 13s 9d in hand. The Treasurer was concerned and suggested several fund raising ventures. The Secretary expressed concern with the difficulty of signing cheques due to the infrequent attendance of the Treasurer at the Club, then without delay the Treasurer resigned. With economy in mind the telephone service was disconnected. 

The Romford & District Lawn Tennis League was formed.

The power of the Committee in these times was unquestionable. They decided that the standard of play of an existing lady member was considered too low to justify continued membership; the Secretary was instructed to write, as tactfully as possible, informing her of the Committee’s decision not to permit her to rejoin. 

Investigations into obtaining a Nissen or similar type hut for the purpose of table tennis and other recreation was sought but the expense was too much and the idea was dropped. 

The Hornchurch & Upminster Tournaments Committee started up a junior section of the event. 

The Club's junior section seemed to be thriving, with only a membership of 24, there were a further 24 applicants on the waiting list.

A Club bar was established with its control in the hands of a ‘Wines Committee’. The bar itself was initially a temporary structure, being a counter loaned from Watneys, for the summer months, and if successful to be made more permanent. The only formalities were to register with the Clerk to the Local Justices and to alter the rules to comply with the requirements of the local licensing authority. The official opening of the bar was arranged on the 2^nd June with suitable entertainment laid on. 

With the installation of the bar came the question as to whether table tennis would be permitted during the winter months but it was decided that the bar would be dismantled at the end of the summer to allow table tennis to be played. 

The Townswomens Guild decided that the Club was too far from the centre of Upminster and therefore would not be renewing the hire of the pavilion any more on Wednesdays. 

The Mens 1^st team were triumphant in the Essex Junior Cup for the first time with the 2^nd team reaching the final in the 'B' division of the same competition.

Arrangements to purchase the freehold of the Club property were still ongoing. The latest proposal was by means of a £1400 mortgage from Mr Palmer repayable at an interest rate of 4% per annum, over a period of 16 years. 

The Club held its first fete in the Rectory grounds of St Lawrence Church, which was a major success with a profit in the region of £60 and an offer of the use of the gardens again if desired. 

From the rather discouraging financial outlook of the last few years, this had turned out to be the most successful year since the war. The success had not been confined to finance alone but a bazaar, jumble sale, fete, barbecue and all the dances had all played their part.

The junior section was getting a little out of hand, not with their playing abilities, but with their activities within the clubhouse. Following previous minor damage and a warning, some damage was inflicted on the pavilion wall which was apparently caused by a non-member. This resulted in a fine of £1 to cover repairs and restricted access for junior members, allowing changing purposes only. 

An extension to the pavilion was made to cater for the bar in order to alleviate the need for the temporary installation. The finance for this came from bar profit and amounted to £32 9s 6d.

The Glebe Tennis Club was disbanding and an effort was made to recruit some of their members. 

Following an approach in 1958 from the Grove Cricket Club, it was agreed they could use the Club name, pavilion and have a practice wicket installed on the grounds. In return they paid the Club £10 per year and 5shillings per member as a non-playing membership fee. The practice wicket was laid diagonally across where court 6 now stands. 

With the introduction of the cricketers came a problem. Complaints were received that late night drinking was taking place, for which the cricketers were warned but contested the fact. However, their drinking habits resulted in the Cricket Club being granted a third of the bar net profit, due to the fact that most of the profits were obtained as a result of their efforts. 

In September the Club was formed into a Limited Company, known as 'Cranston Park Tennis & Social Club Limited' with the share capital of the Company as £100, divided into 100 shares of £1 each. There were four Directors, Mr R Anderson and Mr A Lee who were the only two shareholders, each with one share, along with Mr P Cracknell and Mr S Hubbard.

Although it was back in 1957 that the purchase of the Club grounds was authorised by members, it had taken until now to finalise all arrangements and sign the appropriate documentation. The agreement was “In consideration of the sum of £2520 paid by Cranston Park Tennis & Social Club Limited, the vendor Mr A E Palmer, conveyed the parcel of land stated as situate at the rear of Coniston Avenue and being part of the Cranston Park Estate, together with the rights of way leading from Brackendale Gardens and Coniston Avenue to the Club”. Finance for the acquisition was made possible with an £1800 mortgage arranged with the vendor. 

The addition of a shower block to the mens changing room was a project started this year. Having been first investigated and proposed in August 1959, the brickwork was completed in April, the roof fitted by June, then the plumber was not available to complete the work. This shower block is now the only part of the old clubhouse still standing and in use as a storage shed. 

The Mens team won the Essex Intermediate Cup for the first time.

The Club entered the Essex Senior League. 

At the beginning of the year the showers still had not been completed. An effort was made to get a plumber and by August the showers were finished. Interestingly these showers became a communal facility as the Club could not afford to build showers onto the ladies changing room at this time. 

It was deemed that the pavilion would not be used as a communal meeting hall and that the playing of cards should be banned. Gambling appeared to have taken over from the more sedate evenings of a decade earlier. 

The membership stood at about 45 Full Playing, 8 Midweek, 40 Juniors and 20 Cricketers.

It was decided that the junior section should be completely reformed, with the numbers being cut down and the formation of a younger section. 

There became the need to look at further ways to raise some funds to pay for resurfacing of the courts, with the preference to change the colour of the surface from grey to red. Once again a membership recruitment drive was a suggestion with an option of taking any standard of player.

The Club entered a team in the newly formed ladies section of the Essex League. 

A request came from the Essex Electricity Authority to lease or buy a piece of land 17x15 feet for a sub-station. The sale of the piece of land was agreed at £250 with the Electricity Authority also providing a new set of double gates to the Brackendale Gardens entrance. 

The junior section was in trouble again later in the year. Owing to the damaged condition in which the pavilion was found, it was agreed that junior activities should be suspended until the following season.

The electricity sub-station was completed with the proceeds of the sale being set against the mortgage. 

Horses were now being kept in the grounds. It was questioned as to whether they should be there in view of the mortgage conditions and would the Club be covered by insurance if they should cause any damage. Someone was also using the car park as storage for their Armstrong Siddeley car, which the owner eventually removed. 

The Ladies team won the Essex Junior Cup and the Essex League division 2.

The Club President of many years, Mr J P Mansell died. Mr Mansell was a founder member of the Club and a very active member of the Committee. He had also been a representative on the Essex County Committee. 

The Club Tournament had got out of hand this season resulting in there being no finals day. Each event had to be concluded as and when possible.

The financial position was reasonably good but it was apparent that subscriptions were too low to meet the normal running expenses. 

Interest in the junior section had improved along with behaviour and playing standards, therefore annual membership was restored. The 1963 decision to confine activities to the summer season only was rescinded. 

There were requests from two adjacent residents for right of way through the Club grounds, one for access to a garage, the other to a garden for a caravan. These were agreed at a nominal fee of 1shilling per year. 

The grounds had become tided up mainly as a result of the horses receiving their marching orders.

As a result of the clean up of the grounds, a grass tennis court was set out. 

For some time there had been talk of paying off the balance of the mortgage to purchase the ground. Since taking on the mortgage in 1959, annual instalments of £120 had been paid plus an extra instalment on the sale of land to the Electricity Board. At the end of the year the balance due was £600.

Article from The Echo - Spotlight on Cranston Park

The settlement of the mortgage was finalised, with the outstanding amount of £600 repaid to Mr Palmer and the deeds released to the Club. This considerably reduced the Club’s balance of cash. 

Junior teams were entered in the newly formed Romford & District Junior League for U16s along with teams from Grosvenor, West Horndon and Gidea Park. 

Mr M Vine was elected Mens Captain, a post he would hold for some time. 

The gas operated showers were condemned as unsafe, so were put ‘Out of Order’. An electric shower, operated through a slot meter, was installed as a replacement.

Car Rally gathering in the grounds 1969