National Centre at Crystal Palace becoming the principal athletics facility, was converted in 1983 for cricket, archery and indoor bowls In 1985 the King George Hall and the pitted area became the permanent home for British gymnastics In 1986 the Football Association took over the gymnasium for use as the International Sports Medicine Institute and Rehabilitation Centre Wenlock Hall was opened in 1986, a multi-purpose sports facility, incorporating the William Morgan Development Centre for International Volleyball. The Hall was named after the town of Much Wenlock, where it is believed the idea of the modern day Olympic Games was conceived and where the Wenlock Games are still held annually to this day The UK's first Human Performance Centre opened in 1988 Ford Hall, originally a stable block and then converted by Henry Hall into a ballroom, is now used for table tennis and martial arts The centre also possesses: floodlit playing field Six-lane flat green bowling green Two floodlit water-based artificial grass pitches, one is a hockey pitch with the Olympic surface used in Beijing and London 2012, the other a multi-sports pitch. A state of the art outdoor archery range Five squash courts (two glass backed) The Football Association The Football Association's School of Excellence was established at Lilleshall in 1984 and closed in the summer of 1999. During the mid-1980s to mid-1990s the England Team often trained at the centre, however, today most Premiership football clubs have now established their own centres of excellence based on the Lilleshall model. The school came in for some criticism due to its centralist and perceived anti-club agenda but its star pupils included future England internationals Jermain Defoe, Michael Ball, Michael Owen, Joe Cole, Scott Parker, Sol Campbell, Jamie Carragher, Wes Brown, Nick Barmby, Leon Osman, Andrew Cole and Ian Walker. See also Grade II* listed buildings in Shropshire Council (H–Z) Listed buildings in Sheriffhales References External links Lilleshall Hall website Lilleshall Hall Golf Club website Lilleshall Hall Bowls Club Detailed historical record of Lilleshall Abbey Lilleshall Discovery Trail - A 2.5 mile (4km) circular walk around the beautiful gardens and grounds of Lilleshall National Sports and Conferencing Centre Sports venues in Shropshire Country houses in Shropshire Sport in England Football academies in England Grade II* listed buildings in Shropshire ! Sports academies Jeffry Wyatville buildings Gymnastics in the United Kingdom