WORCESTERSHIRE are converting their 1865 Lounge into a coffee house which will be open to the public all year round but exclusively to members and supporters on match days.

The new facility - ‘Foley’s’ - will be named in honour of Paul Foley who had a huge role to play as club secretary in Worcestershire’s formative years at the end of the 19th century.

Foley co-founded the Minor Counties Championship in 1895 and which was then won by Worcestershire for the next four seasons.

He then played a significant role in the County earning a place in the County Championship in 1899.

Foley was responsible for bringing in a 23-year-old Berkshire groundsman called Fred Hunt who transformed New Road from a sheep pasture into the ground it is renowned for throughout the world today.

County chief executive Tom Scott is confident the current renovation work will be completed in time for the new venture to open from April 4 and provide another 365 days a year arm to the club which is vital for the County’s longer term sustainability.

The Perks Room is to be converted into a corporate box to provide more much needed income for the club.