Chislehurst Common is an open space in

Chislehurst Chislehurst () is a suburban district of south-east London, England, in the London Borough of Bromley. It lies east of Bromley, south-west of Sidcup and north-west of Orpington, south-east of Charing Cross. Before the creation of Greater L ...

in the

London Borough of Bromley The London Borough of Bromley () is the southeasternmost of the London boroughs that make up Greater London, bordering the ceremonial county of Kent, which most of Bromley was part of before 1965. The borough's population is an estimated 332,3 ...

in south-east London. It is jointly managed with St Paul's Cray Common. The common was used for

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

matches in the 18th century. It was the home venue of

Chislehurst Cricket Club Chislehurst Cricket Club is based in Chislehurst, Kent. Historically the club played several top-class matches in the 18th century. Its home venue was at Chislehurst Common. History Chislehurst is first recorded in July 1738 when it played London ...

which played several known matches against

London Cricket Club The original London Cricket Club was formed in 1722 and was one of the foremost clubs in English cricket over the next four decades, holding important match status. It is closely associated with the Artillery Ground, where it played most of i ...

from 1738 to 1741. Cricket is still played on Chislehurst Common as the

Chislehurst and West Kent Cricket Club Chislehurst Cricket Club is based in Chislehurst, Kent. Historically the club played several top-class matches in the 18th century. Its home venue was at Chislehurst Common. History Chislehurst is first recorded in July 1738 when it played London ...

has its ground in the south-west corner of the common on Cricket Ground Road.

Cricket venue

The earliest known use of Chislehurst Common for top-class cricket was in July 1738 when Chislehurst played London in a game that "turned several times" until finally being won by London.

H T Waghorn Henry Thomas Waghorn (11 April 1842 – 30 January 1930), was a cricket statistician and historian. He is best known for his two classic researches into cricket's early history: ''The Dawn of Cricket'' and Cricket Scores, Notes, etc. (1730 - 1773 ...

, ''Cricket Scores, Notes, etc. (1730-1773)'', p.20. The venue was subsequently used in June 1740 for another Chislehurst v. London match, again won by London.Waghorn, ''Op. cit.'', p.23. It was the intended venue for a Kent side to play London match on 26 June 1741 that was rained off. The Chislehurst club declined after 1741. The Common was used in 1752 when a Kent side played a Surrey team although it was used occasionally for cricket during the 19th and 20th centuries.Chislehurst Common, Chislehurst
CricketArchive. Retrieved 2020-12-18.

References

External links

Chislehurst and St Paul's Cray Commons
{{coord, 51.409, N, 0.066, E, type:landmark, display=title 1738 establishments in England Cricket grounds in Kent Defunct cricket grounds in England Defunct sports venues in Kent English cricket venues in the 18th century History of Kent Parks and open spaces in the London Borough of Bromley Sports venues completed in 1738