Clifton College Close is a

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 ...

venue in

Clifton College ''The spirit nourishes within'' , established = 160 years ago , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent boarding and day school , religion = Christian , president = , head_label = Head of College , head ...

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, which was used by

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

for 96 first-class matches between 1871 and 1932.CricketArchive – First-class matches on Clifton College Close. Retrieved on 11 March 2013.
/ref> It is first recorded as a cricket venue in 1860 and remains in use for local matches. The Close witnessed 13 of

W. G. Grace William Gilbert Grace (18 July 1848 – 23 October 1915) was an English Amateur status in first-class cricket, amateur cricketer who was important in the development of the sport and is widely considered one of its greatest players. He played ...

's first-class hundreds for Gloucestershire in the County Championship. Grace's children attended the college. The Close featured in a well-known poem by O.C. Sir

Henry Newbolt Sir Henry John Newbolt, CH (6 June 1862 – 19 April 1938) was an English poet, novelist and historian. He also had a role as a government adviser with regard to the study of English in England. He is perhaps best remembered for his poems "Vit ...

– Vitaї Lampada ("There's a breathless hush in the Close to-night")

References

Cricket grounds in Bristol Sports venues completed in 1860 Clifton, Bristol {{England-cricket-ground-stub