Foxgrove Road, Beckenham is a sports ground in Beckenham in the London Borough of Bromley. The ground is home to Beckenham Cricket Club, a multi-sports club, and has been used as a first-class cricket venue and hosted the Kent Championships, a tennis tournament held annually in the run-up to the Wimbledon Championships. It was also the ground used for the University Hockey Match between Oxford and Cambridge universities. The ground remains in use for cricket and tennis as well as for football, netball and squash and acting as a base for road running.Other sections
Beckenham Cricket Club. Retrieved 2016-09-10. The ground was part of Foxgrove Farm and was established by Beckenham Cricket Club in 1866.The International Tournament (1886–1996)
Beckenham Lawn Tennis Club. Retrieved 2016-09-10. It is on Foxgrove Road, around north-east of Beckenham town centre. The

A2015 road List of A roads in zone 2 in Great Britain starting south of the River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the ...

is to the west of the ground.Explorer Map 161 – London South (Westminster, Greenwich, Croydon, Esher & Twickenham), Ordnance Survey, 2015-09-16.

Cricketing history

Foxgrove Road was used by

Kent County Cricket Club Kent County Cricket Club is one of the eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Kent. A club representing the county was first founded in 1842 but Ke ...

for 14 first-class cricket matches between 1886 and 1905.First-class matches played on Foxgrove Road, Beckenham
CricketArchive. Retrieved 2016-09-10. Beckenham was part of Kent until 1965 and Kent used a number of grounds in what it describes as "Metropolitan Kent".Clifford J (2016) 'Welcome to the Kent County Ground, Beckenham' in ''Match Guide'', 2016-06-03. Canterbury:

.Grounds Records in ''Kent County Cricket Club Annual 2017'', pp.210–211. Canterbury:

. The club maintains a current base at the Kent County Cricket Ground, Beckenham from Foxgrove Road. The first first-class match at the ground was in July 1886 against

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, who were Kent's most frequent opponents at the ground. After a Players of the South v Players of the North fixture in 1887, Kent used the ground for a single match in most years until 1905 when Surrey were again their opponents. The touring South Africans played Kent at the ground in 1901 and a match against the

Gentlemen of Philadelphia The Philadelphian cricket team was a team that represented Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in first-class cricket between 1878 and 1913. Even with the United States having played the first ever international cricket match against Canada in 184 ...

was held in 1903. A number of low scores were recorded on the ground with ten all out totals of under 100.Foxgrove Road, Beckenham – Lowest Team Totals in first-class cricket
CricketArchive. Retrieved 2016-09-10. The ground was used for 17

Minor Counties Championship The NCCA 3 Day Championship (previously the Minor Counties Cricket Championship) is a season-long competition in England and Wales that is contested by the members of the National Counties Cricket Association (NCCA), the so-called national cou ...

matches by the Kent Second XI between 1911 and 1957.Minor Counties Championship matches played on Foxgrove Road, Beckenham
CricketArchive. Retrieved 2016-09-10. Surrey were again the most frequent opponents for Kent at the ground, playing six Minor Counties matches there, with Norfolk also playing four times at the ground. The ground remains in use by Beckenham Cricket Club who play in the Kent Cricket League.Ground
Beckenham Cricket Club. Retrieved 2016-09-10.

Primary Club

The Primary Club, which is open to cricketers who are out first ball of their innings, was formed at Beckenham Cricket Club in 1955.History
The Primary Club. Retrieved 2016-09-10.The Primary Club
Beckenham Cricket Club. Retrieved 2016-09-10. The club has grown into an international charity making annual donations in excess of £160,000 to a variety of schools and clubs for the blind and partially sighted. Their patron is former England, Kent and Beckenham cricketer Derek Underwood.

Records on the ground

A total of 15 first-class matches have been played on the ground, all but one featuring Kent as the home team.Foxgrove Road, Beckenham
CricketArchive. Retrieved 2017-11-26. *Highest total: 440 by

against Kent, 1886 *Lowest total: 35 by Nottinghamshire against Kent, 1889 *Highest partnership: 146, 1st wicket by CJ Burnup and EW Dillon, for Kent against Middlesex, 1902 *Highest individual score: 127 not out, JR Mason, for Kent against Nottinghamshire, 1896 *Best bowling in an innings: 8/23, GA Lohmann, for Surrey against Kent, 1888 *Best bowling in a match: 14/102, T Richardson, for Surrey against Kent, 1897

Tennis history

Tennis was first played at Foxgrove Road in 1879, originally on three grass courts, and the club is one of the oldest in the world to still be playing at its original location.The Summer Pavilion, Beckenham Tennis Club
List Entry Summary, Historic England. Retrieved 2016-09-10.Our history
Beckenham Lawn Tennis Club. Retrieved 2016-09-10. The ground has 18 courts, including six on grass and 12 on a variety of hard surfaces. The Summer Pavilion at the club, which was built as a Ladies Pavilion in 1896, has Grade II Listed building status. Foxgrove Road hosted a match in the

1922 International Lawn Tennis Challenge The 1922 International Lawn Tennis Challenge was the 17th edition of what is now known as the Davis Cup The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is conte ...

(the tournament which later became known as the

Davis Cup The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format. It is described by the organis ...

), with India beating Romania 5–0 at the ground in June.

Kent Championships

Foxgrove Road hosted the Kent Championships each June from 1886 to 1996. The tournament, also known as the Kent All-Comers' Championships, was held on grass courts laid out on the outfield of the cricket ground. The Championships were known as a "dress rehearsal for Wimbledon" and attracted major world players, with 33 winners of the tournament went on to win the Wimbledon Championships in the same year. It was the first tennis tournament to have a commercial sponsor and in 1968 the Championships were awarded Open status and hosted the world's first Open grass court tennis championship.

Hockey history

Foxgrove Road is the base of

Bromley & Beckenham Hockey Club Bromley & Beckenham Hockey Club is a field hockey club based at Foxgrove Road, Beckenham. It is a combination of two former London clubs Bromley and Beckenham. The club plays the majority of its fixtures at Langley Park School for Girls in Beckenham ...

, formed after a merger in 2005, although matches are played at other grounds in the area.Find us

. Retrieved 2016-09-10. The Men’s 1st XI play in the South Premier Hockey League and the Women's 1st XI in the East Premier Division. Foxgrove Road hosted the Oxford versus Cambridge varsity hockey match on 38 occasions from 1909 to 1957.Varsity Match – Past Venues
University Hockey Match. Retrieved 2017-11-26.

References

External links

Beckenham Cricket ClubBeckenham Lawn Tennis ClubBromley and Beckenham Hockey ClubThe Primary Club
{{Kent CCC Defunct cricket grounds in England Cricket grounds in Kent Cricket grounds in London Sport in the London Borough of Bromley Defunct sports venues in London Sports venues completed in 1886