The Montpelier Cricket Club was prominent in English

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 ...

from about 1796, when it began to compete against

Marylebone Cricket Club Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influence ...

and other leading "town clubs", until 1845 when its members were the prime movers in the formation of

Surrey County Cricket Club Surrey County Cricket Club (Surrey CCC) is a first-class club in county cricket, one of eighteen in the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Surrey, including areas that now form South London ...

. The club was based at

Aram's New Ground Aram's New Ground was a cricket venue in Montpelier Gardens, Walworth. Named after its founder George Aram, it was the home of Montpelier Cricket Club and hosted major matches from 1796 to 1806. It was also known as the "Bee Hive Ground" because o ...

in Montpelier Gardens,

Walworth Walworth () is a district of south London, England, within the London Borough of Southwark. It adjoins Camberwell to the south and Elephant and Castle to the north, and is south-east of Charing Cross. Major streets in Walworth include the Old ...

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. ...

. It was also known as the "Bee Hive Ground" because of its proximity to the ''Bee Hive''

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

in Walworth. The Montpelier club acted through one of its presidents, a Mr William Houghton of Brixton Hill, to obtain a suitable venue for the proposed Surrey county club. In 1845, Houghton obtained a lease from the Duchy of Cornwall of land in

Kennington Kennington is a district in south London, England. It is mainly within the London Borough of Lambeth, running along the boundary with the London Borough of Southwark, a boundary which can be discerned from the early medieval period between the ...

. The initial lease was for 31 years at £120 per annum. Whereas

Lord's Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and ...

had formerly been a duckpond,

The Oval The Oval, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club since ...

had previously been a cabbage patch and market garden, requiring considerable work to convert the land. The original turf cost £300 and some 10,000 turfs from Tooting Common were laid in March 1845. Surrey County Cricket Club was founded on the evening of 22 August 1845 at the Horns Tavern in south London, where around 100 representatives of various cricket clubs in Surrey agreed a motion put by

William Denison Sir William Thomas Denison (3 May 1804 – 19 January 1871) was Lieutenant Governor of Van Diemen's Land from 1847 to 1855, Governor of New South Wales from 1855 to 1861, and Governor of Madras from 1861 to 1866. According to Percival Se ...

(the club's first Secretary) "that a Surrey club be now formed". A further meeting at the Tavern on 18 October 1845 formally constituted the club, appointed officers and began enrolling members. Seventy Montpelier members formed the nucleus of the new county club. The Honourable Fred Ponsonby, later the Earl of Bessborough, was the first vice-president.

Bibliography

* Philip Paine, ''The Montpelier Cricket Club: Predecessor of Surrey County Cricket Club'', Mischief Makers, 2010,

References

External sources

Vauxhall Society – The Oval
Former senior cricket clubs English cricket teams in the 18th century English cricket in the 19th century Sports clubs established in the 1790s History of Surrey Cricket in Surrey Club cricket teams in England {{cricket-team-stub