Priory Park is a public park in

Chichester Chichester ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in the Chichester District, Chichester district of West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher ...

West Sussex West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Surrey to the north, East Sussex to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. The largest settlement is Cr ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, operated by Chichester District Council. It is situated in the north-east quadrant of Chichester City centre. The park is bordered by the medieval city walls to the north and east which are built upon the original Roman foundations. The park contains Chichester Castle and the Guildhall.

History

The poet and artist

William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake has become a seminal figure in the history of the Romantic poetry, poetry and visual art of the Roma ...

was tried in the guildhall located in the park The park has also played host to

county cricket Inter-county cricket matches have been played since the early 18th century, involving teams that are representative of the historic counties of England and Wales. Two county championship competitions have existed since the late 19th century at ...

matches, holding its first first-class match in 1852 (before the park itself was established) when

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

played an

All-England Eleven In English cricket since the first half of the 18th century, various ''ad hoc'' teams have been formed for short-term purposes which have been called England (or sometimes "All-England"; i.e., in the sense of "the rest of England") to play against ...

. In 1882 and 1886 the touring

Australians Australians, colloquially known as Aussies, are the citizenship, citizens, nationality, nationals and individuals associated with the country of Australia. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or ethno-cultural. For most Aust ...

played on the ground, although Sussex were not their opponents: they played Lord March's XI (owner of the nearby Goodwood Estate) and against a United Eleven. It was in the Australians' match against the United Eleven that the great

W.G. Grace William Gilbert Grace (18 July 1848 – 23 October 1915) was an English cricketer who is widely considered one of the sport's all-time greatest players. Always known by his initials as "WG", his first-class career spanned a record-equalling 4 ...

played on the ground. Having last played on the ground in 1852, Sussex returned there in 1906 playing a 1906

County Championship The County Championship, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Rothesay County Championship, is the only domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales. Established in 1890, it is organised by the England and Wales Cri ...

match against local rivals

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

. Sussex last played on the ground in 1950 against

Glamorgan Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the South Wales, south of Wales. Originally an ea ...

. In May 2017, two Roman town houses were found underneath the park using Ground penetrating radar equipment. One of the houses included a hot room and baths.

Present

Today the ground is used by Chichester Priory Park Cricket Club who play in the Sussex Cricket League Division Two. Chichester City Colts Under 9's football team play here too, it is affectionately known as 'The Fortress'

Gallery

File:Autumn in Priory Park (1) - geograph.org.uk - 1558861.jpg, Park in Autumn File:Bowling Green, Priory Park - geograph.org.uk - 984068.jpg, Bowling Green File:Guildhall and Priory Park in the snow, January 2010 - geograph.org.uk - 1729703.jpg, Park in snow File:North Walls in Priory Park - geograph.org.uk - 984056.jpg, North walls

References

External links

Priory Park Ground
on CricketArchive {{Sussex CCC Cricket grounds in West Sussex 1918 establishments in England Parks and open spaces in West Sussex Tourist attractions in Chichester Sports venues completed in 1852