Tothill Fields was an area of

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...

in the county of

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

that lay south of

St James's Park St James's Park is a park in the City of Westminster, central London. It is at the southernmost tip of the St James's area, which was named after a leper hospital dedicated to St James the Less. It is the most easterly of a near-continuous ch ...

on the north bank of the

river Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

. One of its main features was the

Tothill Fields Bridewell Tothill Fields Bridewell (also known as Tothill Fields Prison and Westminster Bridewell) was a prison located in the Westminster area of central London between 1618 and 1884. It was named "Bridewell" after the Bridewell Palace, which during the ...

penitentiary A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correcti ...

. Between 1735 and 1752, it was the home venue of the Westminster Cricket Club. The earliest known match there was in August 1735, when Westminster defeated

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

by 3

wicket In cricket, the term wicket has several meanings: * It is one of the two sets of three stumps and two bails at either end of the pitch. The fielding team's players can hit the wicket with the ball in a number of ways to get a batsman out. ...

s. Records have survived of two Westminster matches there in 1752, both against Addington. The result of the first is unknown and Westminster won the second by 10 runs.Buckley, pp.29–30. Old and new London ; Wellcome L0000066

References

External links

* 1735 establishments in England Cricket grounds in Middlesex Cricket in Middlesex Defunct cricket grounds in England Defunct sports venues in London English cricket venues in the 18th century History of Middlesex Middlesex Sport in London Sports venues completed in 1735 Sports venues in London City of Westminster {{England-cricket-ground-stub