The Trent Bridge Inn is a

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 ...

West Bridgford West Bridgford is a town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Rushcliffe in the county of Nottinghamshire, England. It lies immediately south of the city of Nottingham, from which the River Trent divides it. Forming part of the Nott ...

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The

Trent Bridge Cricket Ground Trent Bridge Cricket Ground is a cricket ground mostly used for Test, One-Day International and county cricket located in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England, just across the River Trent from the city of Nottingham. Trent Bridge is also t ...

began in a field behind this pub, and the land was also the first home of the

Notts County Football Club Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League (division), National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 2 ...

. The pub is now operated by

Wetherspoons J D Wetherspoon plc (branded variously as Wetherspoon or Wetherspoons, and colloquially known as Spoons) is a pub company operating in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The company was founded in 1979 by Tim Martin and is based in Watford. It op ...

History

The Trent Bridge Inn in

existed before there was a cricket ground. It was located just outside the walls of the city of Nottingham where travellers could stay whilst they waited to enter the city the following morning. The inn was owned by the Musters family who owned land in West Bridgford. At the time because of a different boundary the inn was in Nottingham, there was no licensed property at all in West Bridgford. View of the Old Trent Bridge Inn in 1850

View of the Old Trent Bridge Inn in 1850

The inn was instrumental in creating the cricket ground which was set up in competition to the one owned by the town council. The first cricket match here was created by William Clarke in 1838 who was the captain of the Nottinghamshire cricket team. He had married Mary Chapman, the landlady of the Trent Bridge Inn, and they had arranged for the land behind the inn to be made available. (Generally land outside the city could not be built on until the law was changed in 1845). The Clarkes had the land cleared and a fence was erected. Matches were held here in preference to the former location within the city which had been used since 1835. The players were able to stay at the inn during the matches. The cricket matches did not attract large crowds and publican William Clarke experimented with other attractions. In 1845 Clarke decided to move to London to found the

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, ...

which became a nationally known touring cricket team. John Chapman who was Clarke's step son took over the management of the (pub and) ground for some time but he and his successor enjoyed no great success. 1861 saw the launch of the Easter Colts Trials where 22 players were invited to take on the first eleven in competition. This match was arranged by a local solicitor, John Johnson, who since 1859 had reinvigorated the club organising a committee and a first brick pavilion. The new match attracted audiences to see who was the best combined batter and bowler and of the first 22 contestants, seven went on to play first class cricket for Nottinghamshire.

Richard Daft Richard Daft (2 November 1835 – 18 July 1900) was an English cricketer. He was one of the best batsmen of his day, the peak of his first-class career (which lasted from 1858 to 1891) being the 1860s and early 1870s. Life and career Born ...

was a well known cricketer at

Trent Bridge Trent Bridge Cricket Ground is a cricket ground mostly used for Test, One-Day International and county cricket located in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England, just across the River Trent from the city of Nottingham. Trent Bridge is also t ...

and he ran the inn at one time as he was a partner in the Radcliffe Brewery. He is remembered for captaining the club for ten years but he died a bankrupt in 1900. In 1883 the nearby land was also used by the

who created a ground on the eastern side. However, by 1895 they were to move grounds regularly until they found their current home in 1910. At the end of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

the Musters family sold the Inn and the ground to the cricket club. The club only briefly owned the inn as they resold it to a brewery for a sum in excess of the money they had paid to the Musters. However the Inn was given the right to supply food to the ground in perpetuity. The pub was bought by Wetherspoons and a sum of 3 million pounds was spent in a refurbishment. It re-opened on 24 May 2011 and features four bars.

Notable features

On the outside of the building is a bench mark which records the pub's precise location.Flush Bracket S8785
bench-marks.org, accessed April 2013

References

External links and sources

The Trent Bridge Inn, Nottingham
at

J D Wetherspoon J D Wetherspoon plc (branded variously as Wetherspoon or Wetherspoons, and colloquially known as Spoons) is a pub company operating in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The company was founded in 1979 by Tim Martin and is based in Watford. It op ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trent Bridge Inn Pubs in Nottinghamshire Buildings and structures in Nottinghamshire Tourist attractions in Nottinghamshire West Bridgford