Windmill Down is a rural location near the town of
Hambledon in
Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...
. From 1782 to 1795, it was the home of the
Hambledon Club
The Hambledon Club was a social club that is famous for its organisation of 18th century cricket matches. By the late 1770s it was the foremost cricket club in England.
Foundation
The origin of the club, based near Hambledon in rural Hampshire, ...
as a noted
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 ...
venue.
Hambledon used
Broadhalfpenny Down
Broadhalfpenny Down (pronounced /ˌbrɔ:dˈheɪpniː/; '' brawd-HAYP-nee'') is a historic cricket ground in Hambledon, Hampshire. It is known as the "Cradle of Cricket" because it was the home venue in the 18th century of the Hambledon Club, b ...
from at least 1753 until 1781 when it was abandoned for being "too remote". Broadhalfpenny is about two miles from the village whereas Windmill Down is adjacent, although Broadhalfpenny had a pub immediately opposite (the famous
Bat and Ball Inn
The Bat & Ball Inn is a historic eighteenth-century pub near Clanfield, Hampshire, England. The earliest widely accepted written rules for the game of cricket were drafted at the pub.
History
The pub is situated opposite the Broadhalfpenny Down ...
) but Windmill Down did not.
Ashley Mote
Ashley Mote (25 January 1936 – 30 March 2020) was a former Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for South East England from 2004 to 2009. Elected representing the UK Independence Party, he became a non-inscrit one month into his term after ...
, ''The Glory Days of Cricket'', Robson, 1997
On Tuesday 18 June 1782, the ''Hampshire Chronicle'' reported the first meeting on Windmill Down, referring to the ground as "a field called the New Broad Halfpenny adjoining to the Town of Hambledon".
G B Buckley
George Bent Buckley (1885 – 26 April 1962) was an English surgeon and a celebrated cricket historian and an authority on the early days of the game.
Buckley was born in Saddleworth, Yorkshire, the son of Arthur and Jane Buckley, his fath ...
, ''Fresh Light on 18th Century Cricket'', Cotterell, 1935 It is probable but unconfirmed that the first match was played there a week later. The first definite
first-class cricket
First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...
match was
Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...
v
All-England
The All England Open Badminton Championships is the world's oldest badminton tournament, held annually in England. With the introduction of the Badminton World Federation, BWF's latest grading system, it was given BWF Super Series, Super Series st ...
in August 1782, All-England winning by 147 runs.
[
Windmill Down was used regularly as the home venue for Hampshire matches until July 1795 when the last recorded match took place there.]Arthur Haygarth
Arthur Haygarth (4 August 1825 – 1 May 1903) was a noted amateur cricketer who became one of cricket's most significant historians. He played first-class cricket for the Marylebone Cricket Club and Sussex between 1844 and 1861, as well as num ...
, ''Scores & Biographies'', Volume 1 (1744-1826), Lillywhite, 1862
References
Further reading
* G B Buckley
George Bent Buckley (1885 – 26 April 1962) was an English surgeon and a celebrated cricket historian and an authority on the early days of the game.
Buckley was born in Saddleworth, Yorkshire, the son of Arthur and Jane Buckley, his fath ...
, ''Fresh Light on 18th Century Cricket'', Cotterell, 1935
* Arthur Haygarth
Arthur Haygarth (4 August 1825 – 1 May 1903) was a noted amateur cricketer who became one of cricket's most significant historians. He played first-class cricket for the Marylebone Cricket Club and Sussex between 1844 and 1861, as well as num ...
, ''Scores & Biographies, Volume 1 (1744-1826)'', Lillywhite, 1862
* Ashley Mote
Ashley Mote (25 January 1936 – 30 March 2020) was a former Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for South East England from 2004 to 2009. Elected representing the UK Independence Party, he became a non-inscrit one month into his term after ...
, ''The Glory Days of Cricket'', Robson, 1997
* Ashley Mote
Ashley Mote (25 January 1936 – 30 March 2020) was a former Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for South East England from 2004 to 2009. Elected representing the UK Independence Party, he became a non-inscrit one month into his term after ...
, ''John Nyren's "The Cricketers of my Time"'', Robson, 1998
* H T Waghorn
Henry Thomas Waghorn (11 April 1842 – 30 January 1930), was a cricket statistician and historian. He is best known for his two classic researches into cricket's early history: ''The Dawn of Cricket'' and Cricket Scores, Notes, etc. (1730 - 1773 ...
, ''The Dawn of Cricket'', Electric Press, 1906
1782 establishments in England
Cricket grounds in Hampshire
Cricket in Hampshire
Defunct cricket grounds in England
Defunct sports venues in Hampshire
English cricket venues in the 18th century
Hampshire
Hills of Hampshire
History of Hampshire
Sport in Hampshire
Sports venues completed in 1782
Sports venues in Hampshire
{{England-cricket-ground-stub