Sheffield Park is a

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 str ...

ground at the Sheffield Park estate, located near

Uckfield Uckfield () is a town in the Wealden District of East Sussex in South East England. The town is on the River Uck, one of the tributaries of the River Ouse, on the southern edge of the Weald. Etymology 'Uckfield', first recorded in writing as ...

, East Sussex, England. From 1881 to 1896 it was the home ground of Lord Sheffield's XI, organised by

Henry Holroyd, 3rd Earl of Sheffield Henry North Holroyd, 3rd Earl of Sheffield (18 January 1832 – 21 April 1909), styled Viscount Pevensey until 1876, was an English Conservative politician and patron of cricket. The Sheffield Shield is named after him. Life Born in Marylebone, L ...

, who in 1891 donated £150 to the

New South Wales Cricket Association Cricket NSW (officially known as the ''New South Wales Cricket Association'') is an Australian sporting association that administers cricket in New South Wales. It is based at the Sydney Olympic Park. The New South Wales Blues, the New South Wal ...

which was used to purchase a plate and establish the competition known as the

Sheffield Shield The Sheffield Shield (currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Marsh Sheffield Shield) is the domestic first-class cricket competition of Australia. The tournament is contested between teams from the six states of Australia. Sheffield Shi ...

. Cricket had been played at the ground for the previous 30 years before 1881, but these matches were unrecorded. The first recorded match on the ground was in 1881, when Lord Sheffield's XI played

Alfred Shaw Alfred Shaw (29 August 1842 – 16 January 1907) was an eminent Victorian cricketer and rugby footballer, who bowled the first ball in Test cricket and was the first to take five wickets in a Test innings (5/35). He made two trips to North Ameri ...

's XI, which was also the first first-class match on the ground. From 1881 to 1896, Lord Sheffield's XI played 9 first-class matches, the last of which came against the touring

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

. During this match, 25,000 people were allowed to watch the match for free; Lord Sheffield never charged for people to come and watch matches at the ground.Ground profile
/ref> Lord Sheffield had an octagonal

pavilion In architecture, ''pavilion'' has several meanings: * It may be a subsidiary building that is either positioned separately or as an attachment to a main building. Often it is associated with pleasure. In palaces and traditional mansions of Asia ...

constructed during 1881-1882, and later a separate ladies pavilion was built. Following Lord Sheffield's death in 1909, with him cricket largely died out at the estate. During

World War I 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 ground was requisitioned for farming, wiping out the cricket ground. Subsequently trees were planted on the site but most were blown down in the 1987 hurricane. In 2009, a new square was laid, a pavilion was built and the outfield was restored in its parkland setting. The reopening of the ground was celebrated with a match between an Old England XI and a Lord Sheffield Australian XI. Today, the restored ground is the home of the Armadillo Cricket Club.

References

External links

Sheffield Park
on CricketArchive

on Cricinfo {{coord, 50.996715, N, 0.023244, E, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title Cricket grounds in East Sussex Buildings and structures in East Sussex Cricket in East Sussex Sports venues in East Sussex Sports venues completed in 1845 1845 establishments in England