Holt Pound
Encyclopedia
Holt Pound at Wrecclesham
, near Farnham
, Surrey
was one of the chief cricket grounds in Surrey. It was used as a major cricket venue for 3 first-class
matches between 1791 and 1809 as well as for a number of minor matches.
It is the home venue of Farnham Cricket Club which played a number of noted matches in the 1780s when club members included William Beldham and John Wells
; these games were just below first-class standard.
After Farnham left the ground, to take up residence at a pitch created near the moat of Farnham Castle, thanks to a past Bishop of Winchester, who wished to tidy up part of the Farnham Park, the ground was made available to other clubs and the local population to play cricket.
An anonymous writer in 1862 wrote that the residents of Wrecclesham, a small community that was supposedly 'riddled with drunkenness and vice', would play there every Sunday. They would play for a 'pint or a pot', meaning that the winners would be rewarded with pints of beer paid for by the losing side.
There is a record of Rowledge Cricket Club playing there that appears in 1886 with a match at recorded against Tilford. Until 1914 the club played its home matches at the Holt Pound ground. Furthermore, the local Wrecclesham village teams also went on to play all of their home fixtures there, from their inception in 1901 until 1922.
When the cricket teams returned to play after the First World War, the ground was in a terrible state. According to one player at the time 'Ponies were allowed to graze there, we often had to take a shovel to the pitch before we could start a match'. Unsurprisingly, Wrecclesham left a couple of years later, when a pitch became in available within the grounds of Runwick House.
Wrecclesham
Wrecclesham is a village on the outskirts of Farnham in Waverley a borough of the county of Surrey, England.Farnham Pottery is located here, as is the Wrecclesham recreation ground which caters for the local cricket, football, rugby and tennis clubs and it is where Jonny Wilkinson and Graham Thorpe...
, near Farnham
Farnham
Farnham is a town in Surrey, England, within the Borough of Waverley. The town is situated some 42 miles southwest of London in the extreme west of Surrey, adjacent to the border with Hampshire...
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
was one of the chief cricket grounds in Surrey. It was used as a major cricket venue for 3 first-class
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
matches between 1791 and 1809 as well as for a number of minor matches.
It is the home venue of Farnham Cricket Club which played a number of noted matches in the 1780s when club members included William Beldham and John Wells
John Wells (cricketer)
John Wells was a famous English cricketer who played for Surrey.-Career:...
; these games were just below first-class standard.
History
The ground itself was known as the Oval - after which the currently better known venue was named. Many important Surrey games of the period were contested at Holt Pound including, in 1808, when Surrey beat all England by 66 runs.After Farnham left the ground, to take up residence at a pitch created near the moat of Farnham Castle, thanks to a past Bishop of Winchester, who wished to tidy up part of the Farnham Park, the ground was made available to other clubs and the local population to play cricket.
An anonymous writer in 1862 wrote that the residents of Wrecclesham, a small community that was supposedly 'riddled with drunkenness and vice', would play there every Sunday. They would play for a 'pint or a pot', meaning that the winners would be rewarded with pints of beer paid for by the losing side.
There is a record of Rowledge Cricket Club playing there that appears in 1886 with a match at recorded against Tilford. Until 1914 the club played its home matches at the Holt Pound ground. Furthermore, the local Wrecclesham village teams also went on to play all of their home fixtures there, from their inception in 1901 until 1922.
When the cricket teams returned to play after the First World War, the ground was in a terrible state. According to one player at the time 'Ponies were allowed to graze there, we often had to take a shovel to the pitch before we could start a match'. Unsurprisingly, Wrecclesham left a couple of years later, when a pitch became in available within the grounds of Runwick House.