Windmill Down
Encyclopedia
Windmill Down is a rural location near the town of Hambledon
in Hampshire
. It was used as a venue for major cricket matches in the 18th century and from 1782 as the home of the Hambledon Club
.
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. Oddly enough, Broadhalfpenny had a good pub immediately opposite (the famous Bat and Ball Inn) but Windmill Down did not!
v All-England
in August 1782, All-England winning by 147 runs .
Hambledon, Hampshire
Hambledon is a small village and civil parish in the county of Hampshire in England, situated about north of Portsmouth.Hambledon is best known as the 'Cradle of Cricket'. It is thought that Hambledon Club, one of the oldest cricket clubs known, was formed about 1750...
in Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
. It was used as a venue for major cricket matches in the 18th century and from 1782 as the home of the Hambledon Club
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:...
.
Opening of Windmill Down
Hambledon used Broadhalfpenny DownBroadhalfpenny Down
Broadhalfpenny Down, situated on a hilltop about a mile from the rural village of Hambledon in Hampshire, was the home venue for first-class cricket matches of the Hambledon Club from 1753 to 1781...
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. Oddly enough, Broadhalfpenny had a good pub immediately opposite (the famous Bat and Ball Inn) but Windmill Down did not!
Major cricket venue
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" . It is probable but unconfirmed that the first match was played there a week later. The first definite major match was HampshireHampshire county cricket teams
Hampshire county cricket teams have been traced back to the 18th century but the county's involvement in cricket goes back much further than that...
v All-England
All-England Eleven
In cricket, the term All-England has been used for various non-international teams that have been formed for short-term purposes since the 1739 English cricket season and it indicates that the "Rest of England" is playing against, say, MCC or an individual county team...
in August 1782, All-England winning by 147 runs .
Last match
Windmill Down was used regularly as the home venue for Hampshire matches until July 1795 when the last recorded match took place there .External sources
- From Lads to Lord's; The History of Cricket: 1300 – 1787
- CricketArchive – major cricket matches at Windmill Down
Further reading
- G B Buckley, Fresh Light on 18th Century Cricket, Cotterell, 1935
- Arthur HaygarthArthur HaygarthArthur Haygarth was a noted amateur cricketer who became one of cricket's most significant historians....
, Scores & Biographies, Volume 1 (1744-1826), Lillywhite, 1862 - Ashley MoteAshley MoteAshley Mote was a non-inscrit Member of the European Parliament for South East England. An outspoken critic of fraud in the European Institutions, he himself was convicted of benefit fraud in 2007 for which he served a nine-month prison sentence and was described by the trial judge as "a truly...
, The Glory Days of Cricket, Robson, 1997 - Ashley MoteAshley MoteAshley Mote was a non-inscrit Member of the European Parliament for South East England. An outspoken critic of fraud in the European Institutions, he himself was convicted of benefit fraud in 2007 for which he served a nine-month prison sentence and was described by the trial judge as "a truly...
, John Nyren's "The Cricketers of my Time", Robson, 1998 - H T WaghornH T WaghornHenry Thomas Waghorn , 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: 1730 - 1773....
, The Dawn of Cricket, Electric Press, 1906