Bromley Common
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bromley Common (grid reference TQ420670) is the area centered at the road of the same name stretching between Masons Hill at the south end of Bromley and Hastings Road, Locksbottom. The area borders on other suburbs of the London Borough of Bromley such as Petts Wood and Orpington.
Although mostly used as a vehicular thoroughfare, the surrounding area does boast Chatterton Road, home to an intriguing range of charity shops, Liddon Road, and the newly opened Bishop Justus Church of England (secondary) School.
[edit] Cricket venue
The first definite mention of the Bromley area in a cricket connection is a 1735 match on Bromley Common between Kent and London Cricket Club. Kent won by 10 wickets after scoring 97 and 9-0 in reply to London's 73 and 32.
The report of this match states that a large crowd attended and a great deal of mischief was done. It seems that horses panicked and riders were thrown while some members of the crowd were rode over. One man was carried off for dead as HRH passed by at the entrance to the Common. "HRH" was Frederick, Prince of Wales who was a keen patron of cricket.
The common was used for major cricket matches on at least dozen occasions between 1735 and 1752, a period which coincided with Bromley Cricket Club having one of the strongest teams in England during the career of Robert Colchin.
The last major match known to have been played there was Bromley v London on 30 June 1752. It was drawn.
English cricket venues in the 18th century |
Artillery Ground | Bishopsbourne Paddock | Broadhalfpenny Down | Bromley Common | Dartford Brent | Duppas Hill |
[edit] References
- Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians - various publications
- At the Sign of the Wicket: Cricket 1742 – 1751 by F S Ashley-Cooper in Cricket Magazine (1900) (ASW)
- Cricket Scores 1730 - 1773 by H T Waghorn (WCS)
- Fresh Light on 18th Century Cricket by G B Buckley (FL18)
- Fresh Light on Pre-Victorian Cricket by G B Buckley (FLPV)
- Kent Cricket Matches by F S Ashley-Cooper (KCM)
- The Dawn of Cricket by H T Waghorn (WDC)