White Conduit Fields
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White Conduit Fields in Islington was an early venue of cricket and was the original home of the White Conduit Club, forerunner of MCC.
The earliest match known to have been played at White Conduit Fields was the controversial encounter on 1 September 1718 between London Cricket Club and the so-called Rochester Punch Club. This game provoked a legal case when the Rochester players walked off in an attempt to save their stake money, London clearly winning at the time. The case focused on the terms of the wager rather than the rules of the sport and the judge ordered the game to be played out. It was concluded in July 1719 and London won by 21 runs.
White Conduit was used for a few more years until the London cricketers began to use Kennington Common and the Artillery Ground. The venue then fell into disuse for many years until the formation of the White Conduit Club around 1780. After the WCC members, through the offices of Thomas Lord, moved to the new Lord's ground at Marylebone in 1787, White Conduit Fields was abandoned.
The venue has long since disappeared under the spread of urban development but it was long supposed to have been in the vicinity of King's Cross railway station. Some recent (2005) research has attempted to discover its whereabouts.
| English cricket venues in the 18th century |
|
Artillery Ground | Bishopsbourne Paddock | Broadhalfpenny Down | Bromley Common | Dartford Brent | Duppas Hill |
