The Artillery Ground in

Finsbury Finsbury is a district of Central London, forming the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Islington. It borders the City of London. The Manor of Finsbury is first recorded as ''Vinisbir'' (1231) and means "manor of a man called Finn ...

is an open space originally set aside for

archery Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In ...

and later known also as 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 st ...

venue. Today it is used for military exercises, cricket, rugby and football matches. It belongs to the Honourable Artillery Company (HAC), whose headquarters, Armoury House, overlook the grounds.

History

Origins

From 1498, about of the

Bunhill Fields Bunhill Fields is a former burial ground in central London, in the London Borough of Islington, just north of the City of London. What remains is about in extent and the bulk of the site is a public garden maintained by the City of London C ...

were set aside for the practice of

and shooting. Today's site was given to the Artillery Company in 1638.

Cricket

Although the earliest definite cricket match at the Artillery Ground, between

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...

, took place in August 1730, it is believed to have been used to host matches as early as 1725. London used the ground regularly, as did England XIs throughout much of the 18th century.Artillery Ground

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. Retrieved 2019-01-01. There were five matches recorded on the ground in 1731, three against

Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames estuary, is Thurrock in ...

and two against

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an exten ...

and the ground became the most important in the country for a time.Honourable Artillery Company Ground, Finsbury
CricketArchive. Retrieved 2019-01-01. By the 1770s the HAC was attempting to block cricket being played on the ground, and the last significant match for over 50 years took place in 1778. Two matches which have since been given retrospective

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

status: one played in 1773 and the other in 1778. Both saw England sides play Hampshire on the ground. Cricket was restarted on the ground in 1846 but only members of the HAC were allowed to play. The HAC Cricket Club was founded in 1860.

Later history

On 15 September 1784 Vincenzo Lunardi, flew a balloon from the Artillery Ground, the first such flight in England. The area is now used for rugby and football in the winter and cricket in the summer by HAC teams including HAC RFC.Cricket Club

The Honourable Artillery Company The Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) is a reserve regiment in the British Army. Incorporated by royal charter in 1537 by King Henry VIII, it is the oldest regiment in the British Army and is considered the second-oldest military unit in the w ...

. Retrieved 2018-01-01. Notably, it hosted a rugby union match between Saracens and the USA national team on 9 November 2010, won 20–6 by Saracens. It is also, as a source of revenue for the HAC, rented out for parties and events including the annual Cityrace 5km run through the City's streets.

References

{{coord, 51.5219, -0.0887, type:landmark, display=title 1638 establishments in England Cricket grounds in Middlesex Cricket in Middlesex English cricket venues in the 18th century History of Middlesex Honourable Artillery Company Middlesex Parks and open spaces in the London Borough of Islington Sport in London Sport in the British Army Sports venues completed in 1730 Sports venues in London Installations of the British Army