Lord's Old Ground was 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 in

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 ...

that was established by Thomas Lord in 1787. It was used mainly by

Marylebone Cricket Club Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influe ...

for major matches until 1810, after which a dispute about rent caused Lord to relocate.

Matches

The first match known to have been played at Lord's Old Ground was White Conduit Club v Middlessex on Monday 21 May 1787.

Arthur Haygarth Arthur Haygarth (4 August 1825 – 1 May 1903) was a noted amateur cricketer who became one of cricket's most significant historians. He played first-class cricket for the Marylebone Cricket Club and Sussex between 1844 and 1861, as well as num ...

, ''Scores & Biographies'', Volume 1 (1744-1826), Lillywhite, 1862 The first regular cricket fixture at Lord's which continues today was the annual Eton v Harrow match which was first played on the Old Ground in 1805. The inaugural Gentlemen v Players match took place at the Old Ground in July 1806.

Location

Lord's Old Ground was on the site of what is now Dorset Square. Lord relocated in 1811 to Lord's Middle Ground, a site at Lisson Grove in the vicinity of

Regent's Park Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies of high ground in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the Borough of Camden (and historically betwee ...

but he lost that venue after only three years because the land was requisitioned for a canal cutting. In 1814, he opened the present

Lord's Cricket Ground Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket List of Test cricket grounds, venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex County ...

, formerly a duckpond in

St John's Wood St John's Wood is a district in the City of Westminster, London, lying 2.5 miles (4 km) northwest of Charing Cross. Traditionally the northern part of the ancient parish and Metropolitan Borough of Marylebone, it extends east to west from ...

. A commemorative plaque was unveiled in Dorset Square by

Andrew Strauss Sir Andrew John Strauss (born 2 March 1977) is an English cricket administrator and former player, formerly the Director of Cricket for the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). He played county cricket for Middlesex, and captained the Englan ...

on 9 May 2006.

References

External links

Lord's

1787 establishments in England Cricket grounds in Middlesex Defunct cricket grounds in England Defunct sports venues in London English cricket in the 19th century English cricket venues in the 18th century History of Middlesex Sports venues completed in 1787 Marylebone Cricket Club {{England-cricket-ground-stub