Lansdown Cricket Club, formed in 1825, is recognised as the earliest official organised cricket club in
Somerset
Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...
. Originally based in
Lansdown, since 1869 the club has been based at Combe Park,
Bath
Bath may refer to:
* Bathing, immersion in a fluid
** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body
** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe
* Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities
Plac ...
, adjacent to the
Royal United Hospital.
Foundation
Cricket was relatively slow to come to Somerset, but by the early 19th century it was being played in a haphazard fashion, mainly on gentlemen's country-house grounds.
[Foot (1986), p12.] Lansdown was preceded by an up-market Bath club that played from about 1817–1824, and many of that club's enthusiasts went on to become part of Lansdown.
Formed in 1825, Lansdown played originally at a ground known either as "Cricket Down" or as the "Racecourse ground" on the summit of the hill called Lansdown to the north of Bath: the ground was not at the site of the current
Bath Racecourse but at a little-used racecourse nearer the city, adjacent to
Beckford's Tower.
Around 1850, Lansdown moved to Captain Thornhill's Sydenham Field, which was on the south bank of the river Avon in the area later built on by the
Midland Railway line that ran into
Bath Green Park railway station.
In these early years, arranging matches was a problem as there was a lack of other established clubs of good reputation to play.
[Foot (1986), p13.] Trips to Devon, to take on Sidmouth and Teignmouth, and up to Bristol to play Clifton were much the extent of their calendar. During this time, selection was based as much on social status as on talent, and the club was even dubbed by someone as 'the MCC of the West'.
Early recognition
As the years passed, Lansdown's reputation grew, and their opposition similarly grew in reputation, as they entertained
Oxford University
The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...
and the
MCC.
In 1852, they played host at Sydenham Field to an
All-England Eleven, Lansdown fielded 22 men and, after three days, the match finished a draw.
W. G. Grace
William Gilbert Grace (18 July 1848 – 23 October 1915) was an English cricketer who is widely considered one of the sport's all-time greatest players. Always known by his initials as "WG", his first-class career spanned a record-equalling 4 ...
made his debut for Lansdown on 5 July 1861, just short of his thirteenth birthday, and played two matches during that month.
A few years later, in 1865 when Lansdown entertained
United England Eleven, their side contained three of the Grace brothers, with
E.M. and
Henry Grace also playing.
Between the three of them, they took all of the England side's wickets in the match as Lansdown won by an innings and 113 runs. In 1869, the club moved to Combe Park, where it has played ever since.
Nurturing ground
Lansdown has had a number of talented professionals through the years. The
Somerset
Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...
opener
Tom Young spent some time at the club in 1910, and the brothers
Jack and
Frank Lee played for the club while qualifying for Somerset in the 1920s.
In the postwar years, the mainstay of the batting for many years was
Les Angell, whose prolific scoring for Lansdown masked a more modest record in first-class cricket for Somerset. Almost overlapping with Angell, in 1973,
Viv Richards
Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards (born 7 March 1952) is a retired Antiguan cricketer who represented the West Indies cricket team between 1974 and 1991. Usually batting at number three in a dominant West Indies side, Richards is widely ...
similarly turned out for the side while he served his qualification period for Somerset.
During his time at the club he not only entertained the crowd with his runs, but also cut the grass for the club.
References
Bibliography
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External links
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{{Coord, 51.3896, -2.3904, type:landmark_region:GB-BAS, display=title
Sport in Bath, Somerset
Cricket in Somerset
Cricket clubs established in the 1820s
Club cricket teams in England
1825 establishments in England