Moulsey Hurst is in

West Molesey West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic languages, Germanic word pass ...

, Surrey on the south bank of the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

above

Molesey Lock Molesey Lock is a lock (water transport), lock on the River Thames in England at East Molesey, Surrey on the bank (geography), right bank. The lock was built by the City of London Corporation in 1815 and was rebuilt by the Thames Conservancy i ...

. It is one of England's oldest

sport Sport is a physical activity or game, often Competition, competitive and organization, organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The numbe ...

ing venues and was used in the 18th and 19th centuries for

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

prizefighting Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional fights are supervised by a regulatory auth ...

and other sports. This area is now called Hurst Park; the area currently called Molesey Hurst is smaller, and some 500m to the south. The site can be reached from

Hampton Hampton may refer to: Places Australia *Hampton bioregion, an IBRA biogeographic region in Western Australia * Hampton, New South Wales *Hampton, Queensland, a town in the Toowoomba Region * Hampton, Victoria ** Hampton railway station, Melbour ...

across the river by Hampton Ferry when it is running in the summer.

Sporting venue

When

James VI and I James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 M ...

became King of England in 1603, he introduced the sport of

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

to the country. The first games of golf in England were played at Molesey, in Westminster and Greenwich Park which were large open spaces near to royal palaces. This venue is considered to be one of the oldest used for organised cricket. The earliest known use of the site for the game was in 1723 for a match between a Surrey side and

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. One of cricket's most famous paintings is ''Cricket at Moulsey Hurst'', by Richard Wilson in 1780. The painting is owned by MCC and on display at

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

David Underdown David Edward Underdown (19 August 1925 – 26 September 2009) was a historian of 17th-century English politics and culture and Professor Emeritus at Yale University. Born at Wells, Somerset, Underdown was educated at the Blue School and Exeter C ...

(2000) ''Start of Play''. Allen Lane. It hosted for some decades

Hurst Park Hurst Park Racecourse was a racecourse at Moulsey Hurst, West Molesey, Surrey, near the River Thames. It was first laid out in 1890 and held its last race in 1962. There was racing at nearby Hampton for many years until 1887. The first meeting ...

horse race Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

course, evinced by an 1872 Ordnance Survey map. The cricket ground probably remained in the centre of the racecourse, which was common practice in the 18th century. It was at this ground where the now modern-day East Molesey CC began; the current ground now lies off Graburn Way, about east and a short walk from

Hampton Court Palace Hampton Court Palace is a Listed building, Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. Opened to the public, the palace is managed by Historic Royal ...

. Molesey Hurst Golf Club (now defunct) was founded in 1907. The club disappeared at the onset of WW2. Other sports and activities included ballooning, sprinting and archery. In May of 1810,

Dutch Sam Samuel Elias, better known as Dutch Sam (4 April 1775 in Petticoat Lane, London – 3 July 1816), was a professional boxing pioneer and was active between the years 1801 and 1814. Known as the hardest hitter of his era, he earned the nickname "T ...

defeated Ben Medley in front of a reported ten thousand spectators at Moulsey Hill.

Moulsey Hurst today

In 2004, Hurst Park Residents Association laid out a "heritage marker" close to the river, which contains a number of illustrations of the history and activities of the area.

Chronology of events

* 871 – Vikings sailed up the Thames here to sack Chertsey Abbey * 1723 – the earliest known use of the site for cricket: Surrey v. London * 1733 – earliest known use of the site for an inter-county match when

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

played

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

* May 1785 – James Sadler made a hot air balloon ascent near here, accompanied by a member of parliament, about a year after the success of the

Montgolfier Brothers The Montgolfier brothers – Joseph-Michel Montgolfier (; 26 August 1740 – 26 June 1810) and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier (; 6 January 1745 – 2 August 1799) – were aviation pioneers, balloonists and paper manufacturers from the Communes o ...

balloon * Autumn 1787 – a professional runner named Powell ran a mile in 4 minutes and 3 seconds at Moulsey Hurst in preparation for an attempt on the 4-minute mile * August 1795 – in a cricket match at Moulsey Hurst,

John Tufton John Tufton may refer to: * John Tufton (cricketer) (1773–1799), cricketer and MP for Appleby 1796–1799 * Sir John Tufton, 1st Baronet (died 1624), see Earl of Thanet *John Tufton, 2nd Earl of Thanet (1608–1664), English nobleman, supporter of ...

was dismissed

leg before wicket Leg before wicket (lbw) is one of the ways in which a Batting (cricket), batter can be dismissal (cricket), dismissed in the sport of cricket. Following an Appeal (cricket), appeal by the Fielding (cricket), fielding side, the umpire (cricket), ...

by John Wells, the first time the mode of dismissal is recorded.''Scores & Biographies'', Volume 1 (1744–1826), Lillywhite, 1862, page 191. * 1798 – a Mr Troward, a member of the Toxophilite Society, shot an arrow on a level piece of ground on Moulsey Hurst seventeen score, or 340 yards * 1806 – last known use of Moulsey Hurst for a

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 of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adju ...

match was a Surrey v England match.Cricket Archive – Surrey v All-England
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References

{{Elmbridge 1726 establishments in Great Britain Boxing venues in the United Kingdom Cricket grounds in Surrey Defunct cricket grounds in England Defunct sports venues in Surrey Borough of Elmbridge English cricket venues in the 18th century History of Surrey Parks and open spaces in Surrey Sport in Surrey Sports venues completed in 1726