Dorset Square – the first Lord’s

image_print

The Dorset Square ground assumed great significance from the day it was opened. It was commissioned by the gentlemen of the Star and Garter, soon to form the Marylebone Cricket Club, and was immediately put to use on staging high-stake matches. It soon became the centre of the revitalised London cricket scene. Along with the Artillery Ground and Broadhalfpenny Down, it is one of the three Great Grounds of the Early Cricket era. Its successor at St John’s Wood is still referred to as the Home of Cricket today. The Dorset Square Ground can be seen as a link between Early Cricket and the modern game.

Early history

As cricket regained popularity in London after the Seven Years War receded into memory around 1780, the Star and Garter Club again became the centre for young aristocrats looking for sport and gambling. The Artillery Ground was no longer available for cricket, so they went back to the old favourite, The White Conduit Fields Ground, putting teams out for a while as The White Conduit Club.

The White Conduit Club had their own rules specifying that members must be gentlemen, essentially meaning they much be connected the aristocracy. Ironically, the key to their future lay beyond this elite group. Thomas Lord (pictured) was a skilled bowler (one report says fast, another slow) and so was paid to the White Conduit Club to provide practice and act as a general attendant as well. He also had business ambitions. Essentially, he was a young man on his way.

Meanwhile the players were not happy with the White Conduit Fields arrangements. They were open to the public and the ground itself had a footpath transversing it.

Members had noticed Lord’s entrepreneurial spirit, and two of them, the Earl of Winchilsea and the Duke of Richmond, guaranteed him against all losses if he would go out and find a new ground for them. Lord found the land he wanted at Dorset Fields, laid out a wicket, put up a fence and charged sixpence admission. He also took out a lease on the on the Allsop Public House on the corner of Upper Gloucester Place and opened a wine and spirit shop though which spectators had to go (and pay) to enter the ground.

On 31 May 1787 the first match took place at Lord’s new ground with Middlesex beating Essex by 93 runs – a match played for 200 guineas. Lord himself opened the innings for Middlesex, scoring one and 36. For Thomas Lord, fortune and immortality beckoned. And so, according to the MCC itself, the club was born.

A drawing of Lord’s Public House, through which it was necessary to enter the ground. The captions says “‘Lords’ The original Pay office to Thomas Lord’s Cricket Ground (now Dorset Square) being rear premises of the Allsop Arons corner of Marylebone Road and Upper Gloucester Place in 1810. Known as Allsop Arons Allsop Place. Thomas Lord rated occupier.

Use as a ground

1793 – Cricket Match At Lord’s Ground In Dorset Square

A 1,000 guinea contest at the Dorset Square Lord’s Ground between the Earl of Danley’s team (Kent) and the Earl of Winchilsea’s (MCC) on 20-21 June 1791.

Thomas Lord’s ground was soon established as the premier cricket venue in London. MCC played their first fixture there on 30 July 1787, interesting against the White Conduit Club. This fixture shows that there was no simple transition between one club and the other, rather both contrived to run in parallel for a while. No doubt some members of the White Conduit Club chose to hedge their bets and see how the new venture would work out. Soon though it became apparent that the future lay in Marylebone, not Islington and the White Conduit Fields Ground was soon abandoned by the Upper Echelons. A different club however, was to continue playing there until 1834.

The location proved popular with players and with spectators. Several thousand would gather there for the big fixtures. There were refreshment huts on the ground although many preferred the Yorkshire Stingo pub nearby, (pictured c1770) which was demolished only as recently as 1960

Around ten Important Matches were played per annum on this ground, under the control of and for the benefit of Lord – not the MCC, whose hiring of the ground was on a match-by-match basis.

A particularly significant day at Lords was 2 June 1791 when the eighteen year old Lord Fredrick Beauclerk made his first appearance for MCC. He was to become one of the greatest players of the early Nineteenth Century. The first century at Lords was scored by Tom Walker on 7 May 1792, with Silver Billy Beldham scoring another century later in the same match. Both these players had played much for Hambledon and are still associated spoken of as heroes of that club. That they should have become MCC players shows how Hambledon’s place in the cricket world had been supplanted by the MCC.

A glimpse of Lord’s ground in a different context – a balloon ascent, 1802. Note the covered grandstand, this looks like permanent feature, not something I have seen referred to elsewhere.

Subsequent history

By the early Nineteenth Century, some of the great players Lord had relied on to attract crowds had reached the end of their careers. In addition, the area was becoming increasingly run down and Lord decided the time was coming to move on. The final fixture was on August 17, 1810. In 1809 the land was sold for development. Dorset Square is the central feature of the layout as planned by the Portman Estate. The layout of the development is still intact, so the borders of the ground can be discerned.

Lord, whose Dorset Square lease had expired, took the turfs to a new site off Lisson Grove and near Regent’s Park. This ground was not well-liked by MCC members and was never accepted as the home of the club – as far as we know, they only ever played three games there (all in 1813), the club effectively becoming semi-dormant as a cricket-playing entity. In 1814, this ground was sold for development as part of the Regent’s Canal project and Lord moved his turf again, this time to the present ground at St John’s Wood which opened the same year and the club was effectively reborn.

In 1825, the future of the St John’s Wood ground was itself placed in jeopardy when Lord proposed a housing development. This was prevented by William Ward (a financier and noted cricketer with a top score of 278) who purchased the lease of ground from Lord for £5,000 and Lord ceased to have any involvement with MCC. Ward sold the leasehold on to James Dark in 1835, for an upfront payment of £2000 and an annuity of £435 to the Ward family and, in 1864, Dark, who was seriously ill, sold his interests to MCC for £11,000. Finally, in 1865, the landlord of the ground, Isaac Moses, sold the freehold to MCC for £18,150; the payments to the Ward family must have continued until the end of the lease in 1893. William Nicholson, who was a member of the MCC committee at the time, loaned the money for the purchase. Nicholson was a gin distiller, whose corporate colours were yellow and orange. It is often suggested that MCC adopted these colours as a mark of gratitude for Nicholson’s financial support.

The site of the first Lord’s ground today, Dorset Square garden, not far from Baker Street tube station. If you want some cricket atmosphere, The Potting Shed restaurant and bar, on the corner of the square, has some memorabilia.

Important Matches

131 May 1787MiddlesexEssex
214 Jun 1787White Conduit ClubMiddlesex
320 Jun 1787White Conduit ClubEngland
410 Sep 1787A to MN to Z
521 May 1787White Conduit ClubMiddlesex
605 Jun 1787White Conduit ClubMiddlesex
730 Jul 1787Marylebone Cricket ClubWhite Conduit Club
826 May 1788A to MN to Z
905 Jun 1788EnglandHampshire and Kent
1027 Jun 1788Marylebone Cricket ClubWhite Conduit Club
1118 May 1789MiddlesexGentlemen of England
1203 Jun 1789A to MN to Z
1325 Jun 1789EnglandHampshire
1408 Jul 1789Marylebone Cricket ClubEssex
1507 Sep 1789MiddlesexLondon
1610 May 1790Left-HandedRight-Handed
1720 May 1790Marylebone Cricket ClubHornchurch
1803 Jun 1790Marylebone Cricket ClubWest Sussex
1910 Jun 1790HampshireKent
2016 Aug 1790Marylebone Cricket ClubMiddlesex
2130 Aug 1790EnglandHampshire and Marylebone Cricket Club
2216 May 1791Marylebone Cricket ClubMiddlesex
2323 May 1791Marylebone Cricket ClubMiddlesex
2430 May 1791Gentlemen of EnglandOld Etonians
2502 Jun 1791Marylebone Cricket ClubGentlemen of Kent
2606 Jun 1791MiddlesexHampshire
2713 Jun 1791Marylebone Cricket ClubHornchurch
2815 Aug 1791Marylebone Cricket ClubKent
2919 Aug 1791Hertfordshire and Marylebone Cricket ClubHornchurch
3026 Sep 1791Hertfordshire, Essex and MiddlesexKent
3107 May 1792Marylebone Cricket ClubMiddlesex
3215 May 1792Marylebone Cricket ClubMiddlesex
3321 May 1792E Bligh’s XIEarl of Winchilsea’s XI
3428 May 1792Marylebone Cricket ClubBrighton
3531 May 1792Marylebone Cricket ClubBerkshire
3606 Jun 1792Marylebone Cricket ClubEngland
3721 Jun 1792EnglandKent
3830 Apr 1792Old EtoniansOld Westminsters
3920 Sep 1792MiddlesexBrighton
4013 May 1793Old EtoniansOld Westminsters
4122 May 1793Marylebone Cricket ClubMiddlesex
4206 Jun 1793Marylebone Cricket ClubHornchurch
4212 Jun 1793EnglandSurrey and Sussex
4317 Jun 1793Marylebone Cricket ClubEssex
4420 Jun 1793Marylebone Cricket ClubKent
4524 Jun 1793Marylebone Cricket ClubBerkshire
4601 Jul 1793Earl of Winchilsea’s XIG Louch’s XI
4717 Jul 1793EnglandEssex and Hertfordshire
4826 Aug 1793MiddlesexEngland
4909 Sep 1793MiddlesexEngland
5013 May 1794Marylebone Cricket ClubLondon
5121 May 1794Marylebone Cricket ClubLondon
5226 May 1794Marylebone Cricket ClubMiddlesex
5309 Jun 1794EnglandSurrey
5430 Jun 1794R Leigh’s XIG Louch’s XI
5514 Jul 1794MiddlesexEngland
5629 Jul 1794Marylebone Cricket ClubOldfield
5701 Aug 1794Thursday ClubKennington Wednesday Club
5805 Aug 1794Charterhouse SchoolWestminster School
5907 Aug 1794Marylebone Cricket ClubHampshire and Kent
6012 Aug 1794Marylebone Cricket ClubOldfield
6113 Aug 1794Marylebone Cricket ClubOldfield
6227 Aug 1794OldfieldKent
6310 Sep 1794EnglandSurrey
6404 May 1795Marylebone Cricket ClubThursday Club
6511 May 1795Marylebone Cricket ClubThursday Club
6612 May 1795Marylebone Cricket ClubThursday Club
6725 May 1795Marylebone Cricket ClubMiddlesex
6801 Jun 1795C Lennox’s XIEarl of Winchilsea’s XI
6909 Jun 1795C Lennox’s XIEarl of Winchilsea’s XI
7022 Jun 1795Surrey and Marylebone Cricket ClubEngland
7126 Jun 1795Marylebone Cricket ClubMiddlesex
7202 Jul 1795Marylebone Cricket ClubBullingdon
7316 Jul 1795MiddlesexOldfield
7406 Aug 1795Marylebone Cricket ClubOldfield
7509 May 1796Marylebone Cricket ClubThursday Club
7616 May 1796MiddlesexKent
7727 May 1796E Bligh’s XIEarl of Winchilsea’s XI
7830 May 1796Marylebone Cricket ClubThursday Club
7906 Jun 1796Marylebone Cricket ClubThursday Club
8013 Jun 1796Earl of Winchilsea’s XIEarl of Darnley’s XI
8120 Jun 1796MiddlesexKent
8211 Jul 1796Marylebone Cricket ClubBullingdon
8313 Jul 1796Marylebone Cricket ClubMontpelier and Thursday Clubs
8412 Aug 1796Thursday ClubMontpelier and Kennington Clubs
8515 Aug 1796MiddlesexSurrey
8629 Aug 1796Thursday ClubHighgate and Hampstead
8711 May 1797Marylebone Cricket ClubThursday Club
8815 May 1797C Lennox’s XIEarl of Winchilsea’s XI
8919 May 1797C Lennox’s XIEarl of Winchilsea’s XI
9024 May 1797Marylebone Cricket ClubThursday Club
9106 Jun 1797EnglandSurrey
9219 Jun 1797EnglandSurrey
9326 Jun 1797Marylebone Cricket ClubMontpelier
9404 Jul 1797C Lennox’s XIEarl of Winchilsea’s XI
9510 Jul 1797Marylebone Cricket ClubLondon
9614 Aug 1797Marylebone Cricket ClubHampshire
9728 Aug 1797Marylebone Cricket ClubEngland
9821 Sep 1797Marylebone Cricket ClubEngland
9902 May 1798Lord F Beauclerk’s XIJ Tufton’s XI
10009 May 1798Marylebone Cricket ClubLondon
10128 May 1798Marylebone Cricket ClubMontpelier
10206 Jun 1798EnglandSurrey
10320 Jun 1798Marylebone Cricket ClubMiddlesex
10426 Jun 1798Marylebone Cricket ClubEngland
10502 Jul 1798Marylebone Cricket ClubHighgate and Hampstead
10611 Jul 1798Marylebone Cricket ClubEngland
10713 Jul 1798Lord F Beauclerk’s XIR Whitehead’s XI
10802 Aug 1798Marylebone Cricket ClubHampshire
10913 Aug 1798EnglandSurrey
11016 Aug 1798EnglandSurrey
11124 Aug 1798Lord F Beauclerk’s XIJ Tufton’s XI
11205 Sep 1798MiddlesexHertfordshire
11310 Jun 1799Marylebone Cricket ClubThursday Club
11424 Jun 1799Marylebone Cricket ClubThursday Club
11530 Jul 1799Surrey and Marylebone Cricket ClubEngland
11601 Aug 1799R Whitehead’s XILord Yarmouth’s XI
11708 Aug 1799Eton CollegeWestminster School
11813 Aug 1799EnglandSurrey
11915 Aug 1799EnglandSurrey

Further reading

Double Century : The Story of MCC and Cricket – Tony Lewis (1987)

Scroll to Top