Mousley Hurst

Early Cricket History

Moulsey Hurst is in West Molesey, Surrey, on the south bank of the River Thames above Molesey Lock. It is an area of common land and has been used as a sporting venue since the Eighteenth Century, including not just cricket but prize fighting and horse racing as well. The first mention of a cricket game was in 1723, and in 1731 Kingston played the County of Surrey in front of thousands. As with other London Grounds, there was a falling away of cricket during the Seven Years’ War and subsequently, a recovery in the last fifteen years of the century.

1790 – Cricket at Moulsey Hurst – James Ward

A very famous painting of a match at Moulsey Hurst. The view across the river includes the church tower, the small island, Garrick’s Ait, and Garrick’s Temple to Shakespeare.

Important Matches

Date Home team Away team
1 14 Jul 1731 Hampton Brentford
2 Sep 1731 Surrey Kingston
3 11 Jul 1733 Surrey Middlesex
4 01 Aug 1733 Surrey and Middlesex Kent
5 31 Aug 1733 Prince of Wales’ XI Sir William Gage’s XI
6 07 Jun 1735 Surrey London
7 25 Jun 1735 Surrey London
8 12 Jul 1735 Kent London and Middlesex
9 21 Aug 1736 Surrey Middlesex
10 11 Sep 1736 Surrey Middlesex
11 27 Jul 1737 Surrey London
12 06 Sep 1737 Chertsey London
13 12 Jul 1739 Kingston and Moulsey London
14 09 Jul 1740 Richmond and Moulsey London
15 23 Aug 1742 Surrey England
16 14 May 1744 Surrey England
17 06 Jul 1744 not known not known
18 24 Aug 1744 Surrey London
19 21 Aug 1745 Surrey Sussex
20 04 Sep 1751 Richmond Hampton and Kingston
21 26 Aug 1757 Chertsey Hampton
22 07 Sep 1762 Chertsey Middlesex
23 11 Sep 1770 Chertsey Hampton
24 31 May 1775 not known not known
25 05 Jun 1776 Hampshire Kent
26 13 Sep 1779 England Hampshire
27 02 Aug 1786 A to C Rest of the Alphabet
28 03 Jul 1787 White Conduit Club and Moulsey Hurst Hornchurch
29 09 Jun 1788 Surrey Hampshire
30 15 Jul 1788 Surrey Kent
31 01 Jun 1789 Surrey Colts Hampshire Colts
32 10 Jun 1789 Surrey Kent
33 30 Jul 1789 Surrey Hampshire
34 06 Jul 1795 Surrey England
35 08 Jul 1795 C Lennox’s XI Earl of Winchilsea’s XI
36 10 Aug 1795 Surrey England
37 12 Aug 1795 Surrey England
38 21 Aug 1797 England Marylebone Cricket Club

Subsequent

The ground continued as an important cricket venue into the nineteenth century. In 1806, England beat Surrey by six wickets. The 1872 Ordnance Survey map shows a racecourse marked Molesey Hurst in this position – this subsequently became Hurst Park, which operated from 1890 to 1962. The location of the cricket ground was probably in the centre of the racecourse. In the mid-1870s, the club moved a short distance to its present location and in 1879 was renamed East Molesey CC, which it remains to this day. And a lovely ground it is too.

On the Hurst, either on the cricket field or very near to it, there are now a series of heritage markers, each one commemorating an activity that has previously taken place at this location. One is, of course, devoted to cricket and includes an outline of Lane’s famous painting.

Pleasingly, the area of the former cricket field is open parkland, probably not dissimilar to how it was when matches were being played there. If you visit there, imagine the grass trimmed a little with a scythe; that is pretty much how paying conditions would have been for the great matches listed above. Or so I think.

Further reading

Here is a great article about cricket and other sports on the Hurst. In terms of cricket, it is guilty of the common omission of failing to adequately distinguish between the hockey-stick style bat and the curved bat, but it is a great read.