The Artillery Ground

The Artillery Ground in London, located in Finsbury in Central London, on the edge of the City, staged more Important Matches in the Eighteenth Century than any other ground. This fact alone makes it hugely significant in the history of cricket. Remarkably, it remains in current use, still owned by the Honourable Artillery Company. Its story says a great deal about the development of cricket from a rural pastime to a professional sport.

Contents

History

Pre-cricket

The Artillery Ground was originally the outer precinct of the Priory and Hospital of St Mary Spital. In 1538, King Henry VIII converted it into an artillery ground for the Fraternity or Guild of Artillery of Longbows, Crossbows and Handguns. This group later became known as the Honourable Artillery Company (HAC), who retain the ground to this day. The HAC had a reputation as the fashionable militia for sons of wealthy London citizens.

Heyday as a cricket ground

In the early part of the Eighteenth Century, cricket was gaining ground rapidly, not merely as a rural or school pursuit but as a game played in London by adults for high stakes and on which large sums were wagered. Places like Blackheath, Kennington Common and White Conduit Fields had staged Important Matches. At this time, it was the Artillery Ground that emerged as the venue most able to fill the need for a leading venue for financially important cricket matches. It was the home of the London Cricket Club, and nearly all matches took place under their name, so the story of the ground is closely entwined with the history of that club.

Our first record of cricket being played on the ground was 1724, and the first Important match, 1730. The first lessor and manager of the ground we know of was Christopher Jones, landlord of the nearby Pied Horse Inn. Jones’ successor, both as ground lessor and pub landlord, was George Smith, noted for his entrepreneurship and successful promotion of the ground. The ground was fenced off, so he was able to charge for admission, generally 2d, even for big matches, the entrance being through the yard of the Pied Horse Inn. The ground, it seems, was often full for matches (attendances of up to 8,000 were reported), generally with working-class spectators rather than wealthy patrons, who nevertheless did attend and were accommodated in special seating areas.

One match, between England and Kent in 1744, experienced crowd trouble, so steps were taken to prevent to recurrence. A ring of benches was set around the ground, stewards were employed who wielded whips, and the admission price rose to 6d. The rise in admission prices did not work, and crowds fell abruptly. In 1748, Smith was declared bankrupt, though he somehow retained control of the ground until 1752.

A ticket for a match at the Artillery Ground, England v Kent (1744). The engraving is from Boitard, Smith is the name of the Artillery ground promoter. The price, two shillings, six pence, is quite expensive, perhaps £40 in today’s money. What a wonderful survival!

By then, cricket in the capital was losing something of its lustre. The Artillery Ground itself was developing a reputation for disorderly conduct and for the prevalence of gambling. Perhaps it was just slipping out of fashion. In any case, this sense of decline was accelerated by the Seven Years’ War (1756–1763), which, it seems, made London a less attractive place for the aristocracy and caused a retreat to rural estates. Only five Important matches were held in the 1760s, and though there were more matches in the 1770s, they did not have the same impact as those of earlier years. In any case, they were not welcomed by the owners, and in 1773, the HAC attempted to block all cricket from the ground. Although some major matches continued through to 1778, that was to be the end of the ground’s life as a major cricket venue.

Modern times

The first ever balloon flight in the United Kingdom was that of Mr. Vincent Lunardi, who took off from the Artillery Ground in 1784.

In 1834, the HAC was petitioned with a request to resume hosting matches, with one argument being that it would attract potential recruits to the company. Cricket eventually restarted in 1846, but was limited to members of the HAC and the HAC CC was formally founded in 1860. The HAC runs a strong fixture list to this day.

Google Earth view of the Ground as it is now. The other feature that survives from the great days of the ground is the non-Conformist Bunhill Fields Burial Ground to the North; it was then the case that there were fewer obstacles between the burial ground and the cricket field. There are many records of people climbing the walls of the burial ground to get a sight of the action or, perhaps, to get in without payment.

The Artillery Ground is now surrounded on all sides by substantial buildings, it is a little-known island of greenery in the midst of incredibly valuable real estate.

The match in progress here is HAC v MCC, 2022, a fixture loaded with historic resonance. The gun is for effect only.

A game at the Artillery Ground, 2021:

Famous illustration

An engraving by C. Benoist, after an Oil painting by Francis Hayman, RA, based on the earliest depiction of a cricket match that we know of; obviously, this is a very important artwork and one that is much copied. The original by Hayman is now lost but used to hang in a supper-box at Vauxhall Gardens (opened 1735).

The painting has come to be known as Cricket at the Artillery Ground, but this is a misnomer. The picture was originally described as A Game of Cricket as played in the Artillery Ground, and the misunderstanding arose from that. In fact, the Artillery Ground was walled in, so this picture is obviously of somewhere else.

Important Matches

	Date	Home team	Away team
1	31 Aug 1730	London	Surrey
2	04 Sep 1730	London	Surrey
3	05 Jun 1731	London	Dartford
4	24 Jun 1731	London	Dartford
5	05 Jul 1731	London	Dartford
6	26 Jul 1731	London	Croydon
7	15 Sep 1731	London	Croydon
8	07 Jun 1732	London	Surrey
9	29 Aug 1732	London	Surrey
10	11 Sep 1732	London	Surrey
11	13 Sep 1732	London	Middlesex
12	28 May 1733	London	Greenwich
13	05 Jul 1733	London	Kent
14	12 Sep 1733	London	Kent
15	26 Sep 1733	London	Croydon
16	19 Jun 1734	London	Kent
17	01 Aug 1734	London	Croydon
18	18 Jun 1735	London	Surrey
19	Jul 1736	London	Chertsey
20	14 Jul 1736	London	Surrey
21	25 Jul 1737	London	Essex
22	Jul 1738	London	Chislehurst
23	11 Aug 1738	London	Mitcham
24	Sep 1738	London	Chislehurst
25	27 Jun 1739	London	Lingfield
26	23 Jul 1739	England	Kent
27	05 Sep 1739	London	Chislehurst
28	Jun 1740	London	Chislehurst
29	16 Jul 1740	London	Richmond and Moulsey
30	28 Jul 1740	London	Kent
31	15 Sep 1740	London	Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire
32	15 Jun 1741	London	Surrey
33	03 Jul 1741	London	Chislehurst
34	31 Jul 1741	London	Surrey
35	14 Sep 1741	London	Surrey
36	14 Jun 1742	London	Bromley
37	07 Jul 1742	London	Richmond
38	26 Jul 1742	London	Croydon
39	09 Aug 1742	London	Bromley
40	16 Aug 1742	London and Surrey	Kent, Croydon and Slindon
41	02 Sep 1742	London	Surrey
42	06 Sep 1742	London	Slindon
42	10 Sep 1742	London	Slindon
43	13 Jun 1743	London	Woburn
44	27 Jun 1743	London	Bromley and Chislehurst
45	18 Jul 1743	London	Richmond, Kingston and Egham
46	25 Jul 1743	London	Addington
47	08 Aug 1743	London	Woburn
48	29 Aug 1743	London	Sevenoaks
49	05 Sep 1743	London	Horsmonen and Weald
50	12 Sep 1743	London	Horsmonen and Weald
51	14 Sep 1743	London	Sevenoaks
52	19 Sep 1743	London	Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Middlesex
53	21 May 1744	England	Surrey
54	02 Jun 1744	London	Slindon
55	18 Jun 1744	England	Kent
56	05 Jul 1744	not known	not known
57	21 Jul 1744	London	Woburn
58	30 Jul 1744	London	Addington
59	27 Aug 1744	London	Surrey
60	03 Sep 1744	London	Bromley
61	07 Sep 1744	London	Surrey
62	10 Sep 1744	London	Slindon
63	12 Sep 1744	Addington	Slindon
64	14 Sep 1744	Bromley	Slindon
65	19 Sep 1744	not known	not known
66	27 May 1745	London	Addington
67	10 Jun 1745	London	Bromley
68	17 Jun 1745	London	Bromley
69	26 Jun 1745	Long Robin’s XI	R Newland’s XI
70	05 Jul 1745	Long Robin’s XI	R Newland’s XI
71	13 Jul 1745	not known	not known
72	15 Jul 1745	England	Kent
73	22 Jul 1745	Addington and Lingfield	Surrey
74	07 Aug 1745	London	Kingston
75	12 Aug 1745	London	Addington
76	19 Aug 1745	Surrey	Sussex
77	16 Sep 1745	Addington and Lingfield	Surrey
78	28 Sep 1745	Hills of Kent	Dales of Kent
79	19 May 1746	Addington	Bromley
80	09 Jun 1746	London and Surrey	Addington and Lingfield
81	23 Jun 1746	Kent	Surrey
82	02 Jul 1746	London	Westminster
83	14 Jul 1746	Addington and Bromley	Surrey and Kent
84	30 Jul 1746	London	Edmonton
85	04 Aug 1746	England	Kent
86	25 Aug 1746	London	Edmonton
87	01 Sep 1746	London and Chislehurst	Addington
88	01 Jun 1747	London	Addington and Croydon
89	15 Jun 1747	London	Addington and Croydon
90	29 Jun 1747	London	Dartford
91	09 Jul 1747	Long Robin’s XI	W Hodsoll’s XI
92	17 Aug 1747	London	Ripley and Bromley
93	24 Aug 1747	London	Hadlow
94	31 Aug 1747	England	Kent
95	13 Jun 1748	England	Kent
96	18 Jul 1748	London	Croydon
97	15 Aug 1748	London	Deptford and Greenwich
98	29 May 1749	London and Bromley	Addington
99	05 Jun 1749	England	Surrey
100	21 Jun 1749	London	Richmond and Ripley
101	26 Jun 1749	Long Robin’s XI	S Dingate’s XI
102	14 Aug 1749	London	Bearsted
103	18 Jun 1750	not known	not known
104	09 Jul 1750	Kent	Surrey
105	20 Jul 1750	Kent	Surrey
106	08 Aug 1750	London	Hampton
107	13 May 1751	Surrey	London
108	20 May 1751	England	Kent
109	22 May 1751	England	Kent
110	19 Aug 1751	London	Country XI
111	15 Jul 1752	London	Bromley
112	29 Jul 1752	London	Edmonton
113	15 Aug 1753	not known	not known
114	30 Aug 1753	London	Marylebone
115	01 Jul 1754	London	Dartford
116	21 Jul 1755	London	Waltham
117	08 Aug 1755	London	Surrey and Middlesex
118	30 Aug 1756	Dartford	Hambledon
119	06 Sep 1756	London	Dartford
120	25 Jul 1757	London	Surrey
121	16 Aug 1758	London and Surrey	Kent
122	30 Aug 1762	London	Kent
123	22 Aug 1763	Middlesex	Surrey
124	19 Aug 1765	Dartford	Surrey
125	17 Aug 1769	London	Kent
126	24 Aug 1769	London	Kent
127	20 Aug 1770	London and Middlesex	Surrey
128	05 Aug 1771	Kent, Middlesex and Surrey	Coulsdon
129	04 Sep 1771	Duke of Dorset’s XI	Sir H Mann’s XI
130	02 Jul 1773	England	Hampshire
131	22 Aug 1774	London	Chertsey
132	29 May 1775	not known	not known
133	10 Jul 1775	London and Kent	Coulsdon
134	28 Aug 1775	London, Kent and Surrey	Chertsey
135	19 Aug 1776	London	Brentford
136	09 Sep 1776	London	Coulsdon
137	15 Sep 1777	England	Hampshire
138	24 Aug 1778	London	Dartford
139	15 Sep 1778	England	Chertsey