Contents
Introduction
The White Conduit Fields cricket ground (or, more likely, grounds) played a major part in cricket history, even though the site staged only thirteen Important Matches. Its main significance arises from the fact that it was home to the team of the sporting aristocrats of the Star and Garter who were to move to the Dorset Square Lord’s Ground and form the MCC. It was, in many respects, the predecessor of Lord’s. We have five paintings and drawings of cricket being played there in the Eighteenth Century, no other ground has more than one; it is a major player of cricket history, but one whose importance is not always recognised. It is certainly a ground about which very little has been written. So let’s start at the beginning.
History
White Conduit Fields and Leisure Gardens
The White Conduit itself was built in 1431 under royal license to supply the Charterhouse (a Carthusian Monastery), in Clerkenwell. with water. A source of water was found at Islington and a pipe (called a conduit) was constructed to bring fresh water to the Monastery. Because the White Conduit was at a higher level than the Charterhouse, the water travelled through the pipe by gravity. At a later time, the lead cistern holding the head of water at Islington was arched with brick and flint, with a loft above, and enclosed in a small white building. It was restored in 1641. By 1654, the supply of water was found to be so reduced that it was abandoned and water from the New River (in fact a canal) was used instead. The map below is from 1750, the bright red marker, centre right, is around the area of the conduit head, and later, White Conduit House.
From the late 17th century, the site was developed as pleasure gardens away from the city centre, particularly favoured by the less well-off. In the eighteenth Century a large tea-room was built to take advantage of the crowds of Londoners who would journey there to take advantage of the fresh air and open landscape to the North.
Here are three illustrations which show how the facility developed. The years given are 1731, 1749 and 1831.
Note the small building with steeply sloping roof in each illustration (in dilapidated state in the 1831 illustration) – that is the conduit head.
This small plan of the House and gardens, taken from a 1805 map of Islington based in a survey of 1793, shows that there were formal gardens to the East of the House. Note the rounded end of the northernmost building – no other building shows this feature, it is the rounded end of the tea rooms. The words to the left of this building are ‘White Conduit’.
The full map may be viewed here.
A Map of the area from 1750 shows a long strip of land, to the immediate West of the House, running along the north/south axis, which is labelled as White Conduit Fields.
The cricket ground
Early in the Eighteenth Century, White Conduit Field established itself as a place where cricket could be played. It appears to have been a facility available to be hired by whoever wanted to play, be they great or otherwise, and several significant matches took place there. Cricket Archive lists some fourteen Important Matches at this ground, covering three periods. Firstly, nine matches in the period 1718-1732, one each in 1772 and 1773 and four in the period 1784-1786. These are listed below; it should be remembered that there would have been many other matches as the field was available for hire, these were ones where a record survives, not least practice matches among members of the clubs who played there. They only give a glimpse of the importance of this facility.
| 1 | July 1719 | London | Rochester Punch Club |
| 2 | 19 Aug 1719 | London | Kent |
| 3 | 09 Jul 1720 | London | Kent |
| 4 | 18 Jul 1722 | London | Dartford |
| 5 | 10 Aug 1724 | Dartford | Penshurst |
| 6 | 05 Aug 1728 | Middlesex | London |
| 7 | 12 Aug 1730 | London | Kent |
| 8 | 07 Aug 1732 | Middlesex | London |
| 9 | 05 Aug 1773 | London | England |
| 10 | 22 May 1784 | not known | not known |
| 11 | 27 May 1784 | not known | not known |
| 12 | 30 Jun 1785 | White Conduit Club | Gentlemen of Kent |
| 13 | 22 Jun 1786 | White Conduit Club | Kent |
There are clearly two broad phases to the grounds use, separated by over forty years. The early part of the Eighteenth Century saw it as an occasional home of the important London Cricket Club, operating from the Star and Garter in Pall Mall . The first move away from this ground is attributable to the rise of the Artillery Ground from 1730 onwards, soon established as the centre of the cricket world, until overtaken by Hambledon era, around 1770. Cricket however continued to be available as a recreation at this location as this 1754 advertisement makes clear:
This is to acquaint the public that at the White Conduit House the proprietor, for the better accommodation of gentlemen and ladies, has completed a long walk with a handsome circular fishpond, a number of shady pleasant arbours, inclosed with a fence seven feet high to prevent being in the least incommoded from the people in the fields. Hot loaves and butter every day; milk directly from the cows; coffee and tea and all manner of liquors in the greatest perfection; also a handsome long room, from whence is the most copious prospect and airy situation of any now in vogue. I humbly hope the continuance of my friends’ favours, as I make it my chief study to have the best accommodations, and am, Gentlemen and &c., your obliged humble servant, ROBERT BARTHOLOMEW.
Note. My cows eat no grains, neither any adulteration in the milk or cream. Bats and balls for cricket, and a convenient field to play in.
The Daily Advertiser for August 10th, 1754
The White Conduit Club
After the Hambledon period started to wind down, around 1780, there was a move to re-establish cricket in London, again headed by the patrons of the Star and Garter, resulting in the formation of a team of gentlemen to play at the ground and known as The White Conduit Club in the 1780s. This club was formally constituted with rules and a list of 144 members in 1785 and then the club played its two known Important Matches, both against Kent sides. It is likely that the ground used was not precisely the same one as the fields that were used in the earlier part of the century. Perhaps indeed, the 1754 advertisement announced the establishment of a new field? More of that later.
The club played two important matches at the ground – in 1785 and 1786. In this brief period, some of the greatest players of the Eighteenth Century played on the ground, including Silver Billy Beldham, Thomas Walker, Lumpy Stevens and John Small senior.
The new field however, if that it was, did not work out for its aristocratic players. There was much dissatisfaction with the lack of privacy and this precipitated a search for a new location organised by one of White Conduit Ground attendants, a man called Thomas Lord, who was also a cricketer himself. He found a suitable venue at Dorset Square, in Marylebone, which better suited the needs to the lordly players and this itself led to the foundation of a new club – The Marylebone Cricket Club. The White Conduit Fields ground however continued to be used for for cricket, especially by the Albion Cricket Club until around 1834. After that it was built over and its location left unmarked.
Illustrations
There are no less than five illustrations of Cricket of this ground, plus others which are reproductions of these – all come from the 1780s, the later period of the ground’s main use. These are shown below
1780s – Cricket match at White Conduit Fields
A South to North view. The large building in the background is the Islington Workhouse.
1784 -The Gentlemen’s Club playing on White Conduit Fields – Robert Dighton.
This view of White Conduit Field is from the North to the South – the City of London skyline is prominent. An unusual example of a painting with several identifiable topographic details beyond the field itself – the White Conduit tea room being prominent.
This illustration is taken from a series of prints of activities at White Conduit Fields by Robert Dighton, and dated around 1784. The rounded building in the background is clearly the same one as that above dated 1831, in fact a tea room for the general public. I suggest that the 1831 picture above is from a North West viewpoint, whereas this one is nearer to due North, looking South. The Conduit Head is visible, to the right, in front of the terraced housing (Penton Street). Behind the fence on the left are the formal gardens and beyond it, the skyline of the City of London.
1784 – Cricket at White Conduit Fields – engraving
This is a view from South to North, away from the White Conduit building. The large building in the background is the Islington Workhouse. The small hill in the background is reminiscent of the one in the 1731 the view above (very likely, Highgate).
Observe the enormous bats, nearly shoulder height! The low three-stump wicket however, was never a feature of the game.
1790 – Cricket at White Conduit Fields – painting
A view, very likely based on the engraving of 1784. Note the similarity of the presentation of background features such as the cottage (left), the tent and the workhouse.
1790 – Cricket at White Conduit Fields – Thomas Rowlinson
A view, very likely, based to some extent on the engraving of 1784 by Robert Dighton, although there are several differences, for example bowling is from the opposite end. However, the White Conduit buildings are fairly clear in the background. This picture though, has the element of friendly caricature.
Location
Since these days, White Conduit Fields has disappeared under Islington development and White Conduit House has been demolished. Can we however, identify exactly where the cricket field was?
One thing we do know about, is where White Conduit House was. It was replaced by a banqueting House in 1829 and then by a tavern in 1849 which is still there, now known as the Little Georgia Restaurant, selling Georgian food (the country, not the period). It is at 14 Barnsbury Road on, the corner between Dewsby Road and Barnsbury Road; there is a frieze on both fronts inscribed with sunk lettering saying ‘WHITE CONDUIT HOUSE’. The location conforms closely with maps which show where the old White Conduit House was so we can rely on this identification.
Rather pleasingly, there is a community garden area east of the pub, called Culpeper Community Garden, where there used to be formal gardens, so a little of the old use is preserved. Many authorities assume that is was close to the House, maybe immediately west, as it appears that this is where the leisure fields associated with the House were located. Perhaps this was the case for the earlier matches, it is very hard to find any strong evidence.
A point to make though is that in the early days of cricket, grounds would not always be formally laid out on a permanent basis the way they are today. Matches would often be played in large fields, with the result that the ground would have being placed wherever seemed a good idea on the day. In particular, as I say above, there is no reason to believe that the games of the earlier period were played in the same place as those of the later period. The 1754 advertisement does hint however that a specific field has been established by that date, one which was convenient for rather that adjacent to the main house.
There are I suggest five pieces of evidence which suggest that the later games at least, were at a more northern location.
Firstly and most importantly, there is the map of Islington of 1805 referred to above.
This is a slightly updated version of the 1807 map, around 1820. Here we see an area, well to the north of the house, marked as a cricket field. Nearby is Prospect Place and very close to the ground are Albion Cottages. Alongside them, there is clearly a path across the field and beyond the North-East corner, is the workhouse.
In this, the original version of the map the cottages are not there. In fact they were built in1817 by Thomas Oldfield, alongside the path across the ground, the path becoming Thornhill Road. One of the cottages was the Albion Tea Room, later a tavern.1
What is surprising is the distance from White Conduit House – just short of half a mile. It is though within the boundaries of White Conduit Fields as shown on the 1750 map.
Secondly, again very important, is the text below, extracted from a book snappily entitled Walks through Islington; comprising an historical and descriptive account of that district, both in its ancient and present state. With numerous engravings, by T. Cromwell, J. & H. S. Storer. L.P., published in 1835. These are the important pages for our purposes:
This tells us quite a lot about the cricket ground. The uses of the names Albion and Prospect confirm beyond doubt that we are looking at the same field as is marked on the Islington Map. Importantly, the text also confirms that the players who went on to form the MCC actually played here. I think this reference removes any meaningful doubt that the field in question is the one where the White Conduit Club played their matches in in the 1780s.
Thirdly, Cromwell and Storer refers to a tavern called The Albion close to the ground and it is still there, still called the The Albion (address 10 Thornhill Road), by the path that once crossed the cricket field. An excellent pub too, which features an impressively faithful Georgian restoration showcasing the building’s rickety floors, wood-panelled walls and log fires. It is Grade II listed, and its listing notes refer to the former adjacent cricket ground.
Fourthly, a comment in The Times of 22 June 1785 referred to a protest by the ‘Lordling Cricketters’ of the White Conduit Club that people were interrupting their games by using a footpath across the playing area. There is indeed such a path shown on the 1805 map. The path is now Thornhill Road, and, as we have seen above, had cottages built alongside it in 1817. The ground though, continued to be used for a further seventeen years or so after the pub and cottages were built, functioning, it would seem, with a significantly reduced playing area.
Fifthly, the first, third and fourth illustrations above shows the Islington Workhouse as being close to the ground on the North-East side, precisely where the map of Islington places it.
So where does this place the ground in the modern world of Islington?
The up-to-date map shown gives the answer, as best as I able to calculate it. The Blue square is where the original ground was, (somewhat bigger before the pub and cottages were built), the green square is the Albion pub, built in 1817 and taking land from the ground and the red rectangle is where the original White Conduit House was and the Little Georgia restaurant is today. Happily, there is a surviving publicly-open green space on part of the site of the ground, which is known as Thornhill Road Gardens; a lovely area looked after by a community project established by the Friends of Thornhill Gardens in 2019.
But how does this fit with the illustrations of the cricket grounds shown above and the backgrounds? The first, third and fourth and illustrations seem to fit well, with the workhouse being a confirming feature. As regards the second illustration, which looks South, shows the White Conduit building as being too close to the field; I can only suggest that artistic license was involved. A view from the ground, would have included a view of the house in the middle-distance, and indeed the London skyline beyond and I believe that the artist has indulged in a little foreshortening and moved them all closer together to make the picture more interesting. This is particularity likely as the painting is one of a series seeking to promote White Conduit House as a leisure and sporting venue. The fifth illustration, also looking South, puts the buildings rather further back.
Based on this map, the dimensions of the original ground would have been approximately 150 metres square. 150 metres is about the diameter of a modern ground. Incidentally, Richmond Crescent, partly within the site of the ground, was once the home of former Prime Minister, Sir Tony Blair.
The site of the ground, as it is today
White Conduit House and Cricket in Eighteenth Century Islington:
an exhibition compiled by James Dunnett 2012
In August 2023 I received a copy of the document reproduced below – it provides excellent coverage of the topics discussed above together with some more detail on White Conduit House itself. Happily it supports my own independent conclusion. With respect to his final question however “COULD CRICKET RETURN TO BARNSBURY?” the answer, sadly, is no. Barnard Park has been reshaped and cricket is no longer a possibility.
James Dunnett has kindly given permission to reproduce his work. He continues to assert his rights under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.