Itchin Stoke Down
Encyclopedia
Itchin Stoke Down is a rural location near the town of Alresford
in Hampshire
. It was used as a venue for major cricket matches in the 18th century and as the home of the Alresford Cricket Club
.
like the other two famous Hampshire venues of the time: Broadhalfpenny Down
and Windmill Down
.
Itchin Stoke Down is first referenced as the venue for the Hambledon Club
v Hambledon Parish match on Saturday 30 May 1778. The result is unknown. The game was pre-announced in the Hampshire Chronicle on Monday 18 May as "Hambledon Club v Hambledon Parish with Noah Mann
". This was more in the way of a local match, possibly a practice match by the Hambledon Club and perhaps even to give the venue a trial.
The first major match known to have taken place on the Down is Hampshire
versus All-England
on 6 & 7 July 1778. All-England won by 45 runs, thanks largely to the bowling of Edward "Lumpy" Stevens.
The Down was used as an occasional venue by Hampshire teams from then until the beginning of the 19th century and it survived the Hambledon Club. It was still in use for a Hampshire v All-England match as late as 1806, which was several years after the demise of Hambledon.
New Alresford
New Alresford or simply Alresford is a small town and civil parish in the City of Winchester district of Hampshire, England. It is situated some 12 km north-east of the city of Winchester and 20 km south-west of the town of Alton...
in Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
. It was used as a venue for major cricket matches in the 18th century and as the home of the Alresford Cricket Club
Alresford Cricket Club
Alresford Cricket Club was one of the strongest cricket teams in England during the late 18th century . It represented the adjacent small towns of New Alresford and Old Alresford in Hampshire...
.
Cricket venue
In the contemporary records, the venue's name is often shortened to "Stoke Down", which is incorrect, as is a popular notion that it is near HambledonHambledon, Hampshire
Hambledon is a small village and civil parish in the county of Hampshire in England, situated about north of Portsmouth.Hambledon is best known as the 'Cradle of Cricket'. It is thought that Hambledon Club, one of the oldest cricket clubs known, was formed about 1750...
like the other two famous Hampshire venues of the time: Broadhalfpenny Down
Broadhalfpenny Down
Broadhalfpenny Down, situated on a hilltop about a mile from the rural village of Hambledon in Hampshire, was the home venue for first-class cricket matches of the Hambledon Club from 1753 to 1781...
and Windmill Down
Windmill Down
Windmill Down is a rural location near the town of Hambledon in Hampshire. It was used as a venue for major cricket matches in the 18th century and from 1782 as the home of the Hambledon Club.-Opening of Windmill Down:...
.
Itchin Stoke Down is first referenced as the venue for the Hambledon Club
Hambledon Club
The Hambledon Club was a social club that is famous for its organisation of 18th century cricket matches. By the late 1770s it was the foremost cricket club in England.-Foundation:...
v Hambledon Parish match on Saturday 30 May 1778. The result is unknown. The game was pre-announced in the Hampshire Chronicle on Monday 18 May as "Hambledon Club v Hambledon Parish with Noah Mann
Noah Mann
Noah Mann was a famous English cricketer who played for the Hambledon Club....
". This was more in the way of a local match, possibly a practice match by the Hambledon Club and perhaps even to give the venue a trial.
The first major match known to have taken place on the Down is Hampshire
Hampshire county cricket teams
Hampshire county cricket teams have been traced back to the 18th century but the county's involvement in cricket goes back much further than that...
versus All-England
All-England Eleven
In cricket, the term All-England has been used for various non-international teams that have been formed for short-term purposes since the 1739 English cricket season and it indicates that the "Rest of England" is playing against, say, MCC or an individual county team...
on 6 & 7 July 1778. All-England won by 45 runs, thanks largely to the bowling of Edward "Lumpy" Stevens.
The Down was used as an occasional venue by Hampshire teams from then until the beginning of the 19th century and it survived the Hambledon Club. It was still in use for a Hampshire v All-England match as late as 1806, which was several years after the demise of Hambledon.
External links
Further reading
- H T WaghornH T WaghornHenry Thomas Waghorn , was a cricket statistician and historian. He is best known for his two classic researches into cricket's early history: The Dawn of Cricket and Cricket Scores: 1730 - 1773....
, The Dawn of Cricket, Electric Press, 1906 - Ashley MoteAshley MoteAshley Mote was a non-inscrit Member of the European Parliament for South East England. An outspoken critic of fraud in the European Institutions, he himself was convicted of benefit fraud in 2007 for which he served a nine-month prison sentence and was described by the trial judge as "a truly...
, The Glory Days of Cricket, Robson, 1997 - Ashley MoteAshley MoteAshley Mote was a non-inscrit Member of the European Parliament for South East England. An outspoken critic of fraud in the European Institutions, he himself was convicted of benefit fraud in 2007 for which he served a nine-month prison sentence and was described by the trial judge as "a truly...
, John Nyren's "The Cricketers of my Time", Robson, 1998 - David UnderdownDavid UnderdownDavid E. Underdown 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 College, Oxford...
, Start of Play, Allen Lane, 2000