Moulsey Hurst
Encyclopedia
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
on the south bank of the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
above Molesey Lock
Molesey Lock
Molesey Lock is a lock on the River Thames in England at East Molesey, Surrey. It is near Hampton Court Palace to the west of London.The lock was built by the City of London Corporation in 1815 and is the second longest on the river at over 268 ft . Beside the lock there are rollers for the...
. It is one of England's oldest sport
Sport
A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...
ing venues and was used in the 18th and 19th centuries for cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
, prizefighting
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
and other sports.
The site can be reached from Hampton
Hampton, London
Hampton is a suburban area, centred on an old village on the north bank of the River Thames, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in England. Formerly it was in the county of Middlesex, which was formerly also its postal county. The population is about 9,500...
across the river by Hampton Ferry
Hampton Ferry (River Thames)
Hampton Ferry is a pedestrian and cycle ferry service across the River Thames in England. The ferry links Hampton, on the north bank and in the London Borough of Richmond, with Moulsey Hurst, on the south bank and in the county of Surrey....
when it is running in the summer.
Sporting venue
When James VI and I became King of England in 1603, he brought his golf clubs with him and the first games of golfGolf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
in England were played at Molesey, Westminster and Greenwich which were large open spaces adjacent to royal palaces.
This venue is considered to be one of the birthplaces of cricket, along with other historical cricket greens, such as Mitcham Cricket Green
Mitcham Cricket Green
Mitcham Cricket Green is a cricket ground in Mitcham, south London . It is the home of Mitcham Cricket Club and is reportedly the oldest cricket ground still in use, having been used for cricket since 1685.-History:...
. The earliest known use of the site for cricket was in 1726 and the first known first class cricket match to take place here was in 1733. One of cricket's most famous paintings is Cricket at Moulsey Hurst, by Richard Wilson
Richard Wilson (painter)
Richard Wilson was a Welsh landscape painter, and one of the founder members of the Royal Academy in 1768. Wilson has been described as '...the most distinguished painter Wales has ever produced and the first to appreciate the aesthetic possibilities of his country.' He is considered to be the...
in 1780. The painting is owned by MCC
Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club is a cricket club in London founded in 1787. Its influence and longevity now witness it as a private members' club dedicated to the development of cricket. It owns, and is based at, Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood, London NW8. MCC was formerly the governing body of...
and on display at Lord's
Lord's Cricket Ground
Lord's Cricket Ground is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and Wales Cricket Board , the European Cricket Council and, until August 2005, the...
.
It was the site of the now defunct Hurst Park
Hurst Park Racecourse
Hurst Park Racecourse was a racecourse at Moulsey Hurst, West Molesey, Surrey. It was first laid out in 1890 and sold for residential housing in 1962. The Triumph Hurdle was run here from 1939 until the course closed. The last race to be held here was the Byfleet Stakes, the 4.30 on Wednesday 10...
horse race
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
course. The 1872 Ordnance Survey map shows a race course marked Molesey Hurst in this position. The location of the cricket ground was probably in the centre of the racecourse, which was common practice in the 18th century. It was at this ground where the now modern-day East Molesey CC
East Molesey Cricket Club
East Molesey Cricket Club is a cricket club in Molesey, Surrey. It was established in 1871, although cricket has been played at the Moulsey Hurst since 1731. East Molesey's current ground, 'The Memorial Ground', has been the home for the Surrey club since the late 19th century and is situated just...
began, although the current ground now lies (albeit still on the bank of the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
) on Graburn Way, about a quarter of a mile further east and a short walk from Hampton Court Palace
Hampton Court Palace
Hampton Court Palace is a royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, Greater London; it has not been inhabited by the British royal family since the 18th century. The palace is located south west of Charing Cross and upstream of Central London on the River Thames...
.
Other sports and activities included ballooning, sprinting and archery.
Moulsey Hurst today
In 2004, Hurst Park Residents Association laid out a "heritage marker" close to the river, which contains a number of illustrations of the history and activities of the area .Chronology of events
- 871 – Vikings sailed up the Thames here to sack Chertsey Abbey
- 1726 – the earliest known use of the site for cricket is recorded in the London Evening Post dated Sat 27 August 1726, in the paper's first year of publication; it carried an advertisement for a single wicketSingle WicketSingle wicket cricket is a form of cricket played between two individuals, who take turns to bat and bowl against each other. The one bowling is assisted by a team of fielders, who remain as fielders at the change of innings. The winner is the one who scores more runs...
match - 1733 – earliest known use of the site for a first-class cricketFirst-class cricketFirst-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
match when SurreySurrey county cricket teamsSurrey county cricket teams have been traced back to the 17th century but the county's involvement in cricket goes back much further than that. The first definite mention of cricket anywhere in the world is dated c.1550 in Guildford.-17th century:...
played MiddlesexMiddlesex county cricket teamsMiddlesex county cricket teams have been traced back to the 18th century but the county's involvement in cricket goes back much further than that. Given that the first definite mention of cricket anywhere in the world is dated c.1550 in Guildford, it is almost certain that the game had reached... - May 1785 – James SadlerJames Sadler (balloonist)James Sadler was the first English balloonist.Sadler was the second person to make a balloon ascent in England, very soon after the Tuscan Vincent Lunardi's flight on 15 September 1784 in the grounds of the Honourable Artillery Company at Moorfields. Sadler made his ascent during the month after...
made a hot air balloon ascent near here, accompanied by a Member of Parliament, about a year after the success of the Montgolfier BrothersMontgolfier brothersJoseph-Michel Montgolfier and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier were the inventors of the montgolfière-style hot air balloon, globe aérostatique. The brothers succeeded in launching the first manned ascent, carrying Étienne into the sky...
balloon - Autumn 1787 – a professional runner named Powell ran a mile in 4 minutes and 3 seconds at Moulsey Hurst in preparation for an attempt on the 4 minute mile
- August 1795 – in a cricket match at Moulsey Hurst, John Tufton was dismissed leg before wicketLeg before wicketIn the sport of cricket, leg before wicket is one of the ways in which a batsman can be dismissed. An umpire will rule a batsman out LBW under a series of circumstances which primarily include the ball striking the batsman's body when it would otherwise have continued on to hit the batsman's...
(lbw) by John WellsJohn Wells (cricketer)John Wells was a famous English cricketer who played for Surrey.-Career:...
; according to Arthur HaygarthArthur HaygarthArthur Haygarth was a noted amateur cricketer who became one of cricket's most significant historians....
it was the first time lbw had ever been recorded in a scorecard - 1798 – a Mr Troward, a member of the Toxophilite Society, shot an arrow on a level piece of ground on Moulsey Hurst seventeen score, or 340 yards
- 1806 – last known use of Moulsey Hurst for major cricket was the Surrey vs All England match.
External links
Further reading
- John MajorJohn MajorSir John Major, is a British Conservative politician, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990–1997...
, More Than A Game, HarperCollins, 2007 - 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