From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Dartford Brent
Dartford Brent
Dartford Brent cricket ground ground at that time lay near the top of Brent Lane, some-
where across the road which passes alongside Hesketh
Location outside Dartford, Kent Park.
Home club Dartford Cricket Club
County club Kent (pre-county club)
Today
Dartford Cricket Club still plays in the Kent League and
Established before 1709 its present ground at Hesketh Park is almost all that is
Last used 1795 left of the old Brent.
Dartford Brent was an extensive area of common land
on the outskirts of Dartford in Kent. In history, it was
External sources
the scene of a confrontation between King Henry VI and • History of Dartford Cricket Club
Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York in 1452; and in • From Lads to Lord’s; The History of Cricket: 1300 –
1555 thousands of spectators were to witness the burning 1787
to death at the stake of Christopher Ward, a Dartford • CricketArchive – Dartford Brent
linen weaver, executed for his Protestant faith.
Part of Dartford Brent was a famous major cricket References
venue in the 18th century and it was almost certainly in
use in during the 17th century also. It was noted for the [1] Dartford CC website
quality of its turf, which was said to be "as smooth as a [2] G B Buckley, Fresh Light on Pre-Victorian Cricket,
bowling green" [1]. Cotterell, 1937
[3] Arthur Haygarth, Scores & Biographies, Volume 1
(1744-1826), Lillywhite, 1862
Major cricket venue
Major cricket was played at Dartford Brent all through Further reading
the 18th century and numerous references have survived
from 1709 to 1795. • F S Ashley-Cooper, At the Sign of the Wicket: Cricket
The earliest known inter-county match took place 1742-1751, Cricket Magazine, 1900
there on 29 June 1709 when Kent and Surrey played • F S Ashley-Cooper, Kent Cricket Matches 1719-1880,
against each other [2]. Gibbs & Sons, 1929
The All-England v Hampshire match played 27, 28 and • G B Buckley, Fresh Light on 18th Century Cricket,
29 August 1795 (Hampshire won by 4 wickets) was the Cotterell, 1935
last time Dartford Brent is known to have been used for • Arthur Haygarth, Scores & Biographies, Volume 1
a major match. Games in Dartford after 1795 were played (1744-1826), Lillywhite, 1862
at Bowman’s Lodge on nearby Dartford Heath [3]. • H T Waghorn, Cricket Scores, Notes, etc. (1730-1773),
Blackwood, 1899
• H T Waghorn, The Dawn of Cricket, Electric Press, 1906
Campaign against closure
According to the club’s website, an unsuccessful cam- Coordinates: 51°26.3′N 0°14′E / 51.4383°N 0.233°E /
paign was waged against the Brent’s enclosure during the 51.4383; 0.233
1870s and the townspeople presented a petition to the
Court of Common Council. Among other things, the peti-
tion held that a portion of the Brent had been used as the
town cricket ground throughout the whole period of liv-
ing memory; while the whole area had been "constantly
resorted to for all sorts of past times and has been looked
upon as the recreation ground of Dartford". The cricket
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Dartford Brent
Categories:
• Cricket grounds in Kent
• History of Kent
• English cricket in the 18th century
• Dartford
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