Prince of Wales Ground

Infobox county cricket ground
ground = Prince of Wales Ground


imagesize =
caption =
location = Brighton, Sussex
home club = Brighton Cricket Club
county club = Sussex (pre-county club)
established = by 1791
last used = before 1800

The Prince of Wales Ground, also known as "Prince's Ground", in Brighton, Sussex was a venue for major cricket matches in the closing years of the 18th century [Not to be confused with the 19th century London ground Prince's Cricket Ground.] .

Location

The ground was on a site now occupied by Park Crescent and its surroundings. The land was originally donated to the Brighton Cricket Club by the then Prince of Wales. His patronage helped Brighton to become a powerful club that sparked a revival in the fortunes of Sussex cricket which lasted well into the 19th century.

Matches

Only four major cricket matches were ever played at the ground. All of them took place between September 1791 and September 1792 [http://www.cricketarchive.com/Archive/Grounds/11/2371_misc.html CricketArchive list] .

Aftermath

As the towns of Brighton and Hove developed, the land was sold a few years later and the cricket club moved to a new site in Brighton at Temple Fields, which was where Montpelier Crescent is now.

The Brighton club was representative of Sussex as a county and it ultimately became the main instrument in the formation of Sussex CCC in 1839.

From July 1814, it occupied the Royal New Ground (also known as Thomas Box's Ground), another Brighton venue, which was used for 49 major matches until September 1847 and was the county ground of Sussex CCC in its early years [ [http://www.cricketarchive.com/Archive/Grounds/11/348_f.html CricketArchive] ] . From 1848 to 1871, Sussex CCC used the Royal Brunswick Ground in Brighton, also known as C H Gausden's Ground [ [http://www.cricketarchive.com/Archive/Grounds/11/347_f.html CricketArchive] ] . Since 1872, the club has been based at the County Cricket Ground, Hove [ [http://www.sussexcricket.co.uk/the-club/club-history/the-grounds/ Sussex CCC website] ] .

References and notes

External sources

* [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Grounds/11/2371_misc.html CricketArchive – major matches at the Prince of Wales Ground]
* [http://www.sussexcricket.co.uk/the-club/club-history/the-grounds/ Sussex CCC website]

Further reading

* Derek Birley, "A Social History of English Cricket", Aurum, 1999
* G B Buckley, "Fresh Light on 18th Century Cricket", Cotterell, 1935
* Arthur Haygarth, "Scores & Biographies, Volume 1 (1744-1826)", Lillywhite, 1862
* Timothy J McCann, "Sussex Cricket in the Eighteenth Century", Sussex Record Society, 2004