Dartford Brent

Dartford Brent cricket ground
Brent Mill, Dartford. Painting reproduced as a postcard. Mill demolished 1901
Location outside Dartford, Kent
Home club Dartford Cricket Club
County club Kent
Establishment before 1709
Last used 1795

Dartford Brent was an extensive area of common land on the outskirts of Dartford in Kent. Historically, it was the scene of a confrontation between King Henry VI and Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York in 1452; and in 1555 thousands of spectators were to witness the burning to death at the stake of Christopher Ward, a Dartford linen weaver, executed for his Protestant faith.

Part of Dartford Brent was a cricket venue in the 18th century and it was almost certainly in use in during the 17th century also. It was noted for the quality of its turf, which was said to be "as smooth as a bowling green".[1]

The Brent is now primarily known as the name of a main road in east Dartford between Dartford town centre and Stone, forming part of the A226. 'Brent' is a Kentish dialect word meaning 'steep'[2], its use here possibly refers to the area of the Brent being located atop Dartford's East Hill.

Cricket venue

Top-class cricket was played at Dartford Brent all through the 18th century and numerous references have survived from 1709 to 1795.

The earliest known inter-county match took place there on 29 June 1709 when Kent and Surrey played against each other.[3]

The All-England v Hampshire match played 27, 28 and 29 August 1795 (Hampshire won by 4 wickets) was the last time Dartford Brent is known to have been used for important matches.[4] Games in Dartford after 1795 were played at Bowman’s Lodge on nearby Dartford Heath.

Campaign against closure

According to the club's website, an unsuccessful campaign was waged against the Brent's enclosure during the 1870s and the townspeople presented a petition to the Court of Common Council. Among other things, the petition held that a portion of the Brent had been used as the town cricket ground throughout the whole period of living 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 ground at that time lay near the top of Brent Lane, somewhere across the road which passes alongside Hesketh Park.

Today

Dartford Cricket Club still plays in the Kent League and its present ground at Hesketh Park is almost all that is left of the old Brent.

References

  1. ↑ Dartford CC website
  2. ↑ Howe, Ian (2012). Kent Dialect. Bradwell Books. p. 6.
  3. ↑ Buckley, p.1.
  4. ↑ All-England v Hampshire in 1795

Bibliography

  • Buckley, G. B. (1937). Fresh Light on pre-Victorian Cricket. Cotterell.

Further reading

  • Ashley-Cooper, F. S. (1900). At the Sign of the Wicket: Cricket 1742–1751. Cricket magazine.
  • Ashley-Cooper, F. S. (1880). Kent Cricket Matches 1719–1796. Gibbs & Sons.
  • Buckley, G. B. (1935). Fresh Light on 18th Century Cricket. Cotterell.
  • Waghorn, H. T. (1899). Cricket Scores, Notes, etc. (1730–1773). Blackwood.
  • Waghorn, H. T. (1906). The Dawn of Cricket. Electric Press.
  • Leach, John (2007). "From Lads to Lord's; The History of Cricket: 1300 – 1787". Stumpsite. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011.
  • "Dartford Brent". CricketArchive. Retrieved 10 January 2016.

Coordinates: 51°26.3′N 0°14′E / 51.4383°N 0.233°E / 51.4383; 0.233

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