Greatest Cricket Moments

Lansdown Cricket Club Founded at Bath — 1824

1824-04-22n/aFounding of Lansdown Cricket Club, Bath, April 18241 min readSeverity: Mild

Summary

In April 1824 a group of Bath gentlemen founded the Lansdown Cricket Club, leasing a pitch on Lansdown Hill above the city. Lansdown CC is the oldest surviving cricket club in the south-west of England and one of the most important early West Country institutions. The club was, in due course, a key formative ground for W.G. Grace.

What Happened

Cricket in Bath had been played informally since the eighteenth century. The April 1824 founding gave the city its first formal club. The Lansdown ground — on the high ground above the Royal Crescent — was leased from a local landowner. The club drew its membership from Bath's professional and merchant class. By the 1850s Lansdown was the leading West Country club; W.G. Grace's father became a member, and the young Grace played there as a boy in the late 1850s.

Timeline

Apr 1824

Lansdown CC founded

1850s

W.G. Grace plays at Lansdown as a boy

1864

Grace's first-class debut

Present

Lansdown CC remains in continuous operation

Aftermath

Lansdown CC remains in continuous operation. The club's connection to the Grace family makes it one of the most historically significant West Country cricket institutions.

⚖️ The Verdict

The founding of organised cricket in the West Country — and a thread in the early formation of W.G. Grace.

Legacy & Impact

Modern Somerset and Gloucestershire cricket descends, in part, from these early Lansdown matches. W.G. Grace's earliest formal cricket was at Lansdown.

Tags

#roundarm-era#lansdown#bath#somerset#1824#iconic-moment

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