STEVE DRAPER is a well-known cricket historian who has been a member of the Association of Cricket Statisticians for many years. His several research articles include: The Cricket Grounds of Yorkshire. published in 1995 and The Cricket Grounds of Durham (2006).
FORMER GROUNDS AROUND LEEDS AND BRADFORD
Yorkshire County Cricket Club was born in Sheffield, and throughout the nineteenth century the main focus of County Cricket was in that city. Sheffield's ascendancy was cemented in 1855 by the construction of Bramall Lane cricket ground at the time one of the most important and impressive grounds in England. Cricket lovers elsewhere in Yorkshire, particularly Leeds and Bradford were envious of Sheffield's dominance and would eventually challenge Sheffield's position with the construction of the grounds at Headingley and Horton Park Avenue respectively. Before these grounds existed, other grounds in and around Leeds and Bradford staged First-class cricket and details of these grounds are given below.
BRADFORD
GREAT HORTON ROAD
The 'Old' Bradford Cricket club was established in 1836, although teams had appeared under the name of 'Bradford' since 1830, if not before. The earliest games were played on open land such as Bradford Moor, Fairweather Green and at Apperley Bridge. The fledgling cricket club continued to use these venues whilst having an area of land on Great Horton Road to practice on.
In 1839 the club acquired its first proper ground, a plot of land on Great Horton Road just to the west of a large house called 'Mannville'. Once established at their new ground the clubs fortunes quickly improved and cricket became a firm favourite with the population of the rapidly expanding town.
Some idea of the club's ambition can be gauged from the fact that the club engaged two professionals in 1840, and in 1841 acquired the services of John Hall, from Nottingham, who would have a great influence on the strength of the Bradford Club for many years. By 1847 the club was strong enough to beat the mighty Sheffield side and in the following year the All-England XI paid their visit to the town to play 'XVIII of Bradford and District'. Bradford was to be a lucrative venue for the touring XI's right up to the 1870's in some seasons two different touring sides visited the town.
Site of Great Horton Road Ground 2005
Photo bt Steve Draper
The club's original ground was extremely primitive. A small rectangular plot of land, the grounds 'facilities' were once described as a ''rickety old cow-shed which did duty as a dressing room, warehouse, smoke divan, parlour and kitchen.'' This ground was last used in 1851, being sold of for building land at the end of the season. The site today is covered by a street of terraced houses called ''Claremont'' which runs directly off Great Horton Road.
A new site was soon found, however, and the club did not have to look far the new ground being built on the next plot of land but one from the old ground, further west along Great Horton Road. A lusty six-hit could have spanned the two grounds. To avoid confusion it is worth noting that the road now always referred to as ''Great Horton Road'' was at this time often called 'Lane' rather than 'Road', and also the word 'Great' was sometimes omitted. Topographically the new ground was a very similar shaper to the old and, although larger, was still very narrow.
The 'New' ground, as it was often called during the 1850s, was opened on the 12th July 1852 when the Bradford club faced York. In September of that year the All-England XI paid the first of many visits. The 1850s were something of a 'boom' time for cricket in Bradford the half-day holiday system saw many new clubs springing up to play on Saturday afternoons, some of which have survived to the present day.
Given the level of interest in cricket in the town it is, perhaps, not surprising that Bradford C. C. were very involved in the efforts to establish a representative 'Yorkshire' team, and were sometimes at loggerheads with their counterparts in Sheffield. In 1863 [22nd, 23rd and 24th June] the club organised a county match at Great Horton Road, Nottinghamshire being the visitors. This was to be the first 'home' game ever played by the newly-formed Yorkshire C.C.C. coming two weeks after their first ever game at the Oval.
County games continued annually for the next few years and in 1866 the ground staged the only two home games to be played by Yorkshire that season, following the dispute between five of Yorkshire's professionals and the Sheffield committee. In 1867, however, Bradford lost its county game when Nottinghamshire refused to visit as the previous years game had been a financial disaster they seem to have made the club responsible for heavy rain which washed out all but half-a-day's play! It has to be admitted, however, that it would seem that the ground was far from ideal for first-class cricket even by the standards of that time. The ground was small and cramped and had few facilities whilst the pitches were often criticised and scores on the ground were generally low.
The loss of top-class games was a set-back for the club, but work soon commenced on improving the ground. A new brick-built pavilion was built on the north-western side of the ground around 1870 and in 1873 a new permanent grandstand replaced the old temporary structure. In November of that year at the club's A.G.M. it was announced that the club intended to press Yorkshire to return to the ground they were successful and in 1874 Great Horton Road hosted fixtures against the United South of England XI, led by W.G. Grace, and Lancashire.
The venue's revival was to prove a short-lived affair and the money invested in it was wasted as the ground was lost to cricket prior to the 1875 season. The club tried to struggle on by playing only away games in 1875 (they were able to use the ground for practice games before building work commenced). After that the club went into suspension and was effectively defunct by 1877. The clubs off-field problems were compounded by a gradual erosion of the club's support and playing strength by the growth of rival clubs in the Bradford area. Seemingly the 'old' club could be a little 'snobby' at times too, which did not help matters.
The site of the Great Horton Road ground is bounded by that road to the north-west; a path that runs along the back of the houses on Ash Grove to the north-east; Easby Road to the south-west and open land to the south-west. It is worth noting that the ground has sometimes been referred to as 'Easby Road' but I have yet to see a contemporary report that uses this name indeed for most of the ground's life Easby Road did not even exist an unnamed path ran down that side of the ground. Today the site is still covered by the development of Victorian housing specifically Pemberton Drive and the eastern halves of Sherborne Road and Merton Road.
HOLBECK
RECREATION GROUND
The first references to cricket in Holbeck appear in the early 1840's, when games are known to have been played on Holbeck Moor (a small portion of which survives to the present day). By the end of the decade Holbeck were developing into a strong side, in the context of Leeds cricket at that time, and had acquired an enclosed ground in the Beeston Hill area. The club hosted a visit by the All-England XI against a Leeds and District XXII in 1858.
Before the 1864 season the club negotiated the lease on a new larger ground a portion of Holbeck Moor that belonged to Mr. Meynell Ingram, and set about turning it into a major cricket ground. This was a facility much needed in the Leeds area due to the continuing decline of the old Victoria Ground. The site chosen was on the western edge of the Moor, bounded by Brown Lane to the north.
The first game at the 'New Recreation Ground' to have been traced was between the Holbeck C.C. and Morley Nelson C.C. on 11th June 1864 but it was over a year until the ground had its ''official'' opening when a Leeds and District XXII hosted the United All-England XI. Within three years the ground was used by Yorkshire for the ''Roses'' fixture[9th and 10th July 1868, but a disappointingly weak Lancashire side were easily beaten within two days George Freeman returned incredible bowling figures in this game including a 'hat-trick'.
Site of Recreation Ground, Holbeck
Photo by Steve Draper
Yorkshire were not to visit the ground again until the 1880's when the Holbeck club (who had added a rugby section to the existing cricket and bowling clubs by this time) made a concerted effort to host regular First-class cricket. Facilities were never ideal however, and the development of Headingley dealt a crushing blow to the club's aspirations. In addition to hosting top class cricket and rugby (including Yorkshire Cup finals and county games) the ground saw some of the first attempts in interesting the rugby-loving Leeds sports fans in the Association Football code.
Despite negotiating a new ten-year lease with the Meynell Ingram estate in the winter of 1891/92 the club were finding the demands of rugby and cricket to be too much for the playing area. Unable to acquire the extra land to be able to separate the cricket and rugby grounds the club looked for an alternative site. This was found half-a-mile along Elland Road where the Holbeck club took over the existing rugby and cricket grounds of the 'Old Peacock Hotel', and left the Recreation Ground, in 1897.
Holbeck's rugby section did not survive for long and their ground was taken over for association football firstly by Leeds City F.C. and subsequently Leeds United F.C.- developing into the present day Elland Road stadium. The cricket ground was on the opposite side of Lowfields Road to the football ground - behind the 'New Peacock' public house. Holbeck Cricket Club survived into the 1960's when, at a time that the club was by probably the best in Leeds, a lack of people to administrate its organisation led to it being wound up. This cricket ground and the 'New Peacock' have both since vanished in the face of road developments.
The site of the old 'Recrie' ground, as it was nicknamed, is still covered by the late-Victorian development of tightly-packed back-to-back houses. The names of several of these streets, Recreation View, Terrace, Row etc., bear witness to the old grounds existence.
HUNSLET
WOODHOUSE HILL GROUND
In many respects the development of Hunslet is similar to Holbeck urban growth in the latter half of the 19th century causing the once separate village being engulfed by the city of Leeds. Both Holbeck and Hunslet were formally incorporated into Leeds in the 1920's, but being larger and further from the city Hunslet tended to retain more of its separate identity for longer.
Cricket is known to have been played in Hunslet as early as 1814, following the familiar pattern of being played on an open moor in this case Hunslet Moor, a tiny part of which survives to the present. The Moor continued to be the major venue for the next thirty years or so, but by 1847, at the latest, the local cricketers had acquired an enclosed ground in the Woodhouse Hill area.
The new ground, leased from a Mr Parnaby, was sufficiently developed by 1852 to receive a visit from the All-England XI and there were further visits in 1853 and 1860. The Hunslet club were re-formed, for the last time, in 1862. The ground was bounded by the Cemetery Tavern to the north, Middleton Road (beyond bowling greens and tennis courts) to the west and Hunslet cemetery to the south. Open fields lay to the east. The pitch ran north - south, the ends being named respectively the 'Leeds End' and the 'Cemetery End'.
In 1868 the Hunslet club promoted a game against the United All-England XI and a very successful game against the touring Australian Aborigines. Perhaps encouraged by this success the club staged a game between Yorkshire and Cambridgeshire on the 12th and 13th July 1869. Roger Iddison's century was the highlight of a very one-sided game. Although this game has always been regarded as first-class it should be noted that the team representing Cambridgeshire was unofficial and rather a 'scratch' team. It may come as a surprise to many cricket fans now but during the 1850's and the early part of the 1860s Cambridgeshire were one of the strongest counties in English cricket but there demise was remarkably swift and the official Cambridgeshire County club had been wound-up two years before this game.
Site of Woodhouse Hill Ground, Hunslet
Photo by Steve Draper
Three years later, the ground staged its second, and last, First-class game when The United North and United South Elevens met. There was a great disappointment for the spectators however, when it was learned that W.G. Grace would not be playing, having set sail for a cricketing tour of North America.
In addition to using the facilities of the Cemetery Tavern the club erected tents for major games and built a small grandstand. The Australian tourists of 1878 and 1880 visited the ground but it suffered two major disadvantages: it was so small that boundary hits only counted for three, and it was rather a long way from the centre of Hunslet. Worse still, it was on the 'wrong' side of Hunslet the south- to attract large crowds from the city of Leeds.
In 1883 a rugby section was added, but the ground was given up five years later the last game being a club match against Armley C.C. on 17th September 1888. The club, taking their grandstand with them, moved to a new ground at Parkside, which was to become more famous as a Rugby League venue. The cricket section of the club folded after the 1959 season, Rugby continued at Parkside until 1973 when the club folded and the Parkside ground was demolished.
The only part of the Woodhouse Hill ground that survives is the Cemetery Tavern, now known as the ''Parnaby Tavern'' and a 1920s/30s rebuild of the original inn. The housing of Parnaby Road covers the southern section of the ground, the northern part has disappeared quite literally: originally it became a railway cutting but in the 1970s the M1 (subsequently renumbered as the M621) motorway was routed through the site. Most of the former playing area, including the pitch, is now therefore 'thin air' above the constant flow of traffic.
HORSFORTH
HORSFORTH HALL PARK
The attractive Horsforth Hall Park cricket ground set in parkland in the 'village' of Horsforth to the north-west of Leeds, presents an unlikely setting for first-class cricket but in 1885[13th, 14th, and15th August] the future Lord Hawke staged a game here which has been accorded such status. The game, which was for charity, was to have been ''Yorkshire v Oxford and Cambridge Universities'' but the unavailability of some University men led to the change in title the fixture was played as 'Yorkshire v M.B.Hawkes XI'.
Horsforth Hall, after which the park was named, was built in 1699 and the formal parkland around it was laid out at the same time. Cricket in the park is known to date from at least the 1850s. During the Victorian era several teams used the ground, the most prominent being Horsforth Hall Park C.C. (formed c1881) and the long-defunct Airedale Wanderers C.C.
Site of Horsforth Hall Park Ground, 2003
Photo by Steve Draper
At the time of the first-class game the land was still private and the public only had access on certain occasions. This situation persisted until the park passed to Horsforth U.D.C. in 1907, which turned it into a public park. Yorkshire tried the ground as a Second XI in the 1920s but the grounds' future was threatened a few years later when it was proposed that Leeds Ring-Road be routed through the park. Fortunately the plans were changed and the Ring-Road runs immediately to the south of the ground. Horsforth Hall was finally demolished in 1952.
The ground today is beautifully situated in mature parkland. The only permanent structures are the modern pavilion/changing rooms on the south-western side and the scoreboard opposite. By club standards the playing area is large and level and has a reputation for providing good, true pitches. Ownership of the ground passed to Leeds City Council following local government re-organisation and is leased to Horsforth Hall Park C.C. who competes in the Airedale and Wharfedale Senior League.
Bibliography:
D. Maude A Centenary of Yorkshire Cricket at Park Avenue 1881-1981 (1982)
J. Lonsdale Grounds for Hope? (White Rose Magazine, November 1989)
M .Green Football in Leeds (1992)
Newspapers: Bradford Observer.Leeds Intelligencer, Leeds Mercury, Yorkshire Post
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