Guildford Bason
| Location | Guildford, Surrey |
|---|---|
| Home club | Guildford Cricket Club |
| County club | Surrey |
| Establishment | by 1769 |
| Last used | 1777 |
Coordinates: 51°14′10″N 0°32′24″W / 51.236°N 0.540°W
Guildford Bason (or Basin) is an English former cricket ground on Merrow Down, on the outskirts of Guildford, Surrey. Guildford is the location for the earliest definite reference to cricket in English history. A 1597 court case proves that a certain plot of land was used by boys who were playing the game in c.1550.
In July 1730, Merrow Down is stated as the venue for a match between Mr Andrews’ XI and the Duke of Richmond’s XI.
In September 1741, Merrow Down is the venue for a famous match between, to quote the Duke of Richmond: "poor little Slyndon against almost your whole county of Surrey". Slindon, featuring Richard Newland, won "almost in one innings".
In 1762 there is another Guildford reference at Merrow Down with the Guildford club losing by two runs to Chertsey.
The first actual reference to Guildford Bason is the game played 31 July – 1 August 1769 between Caterham and Hambledon. Hambledon won by 4 wickets thanks to "the batting of Messrs Small and Bayton".
Sussex lawyer John Baker, a regular spectator at Georgian matches, described some of them in his diary. One is the All-England v Hampshire game in July 1772 which Baker attended with his parson friend, John Woodward. He writes that Hambledon was already batting when they arrived. It was a cheerful scene and "the Basin on Merrow Down" was ringed by a big crowd of spectators, most of them standing. Indeed, contemporary paintings of matches show no sign of seating accommodation for the ordinary folk. The local publicans were doing good business in their booths, some of them rented by the local nobility and thus the equivalent of the present-day sponsors’ tents or boxes. As in our own times, the occupants were often more interested in the food and drink than in the cricket. Guildford had fixed up a small grandstand "with benches above one another over his booth below", but it was already full. Baker then talks about "finding a small booth where we had a good cold dinner and good cider and ale". He says this was better and cheaper than the one they had on the following day in the White Hart booth.
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