Sevenoaks Hockey Club
The Vine cricket ground Sevenoaks
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| Ground information | |||||||||
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| Location | Sevenoaks, Kent | ||||||||
| Coordinates | 51°16′34″N 0°11′38″E / 51.276°N 0.194°ECoordinates: 51°16′34″N 0°11′38″E / 51.276°N 0.194°E | ||||||||
| Home club | Sevenoaks Vine Cricket Club | ||||||||
| Establishment | by 1734 | ||||||||
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| As of 16 December 2017 Source: CricketArchive |
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The Vine Cricket Ground, also known as Sevenoaks Vine, is one of the oldest cricket venues in England. It was given to the town of Sevenoaks in Kent in 1773 by John Frederick Sackville, 3rd Duke of Dorset (1745 – 1799) and owner of nearby Knole House. The land is thought to have possibly been used as a vineyard for the Archbishops of Canterbury.
Seven oak trees were planted on the northern edge of the ground in 1902 to mark the coronation of King Edward VII. Six were blown down in the Great Storm of 1987. In December 1987, seven new oaks were planted to replace those lost in the storm.
Sevenoaks Vine Cricket Club and Sevenoaks Hockey Club, both sections of the Sevenoaks Vine Club, play on the ground which is owned by Sevenoaks Town Council. It is located to the north of Sevenoaks town centre alongside the A225 Dartford Road.
Sevenoaks Vine Cricket Club pay a rent of 1 peppercorn per year for the use of the ground, the archetypal peppercorn rent, but pay for the upkeep of The Vine even though it is common ground. The cricket pavilion, which is a Grade II listed building built in 1850, is rented separately by the Sevenoaks Vine Club. In keeping with tradition, the club pay Lord Sackville one cricket ball on 21 July each year. In practice this ceremony happens every year on the Wednesday of cricket week, which is the second week in July.
A bandstand was built next to the pavilion in 1894 and the ground is overlooked by a number of residential properties, one of which, Vine Cottage, is contemporary with the establishment of the ground. The pavilion was renovated in 1934.
The Vine is one of the oldest cricket venues in the world. Its earliest known use was for a match between Kent, organised by Lord John Sackville, and Sussex, organised by Sir William Gage, on Friday, 6 September 1734, a game which Kent won. A fixture was played to mark the bicentenary of the occasion in 1934.
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