White Conduit Fields
| Location | Islington, north London |
|---|---|
| Home club | White Conduit Club |
| Establishment | before 1718 |
| Last used | soon after 1787 |
White Conduit Fields in Islington was an early venue for cricket and several major matches are known to have been played there in the 18th century. It was the original home of the White Conduit Club, forerunner of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). The cricket field was adjacent to the former White Conduit House, immediately south of the modern junction between Dewey Street and Barnsbury Road.
The earliest match known to have been played at White Conduit Fields was the controversial encounter on Monday, 1 September 1718 between London Cricket Club and the Rochester Punch Club. This game provoked a legal case when the Rochester players walked off in an attempt to save their stake money, London clearly winning at the time. The case focused on the terms of the wager rather than the rules of the sport and the judge ordered the game to be played out. It was concluded in July 1719 at the same venue and London won by 21 runs. London's 21-run victory is the earliest known definite result of any cricket match.
The next known match was on Wednesday, 19 August 1719 between London and Kent. Kent won and the contemporary report concludes with: "The Kentish men won the wager" (i.e., the wager was more important than the match). London and Kent met again on Saturday, 9 July 1720 and this time London won. There was no definite use of White Conduit Fields again until 1773.
There are two known matches which took place in the Islington area in 1722 and 1730 but their precise locations are unrecorded or indeterminate. They may have been played on or near White Conduit Fields. The first took place on Wednesday, 18 July 1722 between London and Dartford. Knowledge of the match is via a letter in The Weekly Journal dated 21 July 1722. The exact venue was not confirmed but may have been White Conduit Fields. The match was abandoned following a dispute. The letter said: "A Match at Cricket was made between the little Parish of Dartford in Kent, and the Gentlemen known by the name of the London Club". Teams styled "London" were already in existence but this is the first reference to an actual "London Club".
On Wednesday, 12 August 1730, a London v Kent match began at a place called "Frog Lane" in Islington. The source records that "being obliged by their articles to leave off at seven o’clock, they could not finish it". London had a lead of 30 runs when play ended and it was decided to complete the match on Tuesday, 18 August at Kennington Common. There is no surviving record of the resumption.
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