Welcome to ....   Chessington Cricket & Sports Club  History and Background

Chessington Cricket Club can trace its origins back to 16th July 1870, and a cricket fixture against local rivals Hook, played at Malden Rushett. A four innings game (unheard of now) which barely lasted the afternoon, with Chessington's second innings of 55 for 8 wickets being the top score!  

 

By 1880 regular cricket was a feature with home games played at either Strawberry Hill (43 acres incorporating a large mansion behind the Harrow pub and ranging from St Phillips school grounds and opposite the Harrow into what is now the Wimpy Estate) or Stags Meadow (7.5 acres running from the old Fleetwood Fengate site and into Cheshire Gardens).

 

Tuesday 27^th Feb, 1895 is the first recorded AGM, held at the Burnt Stub (now within grounds of Chessingtom World of Adventures) - where they met to elect officers of the club & audit the books - balance in hand £2.18.3d.

 

The AGM in March 1900 allowed for youth members to join the club - offering cricket to youths aged between 13 and 17 years and thus the first colts section was born. Annual membership was one shilling (5p).

 

In July 1910, school boys were permitted to join following the generosity of Mr Monier-Williams (owner of Stags Meadow) in allowing the club to use another field.

 

No cricket was played during the Great War (1914 - 1918), although Mrs Monier-Williams died in 1918, which resulted in her husband leaving the district, and thereby Stags Meadow falling into new ownership.

At this point Sir Francis Barker (Lord of the Manor) offered a local ground for use by local residents as a sports ground and thus Chessington had secured its new home ground - where it still remains today - Sir Francis Barker Recreation Ground, Leatherhead Road.

 

The Club effectively reformed in 1919 & the new home ground handed over to a Recreation Ground Committee to administer & serve in 1920. The committee continues in this role today - suffice to say with new members!

 

Meetings were held either in the local pub (Fox & Hounds - now the Shy Horse) or in the Parish Hall which still exists, for now anyway, adjacent to Almshouse Lane which was next door to the original St Mary's school.

 

In 1920 the pavilion comprised a round 'shed' which was corrugated & galvanised. This was superseded in 1928 by the building of a new pavilion, on the same site as today's club house.

 

However this was still pretty basic, with no glass, shutters all round, water drawn from external tap at St Mary's school & no electricity. This remained until 1963 - albeit some improvements along the way, notably an extension, water & electricity - but these were not added until 1951!

 

From 1939 until the end of WW2, the Club 'closed down', although its spirit lived on through a mixture of the very young and the elderly, playing cricket under the name of 'Fleetwood'. At the same time the RAF had its balloon barrage operational on the ground.

 

A bar was added to the old pavilion in 1959, but by 1960 plans were afoot to build a modern facility, to include a bar and a social area - something new in a cricket club - but the birth of Chessington Cricket & Sports Club as we know it today.

 

It took 4 years to come to fruition, and at a cost of £4000, but a new pavilion was opened on 8^th May 1964. It was to be short lived as an electrical fault caused a fire and its destruction in September 1964.

 

A new pavilion, re-built through insurance & grants, was finally opened in May 1965 and apart from improvements and internal alterations remains pretty much the same building today.

 

On the cricket front a colts section was formally set up in 1963 and remains vibrant today - with age groups from under 10's upwards enjoying competitive league fixtures, and training/coaching nights for under 7's & upwards.

 

The Club's main (back) ground, with a splendid view across Winey Hill, was acquired in 1971, levelled, seeded & drainage laid to enable its first game in 1973. It is today one of the finest grounds in Surrey.

 

By now the Club boasted a Table Tennis section, established in 1969, who play out of the Watling pavilion which was built on the club's ground in 1976.

 

A Darts section was added in 1976 and at its peak was putting out 6 sides a week. Alas numbers have dwindled in recent years but the reduced number of teams are still competitive in the Surbiton (Thursday's) and Malden (Wednesday's) league's respectively.

 

In 1985 serious football was established under the Chessington Sports name. Hugely successful across the 1980's & 1990's, the adult teams now play Sunday mornings in the Leatherhead & District league, with various youth sides (ranging from U11 to U15's) also enjoying Sunday football in various leagues.

 

Regrettably a Tennis section, established in 1946, folded through lack of members in 2007. The hard court and 2 grass courts remain - it just needs keen tennis players willing to put the effort in to re-kindle the section.

 

The Club can now boast a smashing bar - well stocked and offering a massive range of drinks for all tastes, a newly refurbished kitchen, and a well decorated club house - ideal for members to relax after their sporting endeavours, or to enjoy the full range of social events within the club (new social members always welcome), or for hire by members or non members alike for private parties.

 

But I guess it's cricket which will always be synonymous with Chessington Cricket & Sports Club - and famous names to have played at CCC include Mark Butcher, Alec Stewart & Alistair Brown. Rob Henderson (British & Irish Lions). In years gone by, John Edrich, Ken Barrington, Mickey Stewart, Geoff Arnold and believe it or not, Oliver Reed, complete with pint jug in hand!

 

As a Club I believe we offer much for the local community - especially colts & youth's seeking sport and coaching - and we seek new youth & adult members across the board, including purely social members/families. Future articles about the club will give a more detailed commentary on our individual sections but for now, if you want to join or have any specific questions please contact me at alan.walter@chessingtoncricketclub.com or 0208 397 8600.

 

Best wishes

 

Alan Walter

Chairman

Chessington Cricket & Sports Club.

A big thank you to Alan Bailey for the creation and update of the Chessington Cricket & Sports Club History book from which the majority of this history was gained.