Antelope Ground
Entrance to the Antelope Ground
|
|
| Full name | Antelope Ground |
|---|---|
| Former names | Day's Ground |
| Location | St Mary's, Southampton, England |
| Coordinates | 50°54′43″N 1°23′59″W / 50.91194°N 1.39972°WCoordinates: 50°54′43″N 1°23′59″W / 50.91194°N 1.39972°W |
| Owner | St. Mary's Church, Southampton |
| Operator | Daniel Day |
| Capacity | c.12,000 |
| Opened | pre-1839 |
| Closed | 1896 |
| Tenants | |
|
Hampshire County Cricket Club (1842–1845 & 1864–1884) Southampton St. Mary's F.C. (1887–1896) |
|
The Antelope Ground, Southampton was a sports ground that was the first home of both Hampshire County Cricket Club, who played there prior to 1884, and of Southampton, who played there from 1887 to 1896 as "Southampton St. Mary's F.C."
The ground was situated on the east side of St Mary's Road at the corner of the present-day Brinton's Terrace and extended south to Clovelly Road and east to Exmoor Road. The ground took its name from the Antelope Hotel, which was situated on the opposite side of St Mary's Road.
The first known cricket match played at the ground was on 23 August 1839 when "North of Hampshire" opposed "South of Hampshire".
In 1842 three local gentlemen, Thomas Chamberlayne, Sir Frederick Hervey-Bathurst and Sir John Barker-Mill, financed the development of the ground and installed the former Hampshire and Surrey cricketer Daniel Day in the Antelope Hotel. Chamberlayne was a Hampshire cricketer, making several appearances in the 1840s, including in the Hampshire v. England match in September 1842. Hervey-Bathurst also played regularly for MCC and Hampshire between 1832 and 1861. All three gentlemen are shown on the scorecard of a match between MCC and Hampshire at Lord's on 30 June 1842, although Barker-Mill is shown as "absent hurt".
During the period when the ground was under the supervision of Daniel Day the ground was known as "Day's Ground" rather than the Antelope. Five first-class matches were played there between 1842 and 1845. The first important match was staged there on in September 1842, when Hampshire played England. This was a low-scoring match with Hampshire being bowled out for 67 in the first innings; England replied with a total of 99, but Hampshire only managed 27 in their second innings and England thus won by an innings and 5 runs. England's best bowler was William Hillyer who took 15 wickets in the match.
...
Wikipedia