The Nevill Ground is a cricket ground at Royal Tunbridge Wells in the English county of Kent. It is owned by Tunbridge Wells Borough Council and is used by Tunbridge Wells Cricket Club in the summer months and by Tunbridge Wells Hockey Club in the winter. It is also used by the Tunbridge Wells Harriers running club. It was opened in 1898 and was first used by Kent County Cricket Club in 1901. Until 2019, the county held the Tunbridge Wells Cricket Week on the ground annually, despite a suffragette arson attack which destroyed the pavilion in 1913.
As well as hosting over 180 of Kent's first-class cricket matches, the ground played host to a single One Day International during the 1983 Cricket World Cup and was used for one match during the 1993 Women's Cricket World Cup.
The ground is known for being one of the more picturesque county grounds in England and particularly for having rhododendron bushes around the perimeter.Nevill Ground, CricInfo. Retrieved 11 March 2018.Hogwood C (2019) Kent Cricket Festival: Director of cricket Paul Downton discusses Tunbridge Wells tradition, Kent Online, 14 June 2019. Retrieved 16 June 2019. It is located around south-east of the centre of Tunbridge Wells in Hawkenbury.How to find us , Tunbridge Wells Hockey Club. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
History The ground was established after the purchase of the land, in 1895, by the Tunbridge Wells Cricket, Football and Athletic Club and the Bluemantle's Cricket Club on a 99-year lease from William Nevill, 1st Marquess of Abergavenny. It had formed part of his Eridge Park estate on the edge of Tunbridge Wells. Building of the ground's facilities started in 1896 and it was officially opened by the Marquess, after whom the ground was named, in 1898.A brief history of the Nevill Ground, CricInfo. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
The original cricket pavilion on the ground was designed by local architect CH Strange and built in 1903 at a cost of £1,200.The Builder, vol. 104, no.1, 1913, p.504. It was destroyed in an arson attack, generally believed to have been the responsibility of militant suffragettes, in April 1913.Williamson M (2008) Blowing up a blind man and his dog, Cricinfo, 12 April 2008. Retrieved 11 March 2018. During the First World War the ground was requisitioned by the British army to graze cavalry horses, damaging the pitch, and during the Second World War it was again requisitioned for military purposes, this time to billet soldiers.Ton up – A century for the Kent Cricket Festival, Index Magazine. Retrieved 11 March 2018. Ownership of the ground was transferred in 1946 from the Marquess of Abergavenny to Tunbridge Wells Borough Council after Tunbridge Wells Cricket, Football and Athletic Club had already transferred the lease a year prior.Purnell G (1997) Johnson ready to stop the rot, The Independent, 2 June 1997. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
In the early 20th century the county boundary between Kent and Sussex ran through the ground, the course of a stream beneath the ground marking the boundary at the time.Lawn Tennis, Sport in Brief, The Times, 30 July 1908, p.13.Aldred T (2002) Kent follow lead of playboy prince. The Guardian, 3 June 2002. Retrieved 11 March 2018. The rhododendron bushes around the ground are considered by cricket commentators as one of the defining images of the Nevill GroundPennell M (2012) Hamsphire struggle against Kent on a truncated day at Tunbridge Wells, The Guardian. 6 June 2012. Retrieved 11 March 2018.Edwards P (2014) Clouds gather over Tunbridge Wells, CricInfo, 26 May 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2018. and the ground has been described as "one of the finest cricket grounds in England".Edwards P (2017) Kent bask in Nevill dominance with festival's future uncertain, CricInfo, 28 May 2017. Retrieved 11 March 2018.Tunbridge Wells Week, The Times, 15 July 1914, p.11.
In 1995 a permanent covered brick stand was built, named the Bluemantle Stand after the Bluemantle's Cricket Club pavilion which had been built on the site after the fire of 1913.History, Bluemantle's Cricket Club. Retrieved 11 March 2018. Tunbridge Wells Borough Council has erected a temporary grandstand at the ground for some cricket weeks, sometimes funded by local businesses.
1913 arson
On 11 April 1913, the original pavilion was burnt down in an arson attack by militant suffragettes. The fire was discovered by a passing lamplighter and the fire brigade extinguished it within an hour, but too late to save the pavilion. In front of the remains of the building firemen found suffragette literature, an electric lantern and a photograph of leading suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst.Moseling M, Quarrington T (2013) A Half-Forgotten Triumph: The story of Kent's County Championship title of 1913, pp.117–125. Cheltenham: SportsBooks. .Militancy and a Cricket Pavilion, The Times, 12 April 1913, p.10. It is generally believed that the fire was caused by militant suffragettes as part of a country-wide campaign of arson and other violent opposition to the withdrawal of the 1912 Franchise Bill co-ordinated by the Women's Social and Political Union.Igniting Change, Kew, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Spring 2018, pp.49–52.
The fire destroyed archives, including a print of the first Canterbury Cricket Week and the Bluemantle's Cricket Club's archives. The attack has often been linked to a comment from an unknown Kent official who is reported to have said "It is not true that women are banned from the pavilion. Who do you think makes the teas?".Moseling & Quarrington op. cit., p.118. However women were admitted to all of Kent's pavilions by 1913 and there is no evidence that the comment was ever made.
There was an angry reaction to the attack locally and nationally. The National League for Opposing Woman Suffrage held a meeting in the town with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who was a member of Tunbridge Wells Cricket Club, where he called the suffragettes "female hooligans" and compared the attack to "blowing up a blind man and his dog".Lycett A (2007) The Man Who Created Sherlock Holmes: The Life and Times of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, p.363. New York City: Simon and Schuster. A new pavilion was built using the original designs after a series of fund raising concerts at the Opera House. Construction was finished in nine weeks, with the building completed just before the start of Tunbridge Wells Cricket Week in July 1913.
Usage The Nevill Ground is used regularly by Kent Cricket League team, Tunbridge Wells Cricket Club, and annually by Kent County Cricket Club, with the county's Second XI also playing on the ground occasionally.The Nevill Ground, Tunbridge Wells, CricketArchive. Retrieved 11 March 2018. It is also used during the winter by Tunbridge Wells Hockey Club as one of their venues for hockey. It was used for association football until 1903 and was originally used for cycle racing, athletics and archery.Milton, Howard (1979). Kent cricket grounds, in The Cricket Statistician, no. 28, December 1979, pp.2–10. It is home to Tunbridge Wells Harriers, a running club,About us, Tunbridge Wells Harriers. Retrieved 11 March 2018. and the outfield was used for important lawn tennis competitions – Tunbridge Wells Lawn Tennis Club adjoins the ground.Lawn Tennis, The Times, 1 August 1910, p.15.History , Tunbridge Wells Lawn Tennis Club. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
Tunbridge Wells Cricket Week Kent County Cricket Club use the ground as one of its outgrounds for at least one match each year. After a single match in 1901, the Tunbridge Wells Cricket Festival was established in 1902 and two first-class cricket matches were played every year, with the exception of the truncated 1919 season, until 1992, when the number was reduced.History, Tunbridge Wells Cricket Club. Retrieved 12 March 2018. One-day fixtures have been played on the ground in some seasons.
The Nevill Ground was first used as an outground by Kent in 1901 at the behest of George Harris, 4th Baron Harris. In order to assist Kent, Tunbridge Wells Borough Council has contributed around £25,000 annually to cover the running costs of hosting Kent's games at the Nevill Ground.Travelling shows must continue, The Daily Telegraph, 13 June 2007. Retrieved 11 March 2018. The Nevill Ground was popular with Kent's players due to its surroundings and it was described by cricket historian EW Swanton as "no mean contender for the most delectable English cricket ground."
In 2012, Kent's Friends Life t20 match against Sussex was moved to the St Lawrence Ground after the Nevill Ground was flooded after heavy rainfall leading to the 100th Cricket Week being cut short.Severe weather: Thanet beaches stay closed and Kent cricket moves, BBC News, 12 June 2012. Retrieved 11 March 2018. The 2016 T20 fixture was the last one-day match to be held by Kent at the Nevill, the movement of one-day fixtures to blocks of games by the ECB meaning it was no longer considered possible to hold shorter matches at Tunbridge Wells.Nevill ground hit for six as T20 date is taken away , Times of Tunbridge Wells, 7 December 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
Kent's match at Tunbridge Wells in 2017 almost had to be moved to another ground due to concerns over the maintenance of the ground by Tunbridge Wells Borough Council.Tong A (2017) Cricket Festival’s future hangs in balance as Kent complain about Tunbridge Wells ground , Times of Tunbridge Wells, 31 May 2017. Retrieved 31 January 2018.Tong A (2017) Tunbridge Wells Cricket Festival will go ahead if pitch passes inspection , Times of Tunbridge Wells, 5 December 2017. Retrieved 31 January 2018. The pitch had been left uncovered by the council's ground staff and had flooded which, combined with poor maintenance of the outfield, meant that Kent's own ground staff had to work with Tunbridge Wells Cricket Club to ensure the game could go ahead. The 2018 fixture at the ground was confirmed in February 2018 after a pre-season pitch inspection by Kent, but was subject to a further inspection prior to the match itself.Fordham J (2018) Kent Cricket announce fixture at Tunbridge Wells after issues with ground addressed by council, Kent Online, 12 February 2018. Retrieved 12 February 2018. The match went ahead and the ground continued to be used by the county during the 2019 season. However, it has not been used since, as the venue's facilities are no longer considered to meet the required standards. Kent County Cricket Club says it "remains open to a return to the Nevill Ground in future".
1983 World Cup The Nevill Ground was used as one of the grounds for the 1983 Cricket World Cup, hosting one group stage match between India and Zimbabwe on 18 June 1983. Kapil Dev scored 175 not out, made after the Indian team was initially reduced to 17 for 5, helped India win by 31 runs.Kapil clubs India to victory, BBC Sport, 9 January 2003. Retrieved 1 January 2013. India went on to win the tournament – their first World Cup title.Alter J (2016) This day, that year: India win the 1983 World Cup, The Times of India, 25 June 2016. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
Dev's partnership of 126 runs with Syed Kirmani set a world record for the largest ninth wicket stand in ODI cricket. This match led to the Nevill Ground being held in high regard by Indian cricket fansKapil Dev returns to scene of historic innings, Asian Image, 26 June 2008. Retrieved 1 January 2013. with there being a view that the match inspired a change in the way cricket was played in India. Leading Indian players such as Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid have spoken about how India winning the tournament inspired them to dream of playing for their country.Premachandran D (2012) , The National, 17 June 2012. Retrieved 19 January 2013.