Kentish Express Ashford & District
A look back at Kent’s
For some they are a second home and for others they hold an almost utopian quality as a destination of pilgrimage to watch a beloved team or sport.
Sports grounds have long been at the centre of community and social life in Kent as much as they are in any part of the country.
As with anything, times change and so do the grounds - many of the venues featured here no longer exist or have undergone so much transformation they are hardly recognisable from their original forms. But some have stood the test of time.
St Lawrence Ground, Canterbury – Kent County Cricket Club
The ground at the southeastern edge of Canterbury has been home to Kent County Cricket Club for almost 175 years.
First-class cricket has been played there since 1847 and the annual Canterbury Cricket Week is the oldest cricket festival of its kind in the world.
It is arguably one of the most enjoyable places to watch cricket in the country as it remains open and largely undeveloped and features grass banking and small seated sections and stands.
Only in more recent decades has the ground started seeing modern development required to bring facilities up to speed for a professional 21st century sports organisation.
The most famous feature of all is the lime tree located in one corner of the ground which had been there for about 40 years before cricket was played at the ground in 1847.
The tree sat inside the boundary of the playing area with ground rules in place that it would be four runs should the ball touch any part of the tree at any time whether it cleared the ropes or not. Fungal rot was diagnosed in the 200-year-old tree in the late 1990s and a replacement tree planted in 2004, which is now located outside the playing area.
Today the ground has a capacity of 7,000 but in the past thousands more will have packed into the ground especially for the popular cricket week.
Cricket was originally only played at St Lawrence once a year - during the annual Canterbury Cricket Week. But as the game developed and public recreation grew during the Victorian era, the St Lawrence Cricket Club formed in 1864.
Improvements were made during the 1870s after Kent County Cricket Club officially formed after the East and West Kent Cricket Clubs - Beverley Cricket Club in Canterbury and Maidstone Cricket Club - joined together.
WG Grace scored the first ever first-class triple century at Canterbury in 1876 for the MCC against Kent.
St Lawrence was bought by the new Kent club for £4,500 from the 2nd Earl Sondes, who owned the ground, in 1896.
The Frank Woolley Stand was built next to the pavilion in the 1920s with the Colin Cowdrey Stand - home to the club shop and corporate facilities - added in the 1980s. Further development has taken place since 2000 with new corporate boxes and public bar added in the Les Ames Stand. Flats were built in the mid 2010s to help Kent raise cash.
Canterbury has hosted four men’s one-day international matches there but never a Test match. International women’s cricket has also been held at St Lawrence with one-day and England Test matches played.
Priestfield Stadium, Gillingham Gillingham FC The Priestfield
Stadium has been home to Gillingham FC since the club formed in 1893 as New Brompton FC. The club was renamed in 1913.
As with many football grounds, it started with banking and terracing and couple of small covered stands on either side. As the club grew, more seating and standing areas were developed. The record attendance for the ground is 23,002 in an FA Cup game with QPR in 1948.
Today, capacity is 11,582, with redevelopment and all-seating dropping from almost 20,000 in the late 1990s.
An extensive period of reconstruction took place from 1997 with a new Gordon Road stand built first and the main Medway Stand and new Rainham Ends. Corporate facilities and a banqueting suite were also added.
The final stand - the Brian Moore End - was pulled down in 2003/04 with hopes to have a new stand built the following year. However, the project suffered many setbacks as the club grappled with financial uncertainty and talks of relocating. Instead a temporary uncovered stand was erected – it still remains in place today.
Mote Park, Maidstone - The Mote Cricket Club and Kent County Cricket Club
Once the second home to Kent County Cricket Club, Mote Park in Maidstone has not hosted the county for more than 15 years.
The Mote hasn’t been used since then after the ECB penalised Kent eight points for a poor pitch. Cricket has been played at The Mote since 1854 with its debut first-class game held in 1859 between Kent and the MCC. More than
200 first-class games have been held at The Mote with limited overs games hosted between 1969 and 2005.
Like St Lawrence, it has never hosted a Test match but international sides have played there including Australia in 1890, South Africa in 1912 and 1951, Canada in 1954 and New Zealand in 1965 and 1969.
The Mote Cricket Club still plays there in the Kent Cricket League.
The Crabble, Dover - Dover Athletic FC
Known officially as the Crabble Athletic Ground, the venue in Dover is now home to Dover Athletic Football Club. But it wasn’t always the case.
More than 100 first-class cricket matches were played there by Kent after the sports ground was established in the late 1800s. Kent last played there in 1976 after 69 years of playing in Dover.
The ground, located in the north of the town, had been home to Dover’s football side since 1931. But Dover FC folded in 1983 with phoenix club Dover Athletic forming in its place.
The ground is capable of holding 5,745 fans in two seated stands and two covered terraces.
A redeveloped clubhouse in 2008 saw facilities upgraded.
The ground was established in 1896 when a syndicate of local businessmen joined to build a sports complex - it was completed a year later.
As well as hosting football and cricket, an athletics and cycling track was built.
The Athletic Ground and Gallagher Stadium, Maidstone - Maidstone United FC
Now a relic of the past, Maidstone United FC’s first ground in London Road was the Athletic Ground.
Since it was sold in 1988, the club has moved to the modern Gallagher Stadium across the River Medway and the site was redeveloped. It is now the London Road Retail Park.
Another multi-sport venue, the Athletic Ground was home to