List of Gloucestershire County Cricket Club grounds

Gloucestershire's first ever match was played at Durdham Down in 1870, but it was the only time the county club played there.

Gloucestershire County Cricket Club, representing the historic county of Gloucestershire, is one of the 18 member clubs of the English County Championship. The club was established in 1846 following the merger of the Mangotsfield Cricket Club and West Gloucestershire Cricket Club and played under the latter name until 1867, after which it became the Gloucestershire County Cricket Club.^[1] It has played first-class cricket since 1870, List A cricket since 1963 and Twenty20 cricket since 2003.^[2][3][4][A] Unlike most professional sports, in which a team usually has a single fixed home ground, county cricket clubs have traditionally used different grounds in various towns and cities within the county for home matches, although the use of minor "out grounds" away from the club's main headquarters has diminished since the 1980s.^[5][6] Gloucestershire have played home matches at eighteen different grounds.

The club's first home match in first-class cricket was played at Durdham Down in the Clifton district of Bristol.^[2] This was the only time the county used this venue for a match.^[7] The following year Gloucestershire began to play matches at the Clifton College Close Ground in the grounds of Clifton College in the same part of the city, and this remained a regular venue for the county until the 1930s, hosting nearly 100 first-class matches. In 1872 the county used a venue outside Bristol for the first time when they played at the College Ground in the grounds of Cheltenham College. This venue has continued to be used regularly for the county's annual "Cheltenham festival" event, which in the modern era incorporates additional charity events and off-field entertainment.^[8] In 1889 Gloucestershire began to play matches at the County Ground in Bristol, which has subsequently served as the club's main headquarters and hosted the majority of the county's matches. It was here that the club played its first List A match in 1963 against Middlesex, and its first Twenty20 match forty years later against Worcestershire. Bristol is not officially part of Gloucestershire and has been considered an independent county since 1373, though it was officially part of the county of Avon from 1974 until 1996.^[9] Somerset have played first-class matches at other venues in the city.^[10][11]

In the 1920s Gloucestershire ceased playing at the Spa Ground in Gloucester, which had been in use since 1882, and switched to the Wagon Works Ground in the city. This ground remained in use for nearly 70 years, hosting over 150 first-class matches, until its use was discontinued in 1992. In 2012 the club investigated the possibility of returning to the Wagon Works Ground and making it their permanent headquarters after being refused permission for extensive redevelopment of the County Ground in Bristol,^[12] but ultimately this did not occur. In 1993, the club moved its base in Gloucester to Archdeacon Meadow, a ground owned by The King's School. This venue was only used for first-class matches until 2008 but was used for four Twenty20 matches in 2010 and 2011, the most recent county games to take place in the city. All subsequent matches have taken place in either Bristol or Cheltenham.

Grounds

Below is a complete list of grounds used by Gloucestershire County Cricket Club for first-class, List A and Twenty20 matches. Statistics are complete through to the end of the 2014 season. Only matches played by Gloucestershire CCC at the grounds are recorded in the table. Matches abandoned without any play occurring are not included.

Name	Location	First-class			List A			Twenty20
		First	Last	Matches	First	Last	Matches	First	Last	Matches
Durdham Down[13]	Clifton	000000001870-06-02-00002 June 1870 v Surrey	000000001870-06-02-0000no other matches to date	7000100000000000000♠1[7]	–	–	5000000000000000000♠0	–	–	5000000000000000000♠0
Clifton College Close Ground[14]	Clifton	000000001871-08-03-00003 August 1871 v Nottinghamshire	000000001932-08-06-00006 August 1932 v Indians	7001960000000000000♠96[15]	–	–	5000000000000000000♠0	–	–	5000000000000000000♠0
College Ground[16]	Cheltenham	000000001872-07-18-000018 July 1872 v Surrey	000000002014-07-21-000021 July 2014 v Worcestershire	7002328000000000000♠328[17]	000000001969-08-10-000010 August 1969 v Worcestershire	000000002014-07-27-000027 July 2014 v Northamptonshire	7001880000000000000♠88[18]	000000002013-07-14-000014 July 2013 v Warwickshire	000000002014-07-20-000020 July 2014 v Essex	7000500000000000000♠5[19]
Cirencester Park[20]	Cirencester	000000001879-08-28-000028 August 1879 v Surrey	000000001879-08-28-0000no other matches to date	7000100000000000000♠1[21]	–	–	5000000000000000000♠0	–	–	5000000000000000000♠0
Spa Ground[22]	Gloucester	000000001882-07-13-000013 July 1882 v Somerset	000000001923-05-30-000030 May 1923 v Leicestershire	7001560000000000000♠56[23]	–	–	5000000000000000000♠0	–	–	5000000000000000000♠0
Batsford Road [24]	Moreton-in-Marsh	000000001884-05-08-00008 May 1884 v Yorkshire	000000001914-06-22-000022 June 1914 v Worcestershire	7000600000000000000♠6[25]	000000001972-05-06-00006 May 1972 v Hampshire	000000001996-07-14-000014 July 1996 v Kent	7001210000000000000♠21[26]	–	–	5000000000000000000♠0
East Gloucestershire Cricket Club Ground[27]	Cheltenham	000000001888-06-14-000014 June 1888 v Nottinghamshire	000000001903-06-15-000015 June 1903 v Gentlemen of Philadelphia	7000200000000000000♠2[28]	–	–	5000000000000000000♠0	–	–	5000000000000000000♠0
Bristol County Ground[29]	Bristol	000000001889-07-01-00001 July 1889 v Lancashire	000000002014-09-09-00009 September 2014 v Leicestershire	7002804000000000000♠804[30]	000000001963-05-22-000022 May 1963 v Middlesex	000000002014-08-05-00005 August 2014 v Leicestershire	7002298000000000000♠298 [31]	000000002003-06-14-000014 June 2003 v Worcestershire	000000002014-07-04-00004 July 2014 v Sussex	7001490000000000000♠49[32]
Greenbank Cricket Ground[33]	Bristol	000000001922-05-13-000013 May 1922 v Sussex	000000001928-07-28-000028 July 1928 v Derbyshire	7001200000000000000♠20[34]	–	–	5000000000000000000♠0	–	–	5000000000000000000♠0
Wagon Works Ground[35]	Gloucester	000000001923-06-02-00002 June 1923 v Lancashire	000000001992-05-23-000023 May 1992 v Somerset	7002155000000000000♠155[36]	000000001969-07-13-000013 July 1969 v Yorkshire	000000001992-05-24-000024 May 1992 v Somerset	7001270000000000000♠27[37]	–	–	5000000000000000000♠0
Victoria Ground[38]	Cheltenham	000000001923-06-27-000027 June 1923 v Glamorgan	000000001986-05-10-000010 May 1986 v Indians	7001200000000000000♠20[39]	–	–	5000000000000000000♠0	–	–	5000000000000000000♠0
Erinoid Ground[40]	Stroud	000000001956-06-09-00009 June 1956 v Nottinghamshire	000000001963-05-29-000029 May 1963 v Glamorgan	7001140000000000000♠14[41]	–	–	5000000000000000000♠0	–	–	5000000000000000000♠0
Recreational Trust Ground[42]	Lydney	000000001963-08-24-000024 August 1963 v Surrey	000000001969-06-28-000028 June 1969 v Sussex	7000800000000000000♠8[43]	000000001969-06-29-000029 June 1969 v Sussex	000000001975-07-13-000013 July 1975 v Glamorgan	7000800000000000000♠8[44]	–	–	5000000000000000000♠0
County Ground[45]	Swindon	–	–	5000000000000000000♠0	000000001970-05-03-00003 May 1970 v Sussex	000000001992-06-14-000014 June 1992 v Kent	7000700000000000000♠7[46][B]	–	–	5000000000000000000♠0
Swilgate [47]	Tewkesbury	–	–	5000000000000000000♠0	000000001972-09-03-00003 September 1972 v Yorkshire	000000001973-09-09-00009 September 1973 v Lancashire	7000200000000000000♠2[48]	–	–	5000000000000000000♠0
County Ground[49]	Trowbridge	–	–	5000000000000000000♠0	000000001989-07-16-000016 July 1989 v Hampshire	000000001989-07-16-0000no other matches to date	7000100000000000000♠1[50][C]	–	–	5000000000000000000♠0
Dowty Arle Court [51]	Cheltenham	–	–	5000000000000000000♠0	000000001992-04-21-000021 April 1992 v Leicestershire	000000001992-04-23-000023 April 1992 v Minor Counties	7000200000000000000♠2[52]	–	–	5000000000000000000♠0
Archdeacon Meadow [53]	Gloucester	000000001993-05-27-000027 May 1993 v Worcestershire	000000002008-05-30-000030 May 2008 v Warwickshire	7001150000000000000♠15[54]	000000001993-05-30-000030 May 1993 v Worcestershire	000000002004-06-13-000013 June 2004 v Northamptonshire	7001110000000000000♠11[55]	000000002010-06-11-000011 June 2010 v Sussex	000000002011-06-11-000011 June 2011 v Surrey	7000400000000000000♠4[56]

Notes

A. ^ First-class cricket matches are designed to be contested over multiple days, with each team permitted two innings with no limit to the number of overs in an innings.^[57] List A matches, also known as limited overs or one-day matches, are intended to be completed in a single day and restrict each team to a single innings of between 40 and 60 overs, depending on the specific competition.^[58] Twenty20 matches restrict each team to a single innings of 20 overs.^[59]

B. ^ The County Ground is located in the adjacent county of Wiltshire.^[60] Minor Counties South played a single List A match there in 1973, and Wiltshire played two List A matches there in 1983 and 1984.^[50] Only the List A matches played at the ground by Gloucestershire are recorded in the table.

C. ^ The County Ground is located in the adjacent county of Wiltshire.^[60] Minor Counties played two List A matches there in 1991, and Wiltshire played three List A matches there between 1987–1993.^[50] Only the List A matches played at the ground by Gloucestershire are recorded in the table.

References