Moulsey Hurst is in West Molesey, Surrey on the south bank of the River Thames above Molesey Lock. It is one of England's oldest sporting venues and was used in the 18th and 19th centuries for cricket, prizefighting and other sports. This area is now called Hurst Park; the area currently called Molesey Hurst is smaller, and some 500m to the south.
The site can be reached from Hampton across the river by Hampton Ferry when it is running in the summer.
Sporting venue
When James VI and I became King of England in 1603, he introduced the sport of golf to the country. The first games of golf in England were played at Molesey, in Westminster and Greenwich Park which were large open spaces near to royal palaces.[1]
This venue is one of the oldest used for organised cricket. The earliest known use of the site for the game was in 1723 for a match between Surrey and London.[2] One of cricket's most famous paintings is Cricket at Moulsey Hurst, by Richard Wilson in 1780. The painting is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and on display at Lord's.[3]
It hosted for some decades Hurst Parkhorse race course, evinced by an 1872 Ordnance Survey map. The cricket ground probably remained in the centre of the racecourse, which was common practice in the 18th century. It was at this ground where the now modern-day East Molesey CC began; the current ground now lies off Graburn Way, about 1⁄3 mile (0.54km) east and a short walk from Hampton Court Palace.
Molesey Hurst Golf Club (now defunct) was founded in 1907. The club disappeared at the onset of WW2.[4]
Other sports and activities included ballooning, sprinting and archery. In May 1810, Dutch Sam defeated Ben Medley in front of a reported ten thousand spectators at Moulsey Hill.[5]
Moulsey Hurst today
In 2004, Hurst Park Residents Association laid out a "heritage marker" close to the river, which contains a number of illustrations of the history and activities of the area.[6]
Chronology of events
871 – Vikings sailed up the Thames here to sack Chertsey Abbey
1723 – the earliest known use of the site for cricket: Surrey v. London
1733 – earliest known use of the site for an inter-county match when Surrey played Middlesex
May 1785 – James Sadler made a hot air balloon ascent near here, accompanied by a member of parliament, about a year after the success of the Montgolfier Brothers balloon
Autumn 1787 – a professional runner named Powell ran a mile in 4 minutes and 3 seconds at Moulsey Hurst in preparation for an attempt on the 4-minute mile
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