Laleham Burway

Laleham Burway is a tract of meadow land on the River Thames near Chertsey in Surrey. Part of it was a famous cricket venue in the 18th century and the home of Chertsey Cricket Club.

Earliest known matches

A notable feature of the 1736 English cricket season was the rise to prominence of the famous Chertsey Club, playing games against both Croydon and London. It is known that two games were played before July that season. One was Croydon v Chertsey at Duppas Hill in Croydon; the other is Chertsey v Croydon at the Laleham Burway ground in Chertsey. Knowledge of the games is via an announcement in Read’s Weekly Journal dated Saturday, 3 July, about a deciding game on Richmond Green to be played on Monday, 5 July. In each of the two matches, the home team won "by a great number of runs". The match at Laleham Burway is the first important one that we know to have been played at this famous venue in Chertsey.

History

Numerous important matches were played at Laleham Burway during the 18th century. Perhaps the most famous (or infamous) was the one in which Thomas White's huge bat caused a furore that led to a change in the Laws of Cricket. This was the Chertsey v Hambledon game on Monday, 23 and Tuesday, 24 September 1771.

Last known important match

The last important game at the ground may have been Chertsey v Coulsdon in June 1784, but there are doubts about its status. The last definitely known top-class match was therefore Chertsey v Berkshire in September 1783.

Laleham Burway continued to be used for club cricket into the 19th century but records of it have been lost. Chertsey CC had "ceased to exist" by 1856 ^[1] and its revival was centred on the Recreation Ground in Chertsey. The club relocated to its present ground at Grove Road just after the First World War.^[2]

References

Further reading

• Ashley Mote, The Glory Days of Cricket, Robson, 1997
• David Underdown, Start of Play, Allen Lane, 2000

External links

• Chertsey Cricket Club website
• From Lads to Lord's – profile
• CricketArchive – Laleham Burway

Borough of Spelthorne
Towns, villages and localities	Ashford Ashford Common Charlton Laleham Littleton Lower Halliford Lower Sunbury Shepperton Staines-upon-Thames Stanwell Stanwell Moor Sunbury-on-Thames Sunbury Common Upper Halliford
Key parks	Ashford Park Rec. Ground Beechwood Rec. Ground Bishop Duppas Park Knowle Green Laleham Park Spelthorne Sports Ground Long Lane Rec. Ground Shortwood Common Staines Moor (Staines) Lammas Staines Park Sunbury Park Town Lane Rec. Ground Walled Garden, Sunbury
Large listed buildings	Churches All Saints, Laleham St Mary's, Staines St Matthews, Ashford St Mary, Stanwell St Mary Magdalene, Littleton St Nicholas, Shepperton Other Halliford School Laleham Abbey Littleton Manor The Old Manor House, Shepperton Shepperton Manor St Paul's College St James Senior Boys School Sunbury Court
Education	The Bishop Wand Church of England School Halliford School Matthew Arnold School St James Senior Boys School St. Paul's College, Sunbury-on-Thames Spelthorne College Sunbury Manor School Thamesmead School
Railway stations	Ashford Kempton Park Shepperton Staines Sunbury Upper Halliford
Buildings and structures	Kempton Park Racecourse Kempton Park Reservoirs Kempton Park Steam Engines King George VI Reservoir Queen Mary Reservoir Shepperton Studios Staines Reservoirs Wraysbury Reservoir Thames Water Ring Main M3 motorway and Thames Crossing Staines Bridge Chertsey Bridge Walton Bridge
Sport	Football Ashford Town (Middlesex) F.C. Spelthorne Sports F.C. Staines Lammas F.C. Staines Town F.C. Rugby London Irish RFC Staines Rugby Football Club Other Staines Boat Club Sunbury Cricket Club West Surrey Racing
Destroyed landmarks	Ashford Manor Astleham Church Stanwell Place Kempton Manor Sunbury Manor

Coordinates: 51°23′34.09″N 0°30′34.31″W / 51.3928028°N 0.5095306°W / 51.3928028; -0.5095306