Fenner's

Fenner's
Ground information
Location	Cambridge, England
Country	England
Establishment	1848
Owner	Cambridge University Cricket & Athletics Company Ltd
	End names
	Pavilion End; Gresham Road End
Team information
Cambridge University Cricket Club	(1848 – present)
	As of 5 May 2023; Source: CricketArchive

Fenner's is Cambridge University Cricket Club's ground.

History

Cambridge University Cricket Club had previously played at two grounds in Cambridge, the University Ground and Parker's Piece. In 1846, Francis Fenner leased a former cherry orchard from Gonville and Caius College for the purpose of constructing a cricket ground.^[1]^[2] In 1848 he sub-let the ground to Cambridge University Cricket Club.^[3] Fenner's first hosted first-class cricket in 1848, with Cambridge University playing against the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC).^[4]

A 40-foot wooden pavilion, painted blue, with a slated roof had been erected by the 1856 season.^[5]

Since 1894, Fenner's has been owned by the Cambridge University Cricket and Athletic Company; a private limited company whose Members comprise the full members of Cambridge University Cricket Club and Cambridge University Athletics Club.

Facilities

As well as the cricket ground, there is a 3-lane indoor cricket school.

The groundsman pioneered the art of mowing grass in strips to create patterns, a technique now common in sports stadiums around the world.^[6]

Land deal

In August 2024 it was announced that the University had sold land on the edge of Fenner's to Hughes Hall.^[7] Subsequently a petition was launched against development of that land.^[8]

References

^ "Fenner's". CricInfo. Retrieved 22 September 2008.
^ Thomas Henry Case (1899). Memoirs of a King's College Chorister. W.P.Spalding. p. 45.
^ Powell, William (1989). The Wisden Guides To Cricket Grounds. London: Stanley Paul & Co. Ltd. pp. 393–6. ISBN 009173830X.
^ "First-Class Matches played on FP Fenner's Ground, Cambridge". CricketArchive. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
^ "Cricketers' Chronicle". Cambridge Chronicle and Journal. 31 May 1856. p. 8.
^ Allen, Peter (1999). The Invincibles: The Legend of Bradman's 1948 Australians. Mosman, NSW, Australia: Allen and Kemsley. ISBN 1-875171-06-1. p. 103
^ Langford, Sarah (2 August 2024). "Hughes Hall concludes vital land deal with University - Hughes Hall". www.hughes.cam.ac.uk.
^ Burfield, Hannah (10 September 2024). "Petition launched against proposed Hughes Hall development". Varsity Online.