History

Cricket was played in Sussex from the c17th and in the following century there are records of games being played between teams of gentlemen from Kent and Sussex, as well as games between neighbouring villages.

By the end of the century, royalty in the form of the Prince Regent was taking an interest in cricket in Brighton. The future George IV even presented local cricketers with a ground, the Royal Ground, on the site of the current Level. Once on the throne though, George took less interest in cricket and the cricket ground was closed.

In 1822, a local businessman, James Ireland, purchased ten acres of land north of where the Royal Ground had been sited and then built a series of pleasure gardens which included a cricket ground. When Sussex CC was founded in 1839 it played its games at Ireland’s Gardens until they in turn were closed down so that the site could be developed for housing. Read On