This is the pavilion at Broadhalfpenny Down Cricket Club, also known as Hambledon Cricket Club. Hambledon is also know as The Cradle of Cricket due to its long association with the game dating back to the early 1700’s. It’s a lovely spot with some nice views over the South Downs. You can pick up the South Downs Way National Trail nearby as well. There’s also a lovely vineyard producing some World class sparkling wine. Post here and here.

The cricket club had been established by 1750 and by 1760 was acknowledged as the authority on the game and where new laws and techniques were developed and applied. These changes transformed the game of cricket from country pastime to national sport. The team at this time was a formidable one taking on and beating an all England team on 29 occasions. David Gower notes in his foreword to John Goldsmith’s Hambledon Cricket that it was the Hambledon team of the late 18th century that “raised cricket from a sport to an art.” Cricket became an international sport a hundred or so years later.

The second photo is the view towards Clanfield from the beer garden of The Bat and Ball pub opposite the cricket ground. It’s now a Fuller’s pub and like so many others in the area that are now operated by the brewery it has lost some of its individual character in terms of food and drink. Fuller’s pubs are ok, but they’re all pretty much the same.

Fuller’s have been slowly taking over the local pubs ever since their acquisition of George Gale and Co, LTD in 2006 which was loacted a few miles away in Horndean. Fuller’s eventually closed the brewery and moved production to their Chiswick brewery. I can remember the smell of the beer brewing when I lived at home with mum and dad. Gale’s made one of, if not the finest beer in The World – HSB or Horndean Special Bitter. Thankfully Fuller’s saw fit to continue to brew it although it’s probably not as good as it was. The day they stop is the day Fuller’s are dead to me. HSB is the only point to their existence as far as I’m concerned.

I photographed the pavilion in the same way on the Mamiya C220 in 2014 here and on the Nikon F100 here. Some more from this visit here.

Hasselblad 500CM / Fuji Superia X-TRA 400 / 80mm