Moving toThe
Heath
Initially the club must have been in a state of disarray
when the members first learnt of what was to befall their ground. However there
was to be a happy ending to their problem. One of the directors of the railway
company was John Bonham-Carter, a local landowner and it was he who provided a
solution. He owned part of The Heath and he proposed that an area to the north
east would be right for the new ground. The location was ideal, with a large
level playing area surrounded by five Bronze Age barrows. A report in the
Hampshire Chronicle stated that an inaugural match was played on 29th
May 1858 (some six months before the railway opened) at the new ground at The
Heath. The game was a ‘pick and choose’ match and the report goes on to say that
‘the weather was fine and some good play exhibited both at the wicket and in the
field’. Another interesting point mentioned in the report was that ‘a match with
the Hambledon Club was on the tapis’ (on the cards)
Petersfield CC in front of the old pavilion at The Heath in 1895
Petersfield Ladies in 1895
Petersfield Ladies playing on The Heath in 1895
Petersfield CC in front of the old pavilion in 1907