Clifton Villa Estate
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 Interactive map of Clifton Villa Estate | |||
| Ground information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Location | Cliftonville, Margate, Kent | ||
| Country | England | ||
| Coordinates | 51°23′26″N 1°23′33″E / 51.3906°N 1.3925°E (approx.) | ||
| Establishment | 1864 (first recorded match) | ||
| Team information | |||
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| As of 10 August 2010 Source: CricketArchive | |||
Clifton Villa Estate, also known as New Cricket Ground,[1] was a cricket ground in the Cliftonville area of the town of Margate in Kent. The only first-class cricket match played on the ground was between Kent County Cricket Club and Sussex County Cricket Club in July 1864.[2] The ground was leased from the Cliftonville Estate from July to October to be used for cricket,[3] although only one other match is known to have taken place on the ground. This took place in the same year and was a non-first-class match between a Margate team and the United All-England Eleven.[4]
The ground was built on farmland on the eastern outskirts of Margate. It was only in existence for a short time with the land being built on soon after 1864 as Margate and Cliftonville experienced a rapid expansion following the arrival of the railway in the area.[3][5] It was probably located in the area of the modern Dalby Square in Cliftonville.[6] This was originally known as Ethelbert Square and was developed as a residential area from 1865.[7][8][9][10] The large Cliftonville Hotel was built in 1868 on what was described as "an island site in the middle of corn fields"[11] to become Margate's "first grand hotel".[8] Grass tennis courts and a croquet lawn were laid out in Dalby Square Gardens from at least 1885 and today the area is laid out as ornamental gardens.[7][12]
Kent teams had played first-class matches on Dandelion Paddock in the Garlinge area to the west of Margate in the 1790s before the establishment of the first county club in 1842.[13]