The Cricket Pavilion
The cricket pavilion/club and pitch was thought to have been built in around 1892 but it has recently come to light through
the research of the late Brian Whalen that it was operational
at least 15 years previous to then.The first club house which
was a currogeted iron and wood hut that was on the opposite side of the pitch than to where it is now was built by the people that lived at Park Terrace and in the village.
My Grandparents were part of the group that helped to lay the road for the newly built club house which is there now. I can always remember my Grandma telling me of when she helped to lay the gravel and stones for the driveway to get from the main road down to what is now the car park. When my father was young he used to play cricket for Leycett and did so for many years.
You can see photos of some of the teams and team sheets over the next few pages.

Below is the team sheet put together on April 23rd 1892 for the first ever documented cricket match played by Leycett against Madely,played at Madeley wa sas follows:

J.G Challinor (Capt)
W.Sherratt
W.Beardmore
J.Downend
A.Johnson
G.Nixon
S.Lockett
J.Oakes
H.Oakes
G.Salmon
A.Clarke

Unfortunatley the score was never recorded so i cannot tell you the outcome of their very first Non League game.Some of these players can be seen on the Team of 1897 photo on the next page.


When I was young I used to go to the Cricket pitch every Sunday afternoon with my friends and play in the cricket practice nets that were there then and are still there now.
I also remember that there was also a disused, rusty old rolling machine at the side of the pavilion, which we used to climb on, and pretend to drive. Behind the clubhouse used to lie the train lines that transported coal from Leycett to Madeley, Silverdale and Scot Hay amongst other places. Again, these lines were partly removed and made derelict by the Coal Board after the colliery closure. Above these old train lines was a rope swing that I made as a child and remained there for many years, but as you’d expect it is no longer there. During my childhood each year the cricket club used to host a roaring bonfire in November and put on a small fireworks display.

The cricket club is still going strong and has a great team that would do the people of the Leycett Village proud if they were still here today.Leycett are the latest local cricket club to have achieved ClubMark Accreditation approved by the ECB.




(Photo - © Kathryn J Ing)

From this photo you can see the benches that are placed along the front of the clubhouse and along the edge of the pitch which are dedicated to past great players.