It was a modest set of fixtures with seven matches against other clubs organised between the beginning of June and the beginning of September.

Nevertheless, refreshments were provided and Miss Oakenham, who lived at Bovingdon House, was thanked for entertaining the teams to both lunch and tea in the Gazette report of Bovingdon’s victory against Croxley North End on Whit Monday in 1901.īy the 1890’s, the local press was reporting extensively on cricket in the area and in 1899, Bovingdon joined the ranks of other local clubs in publishing an annual fixture list in the Gazette for the first time. Pavilion facilities were also probably non-existent, at least at the start of the period. Playing conditions must have been far from ideal. Cattle from Green Farm grazed the outfield and the Old Berkley Hunt met on the ground on Boxing Day. Bovingdon House, an early Victorian mansion, dominated the scene from where Green View Close now stands. It was much more open as the photograph of the Green at the time shows, and there were neither trees nor undergrowth surrounding the pond for the ball to get lost in. Our home ground at that time would have had a very different outlook to today. It was not, however, a smooth passage and it was not without some controversy. During this period, Bovingdon came to establish itself as a well-organised and competitive Club. It is also the time associated with the cricketing values of fair play, the straight bat and playing the game although in reality, the game was not always able to live up to those ideals. It was a period that saw the development of organised competitions at county and Test level and produced some great players. The last two decades before the First World War, are often referred to as the Golden Age of Cricket.

Where is golden age farm