Bat and Ball, Hambledon

place and public house

Aged unknown

Commemorated on 2 plaques

The Bat & Ball Hambledon is known as the cradle of cricket and was the first headquarters of English Cricket, although cricket had been played on the South Downs for 200 years prior to that. The modern game was formulated on rules drawn up by Hambledon Cricket Club on Broadhalfpenny Down. This formidable cricket club led by Richard Nyren, the landlord of the Bat & Ball, played an All England Team on 51 occasions wining no less than 29 times! Artefacts relating to the origins of cricket can be found hanging on the walls around the pub.

The Bat & Ball Public House, Hyden Farm Lane, Hambledon, United Kingdom where it sited

HMS Mercury. The Bat and Ball was a popular local pub frequented by personnel serving at HMS Mercury, the Royal Navy Communications and Navigation School that occupied the 120 acre Leydene Estate 2 miles north west of here from 1941 to 1993. HMS Mercury played cricket on Broadhalfpenny Down from about 1947 to 1992.

The Bat & Ball Public House, Hyden Farm Lane, Hambledon, United Kingdom where it sited