10th Anniversary of the Clubhouse!

We are delighted to be celebrating the tenth anniversary of the new cricket pavilion at Hesketh Park.  

The attached video details just some of the many challenges that the project faced.  Under the wonderful leadership of Jim Lowrie and aligned with strong stakeholder support (not least from Dartford Borough Council) we were able to take possession in 2015 of a building fit for the 21st Century.  

Since its opening, management of the pavilion has had to contend with a variety of different setbacks, most outside of anyone’s control.  Firstly, there was Covid and the lockdown that ensued.  Secondly, the hostilities in Ukraine that has seen our energy prices increase by over 300% in two years.  Notwithstanding these seismic events the Club has found a way to survive and, lately, thrive.    

The pavilion was built with an aim of sustainability of the game of cricket whilst becoming of greater value to the local community.  Those aims are in keeping with the unique history that Dartford has with the game of cricket.  Some of the first recorded matches took place on The Brent in 1727.  In William Bedle, a farmer who lived most of his life in Dartford, it had a member of the Dartford Cricket Club which was “the greatest Kent team of the first half of the 18^th century“.

So, as we await the re-opening of the cricket ground at Dartford following major renovation of the playing fields over the winter months, we look forward to celebrating many more anniversary events.  The game of cricket and Dartford have been linked for centuries – making them possibly the most enduring cricket link in the world.  Long may that continue.