This playing field at the Kennington end of Harleyford Road is the home of the Surrey County Cricket Club and one of the two test match grounds in the south of England. In today's times it is also the scene of a considerable number of pop concert and other gatherings. The space was in the planning stage in 1800 when Harleyford Road was intended to provide a part of a route from Hyde Park Corner over Vauxhall to Kennington and thence to Greenwich. It opened as a cricket ground in 1846. The pavilion, designed by T. Muirhead, was built between 1895 and 1897. The first Test Match in England was played here, between England and Australia, in September 1880. The result of the second match here between the two countries in 1882 caused the Sporting Times to require the cremation of the body of English cricket. The products of this cremation are the 'Ashes' which are the prize that has been competed for in each subsequent series between these two countries.

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The Buildings of England - London 2: South