Chalkwell Park

Chalkwell Park is a recreational park in Chalkwell, Southend-on-Sea, in Essex, England. It covers 27 hectares (67 acres) and contains several flower gardens, two children's playgrounds, a skateboard/BMX park and football, cricket, basketball and tennis fields.[1]

Chalkwell Park
Location in Essex
LocationChalkwell, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England
Area297 hectares (730 acres)

The arts and music festival Village Green is held on the grounds of Chalkwell Park annually in the summer. The festival often receives more than 25,000 visitors each year.[2]

History

In 1830, Chalkwell Hall was built in the centre of the park. At the time, it didn't have a well-defined purpose.[3] The park was formed from the land surrounding the hall. In 1901 or 1903, the Southend-on-Sea Borough Council purchased the land for £20,000.[4][5]

In the 1950s or earlier, a small petting zoo was established in Chalkwell Hall containing at various points in time peacocks, monkeys and eventually a bear. Today, only the peacock enclosure remains, containing 4 peacocks.[6] The hall also serves as a modern art house.[3]

Cricket ground

The cricket ground was first used by the Essex County Cricket Club, 1st XI in 1934 for County Championship matches and in 1970 for List A matches. The ground has not been used by the club 1st XI since 1976.[7]

The ground has hosted 69 first-class matches and 8 List A matches:[8]

Game information
Game Type No. of Games
County Championship Matches 65
limited-over county matches 8
Twenty20 matches 0

Game statistics – first-class
Category Information
Highest Team Score There have been no team scores exceeding 500 scored at this ground
Lowest Team Score Somerset (48 against Essex) in 1961
Best Batting Performance Tom Pearce (211 Runs for Essex against Leicestershire) in 1948
Best Bowling Performance Derek Underwood (9/37 for Kent against Essex) in 1966

Game statistics – one-day matches
Category Information
Highest Team Score Essex (232/5 in 40 overs against Leicestershire) in 1976
Lowest Team Score Middlesex (41 in 19.4 overs against Essex) in 1972
Best Batting Performance Bob Cooke (83 Runs for Essex against Northamptonshire) in 1974
Best Bowling Performance Allan Jones (6/34 for Somerset against Essex) in 1971

References
  1. Neal-Goddard, Sorrell. "Chalkwell Park". www.southend.gov.uk. Retrieved 2017-05-12.
  2. "Village Green Festival". Skiddle.com. Retrieved 2017-05-12.
  3. "Southend Timeline". Southend Timeline. Retrieved 2017-05-12.
  4. "Southend On Sea, Chalkwell Park c.1960 - Francis Frith". www.francisfrith.com. Retrieved 2017-05-12.
  5. "SOUTHEND PARKS (NORTH)". domesday. Retrieved 2017-05-12.
  6. "Peacock petition to free the 'Chalkwell four'". Echo. Retrieved 2017-05-12.
  7. "Chalkwell Park | England | Cricket Grounds | ESPN Cricinfo". Cricinfo. Retrieved 2017-05-12.
  8. "The Home of CricketArchive". 2013-08-21. Archived from the original on 2013-08-21. Retrieved 2017-05-12.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
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