In May 1816 the MCC completed the first pavilion at the new Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood — a small two-storey wooden building containing dressing rooms and, on the ground floor, a panelled members' room that became known as the Long Room. The 1816 Long Room was the direct ancestor of the present pavilion's most famous space and the first dedicated indoor cricket room at Lord's.
Lord's had no permanent buildings in 1814-15. Members watched from carriages drawn up at the boundary; players changed in tents.
The new St John's Wood ground had opened in June 1814 with only temporary tents. Through 1815 the MCC committee — chiefly Beauclerk — had pushed for a permanent building. The pavilion, designed by an unknown architect and built in clapboard, was completed in May 1816. It contained a single ground-floor room running the length of the building, with sash windows facing the pitch. Members and committee used it through the 1810s and 1820s. It burned down in 1825 and was replaced by a brick building.
22 Jun 1814
St John's Wood ground opens
May 1816
First pavilion completed; Long Room opens
28 Jul 1825
Pavilion destroyed by fire
1826
Brick replacement pavilion completed
1890
Present Verity pavilion completed
The 1816 pavilion served as the MCC's headquarters until it burned down on 28 July 1825. Its replacement was a brick building completed in 1826; that in turn was replaced by the present Thomas Verity pavilion in 1890.
The founding entry of the Long Room — a space that became, in successive rebuildings, the most famous indoor room in cricket.
The Long Room — through three pavilions over 175 years — is the central indoor space of Lord's. The 1816 building is its first instance.
n/a
1811-07-04
The 1811 Lord's season was the leanest of the Middle Ground years. With the Napoleonic blockade at its tightest, willow scarce, professionals diverted to militia service and the betting public's purses thin, only fourteen major matches were played at Lord's all summer. The 1811 season is the clearest measure of cricket's wartime contraction.
Officers vs Civilians
1812-12-15
By the close of 1812 cricket was being played regularly in both Madras and Bombay — the earliest documented fixtures in either Presidency. Garrison officers and civilian East India Company servants ran the matches; the Madras Gazette and Bombay Courier preserved the earliest scoresheets. The Calcutta game (documented 1804) had been joined by all three Presidency capitals.
Kent vs MCC
1813-09-09
On 9-10 September 1813 Kent played the MCC at the Vine, Sevenoaks — the first post-war major match at the historic Kent ground and the start of the Vine's revival as a regular major venue. The Vine had hosted little major cricket since 1808; the September 1813 fixture marked its return to the front rank.