In June 1827 the Royal Brunswick Ground opened at Hove — Sussex cricket's new principal venue, replacing the open Steine at Brighton as the county's main fixture ground. The Brunswick was used until 1872 and was the home of Sussex cricket through the great roundarm decades. Its opening confirmed Hove's emergence as a cricket centre and prepared the ground for the 1872 move to the present County Ground.
The Steine at Brighton had grown crowded with promenaders and was unsuited to dedicated cricket use. The Royal Brunswick Ground — laid out by Brighton businessmen on the Hove side of the boundary — provided a properly enclosed pitch with paying gates. It opened in June 1827 with a Sussex v MCC fixture. The ground was used continuously until 1872, when Sussex CCC moved to the present County Ground half a mile east.
1801
First major match on the Steine, Brighton
Jun 1827
Royal Brunswick Ground opens
1872
Brunswick closes; Sussex moves to present County Ground
The Brunswick was Sussex's main ground through the 1830s, 1840s, 1850s and 1860s. It was sold for development in 1872 and built over.
Sussex cricket's first dedicated headquarters — the home of the county game for forty-five years.
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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.