EPW016676 ENGLAND (1926). The London Electric Wire Company Works and environs, Leyton, 1926

This famous old ground was the home of Essex County Cricket Club from 1886 until 1933. In 1921 the ground was purchased by the Army Sports Control Board, so that the county club was relieved of its financial burden of a £10,000 mortgage, but it retained the right to play most of the home games here, with some matches located in Colchester and Southend. Wisden 1922 reports that Leyton never managed to bring the hoped-for prosperity to the club and throughout the cash-strapped 1920s, Essex expanded their grounds to include Ilford and Chelmsford. Despite problems in the middle part of the decade, Leyton remained the Headquarters of Essex County Cricket Club, even if the Hon.Secretary's address continued to be the Army Sports Ground, Leyton, London E.10, until the beginning of the 1930 season. Two years later, the club announced it had decided to relinquish the tenancy at Leyton and that future home matches would be played around the county: Brentwood, Chelmsford, Clacton, Colchester, Ilford, Southend, Maldon, Westcliff and Witham. In 1933, the ground at Leyton was bought by the Metropolitan Police and Essex played their fixtures elsewhere until a return to E.10, as guests, in 1957. Wisden 1958 contains a plan of the Leyton Ground on page 326. The final match at Leyton took place in 1977, a win over Glamorgan. As the late, great Trevor Bailey said at the time "our ugliest ground, but it had a certain, gnarled charm". In the March issue of "The Cricketer", John Lever (Essex & England) and Managing Editor, Huw Turbervill, write a fascinating account "Fashionably Leyton", in which there are plans to transform the old home of Essex County Cricket Club. Finally, it is gratifying to know that this valuable open space is still used for sports, including cricket, boxing, bowls and tennis.