Who played here?

posted by John Winn 

 

 

I took the above photograph a couple of weeks ago on a short break in the delightful Teesdale village of Romaldkirk. The pavilion is situated on the north bank of the River Tees close to the early nineteenth century Eggleston Hall and about 4 and a half miles north west of Barnard Castle. Romaldkirk is across the Tees, a ten minute walk or so away.

 

 

Prior to local government reorganisation in 1974, Romaldkirk was in the North Riding of Yorkshire but now is administered by County Durham. By any measure the pavilion is in County Durham and the road that runs in front of it forms part of the Tees Way. Inside the pavilion it is fairly basic with a division into two changing rooms and a table for the scorers. Whilst not likely to feature in the next 'Book of Pavilions', it is dry and the boarding over the two windows looks fairly recent but somebody has removed the fittings for the padlock and the door stands open. There is no apparent damage inside but if there were any contents then they are gone.

 

This is the view from the pavilion: the Tees flows behind the trees in the background. If you are in the area there is a convenient small layby on the Eggleston side of the river and the pavilion is about a minute's walk from the bridge. I am not on commission but can recommend lunch at either The Rose and Crown in Romaldkirk or at Eggleston Hall Gardens.

 

 

 

Clearly no cricket has been played here for some time but Barnard Castle are prominent members of the NYSD and four miles away  Middleton in Teesdale  are members of the Darlington and District League, albeit something of an outpost. Not too far away Raby Castle, at one of the most delightful grounds to be found anywhere,  also play  in  the D & D.

 

In my research into league cricket in the northern dales I have not found reference to cricket at either Eggleston* or Romaldkirk but clearly somebody played here in the not too distant past. The Teesdale Mercury may be a useful source and I note that it has a free to search database of all editions from 1854 to 1954. That might just provide a diversion on what is forecast to be a wet afternoon. 

* There is no link to the Eggleston Cup, competed for by village teams in the Darlington area since 1939. It is named after Mr and Mrs WB Eggleston who donated the trophy to promote local cricket and boost club funds.