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The Great Britain Guide

Museums · South West England

County Ground, Taunton

♿ Wheelchair: limited

The County Ground, known for sponsorship reasons as Cooper Associates County Ground, is a cricket ground in Taunton, Somerset. It is the home of Somerset County Cricket Club, who have played there sin

Taunton, the Somerset Pavilion - geograph.org.uk - 5427936

John Sutton — CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons licence

Plan your visit

Typical visit
1.5 h–3 h
Best time of year
Year-round
  • Family-friendly
  • Limited wheelchair access

About

The County Ground, known for sponsorship reasons as Cooper Associates County Ground, is a cricket ground in Taunton, Somerset. It is the home of Somerset County Cricket Club, who have played there since 1882. The ground, which is located between Priory Bridge Road and St James Street, has a capacity of 8,500. The ground was originally built as part of a sports centre by Taunton Athletic Club in 1881, and became the home of the previously nomadic Somerset County Cricket Club soon after. Having leased the ground for ten years, the club bought the ground in 1896, under the guidance of club secretary Henry Murray-Anderdon. The ground ends are the River End to the north and the Marcus Trescothick Pavilion End to the south. Somerset played their first match of first-class cricket on the ground over 8–10 August 1882, beating Hampshire County Cricket Club by five wickets. Later in the same month, the touring Australia national cricket team played a match against Somerset, becoming the first international side to play at the ground. The first international cricket to be played on the ground was in the 1983 Cricket World Cup, for a group-stage match between England and Sri Lanka. The ground also hosted two group-stage matches during the 1999 Cricket World Cup and venue for the tournament in 2019. Since 1997, women's international cricket has been played at the ground, and in 2006 it became the home of the England women's cricket team. The ground saw (men's) international cricket in 201

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From the Wikipedia article

The County Ground, known for sponsorship reasons as Cooper Associates County Ground, is a cricket ground in Taunton, Somerset. It is the home of Somerset County Cricket Club, who have played there since 1882. The ground, which is located between Priory Bridge Road and St James Street, has a capacity of 8,500. The ground was originally built as part of a sports centre by Taunton Athletic Club in 1881, and became the home of the previously nomadic Somerset County Cricket Club soon after. Having leased the ground for ten years, the club bought the ground in 1896, under the guidance of club secretary Henry Murray-Anderdon. The ground ends are the River End to the north and the Marcus Trescothick Pavilion End to the south. Somerset played their first match of first-class cricket on the ground over 8–10 August 1882, beating Hampshire County Cricket Club by five wickets. Later in the same month, the touring Australia national cricket team played a match against Somerset, becoming the first international side to play at the ground. The first international cricket to be played on the ground was in the 1983 Cricket World Cup, for a group-stage match between England and Sri Lanka. The ground also hosted two group-stage matches during the 1999 Cricket World Cup and venue for the tournament in 2019. Since 1997, women's international cricket has been played at the ground, and in 2006 it became the home of the England women's cricket team. The ground saw (men's) international cricket in 2017, with a Twenty20 International (T20I) tie between England and South Africa.

Excerpt from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0. See the source article linked in Sources below.

Background

History

and St Mary Magdalene<br/>form the backdrop to the ground]] In the winter of 1880, Somerset County Cricket Club, prompted by an article in the Somerset County Gazette describing cricket in Taunton as being "in a sorry plight", were considering building their own ground. Athletics was booming in the town, and it was an amalgamation of sporting clubs that leased seven and a half acres of land known as "Rack Field" from local gentleman farmer John Winter for £50 per year. A cricket pitch, cycling-track and running-track were all laid on the ground with great difficulty; with the land lying next to the River Tone. Although Edward Western promised that Somerset could play fixtures on the ground,…

Architecture

The pitch at the County Ground is surrounded by a number of stands and pavilions. The members' areas, situated at the River End of the ground consists of the Colin Atkinson Pavilion, the Sir Ian Botham Stand and the Marcus Trescothick stand. The non-members' areas, covering the rest of the ground consists of the front of main scoreboard stand, the Family Stand, St James Street Stand, Old Pavilion, Gimblett's Hill and the Somerset Stand. The largest stand at the County Ground is the Somerset Stand, which was opened at the start of the 2009 season. The stand was built as the first stage of a ground development project, and can accommodate over 3,000 spectators. Behind the Somerset Stand is…

Sourced from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Coordinates
51.0189, -3.1008
District
Somerset
Parish
Taunton
Postcode
TA1 1XX
Parliamentary constituency
Taunton and Wellington

Sources

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Frequently asked questions

Where is County Ground, Taunton?
County Ground, Taunton is in South-West England, United Kingdom (postcode TA1 1XX), in the parish of Taunton.
Who owns County Ground, Taunton?
County Ground, Taunton is owned by Somerset County Cricket Club.
How do I get to County Ground, Taunton?
Drivers can navigate to postcode TA1 1XX. It sits within the Taunton and Wellington parliamentary constituency.