Andrew Strauss to unveil plaque marking the previous site of Lord's

Date released: 5 May 2006

Andrew Strauss (right) will unveil, early next week (Tuesday 9th May), a plaque marking the previous site of Lord's.

The ground was used by MCC for three seasons before it had to be abandoned, in 1814, due to the construction - through its outfield - of the Regent's Canal. This led to MCC moving to its current ground, which is about 250 yards north-west of its former home.

The idea of marking the previous site of Lord's was first put forward, in autumn 2004, by Murad Qureshi - a cricket-lover, local councillor and member of the Greater London Assembly - when he saw an old map, in the MCC Museum, which referred to this ground.

Its history has since been researched by David Rayvern Allen - the distinguished cricket writer and historian. Once he had established the exact location of the site, MCC commissioned the special commemorative plaque which will be unveiled on Tuesday, at approximately 10.45am, by Andrew Strauss - the England and Middlesex batsman.

The unveiling ceremony will also be attended by Murad Qureshi AM and David Rayvern Allen.

Journalists, photographers and television crews are all invited to cover this event, which will take place by the Park Road entrance to the Regent's Canal; this is a few minutes' walk from Lord's. (Park Road runs south-east from the roundabout at the bottom of the Wellington Road. The canal entrance can be found on the western side of the road, near a disused petrol station.)

Both Murad Qureshi and David Rayvern Allen will be available to talk, in detail, about the history of the previous Lord's Ground.

The plaque to be unveiled by Andrew Strauss has been manufactured and installed for MCC by Frank and Sue Ashworth, from Blackheath. Over the last 24 years, they have made many similar plaques for bodies such as English Heritage and the Greater London Council - including, in 1986, one which marks a former home of Jack Hobbs, the great Surrey and England batsman. (Please see right for photographs of the plaque manufacturing process.)

An MCC / ECB press release - containing quotes from Andrew Strauss, Murad Qureshi and David Rayvern Allen - will appear on this website on Tuesday.

A plaque has long marked the site of the first Lord's Ground - which was located in the area now occupied by Dorset Square. It was used by MCC from its creation, in 1787, until 1810.