Plaque

First Test Match in England

Inscription

This plaque honours the match played between England and Australia at The Oval from the 6th - 8th September 1880. The first test match on English soil. England won by five wickets. W G Grace scored 152, becoming England's first centurion.
Surrey County Cricket Club
D.R. London S.E.5

The "D.R. London S.E.5" is puzzling. The Oval is in the SE11 post code, not SE5. Possibly "D. R." is an organisation, based in SE5, that was involved in erecting this plaque, but we can't think which.

2025: We thank Jon Surtees of Surrey Cricket who solved the "D.R. London S.E.5" puzzle. This refers to Studio Daniel Reynolds, a ceramicist from nearby Iliffe Yard in Walworth (SE5) who created the plaque.

Site: Hobbs Gates + first Test (2 memorials)

SE11, Kennington Oval, Hobbs Gates

From British History Online: "During the war of 1939–45 the Oval suffered both from bombing and from neglect. It was used as a searchlight site and subsequently set out, though never used, as a prisoner-of-war camp. In 1945, after de-requisitioning, 40,000 turves from Gravesend were laid, and cricket was resumed at the beginning of the season of 1946."

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

This section lists the subjects commemorated on the memorial on this page:
First Test Match in England

Subjects commemorated i

First cricket test match in England

Played between national teams, test matches are the longest and considered to...

Read More

W. G. Grace

Cricketer and medical practitioner. Born William Gilbert Grace at Clematis Ho...

Read More

This section lists the subjects who helped to create/erect the memorial on this page:
First Test Match in England

Created by i

Studio Daniel Reynolds

A design studio "Specializing in print with over 19 years of industry experie...

Read More

Surrey County Cricket Club

One of eighteen first-class county cricket clubs in England and Wales. It rep...

Read More

This section lists the other memorials at the same location as the memorial on this page:
First Test Match in England

Also at this site i

Hobbs Gates

Hobbs Gates

See Alpha Rail for a close-up photo of these lovely Art Deco gates during the...

Read More

Nearby Memorials

Gavin Ewart

Gavin Ewart

SW15, Lower Richmond Road, Kenilworth Court

Gavin Ewart, 1916 - 1995, noted poet, FRSL, lived at Kenilworth Court. The Putney Society

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
Rough, the Bishop family dog

Rough, the Bishop family dog

N5, Highbury New Park, 16, Severn Villa

Victorian Gs and Cs are often indistinguishable, so the dog could be Rough or Rouch. We've gone with Rough because that's the noise dogs ...

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
Suffragettes - WC2 - new building

Suffragettes - WC2 - new building

WC2, Clements Inn, Pethick-Lawrence House, LSE

We first saw this plaque when it was on the building that used to occupy this site. That was from 1990ish but the style of the plaque is ...

7 subjects commemorated
Mitcham Court

Mitcham Court

CR4, Cricket Green, Mitcham Court

{Next to the crest of Merton Council:} Mitcham Court The centre portion, first known as Elm Court, was built in 1840, the wings later. Ca...

2 subjects commemorated, 1 creator
Hayles Estate - Lambeth

Hayles Estate - Lambeth

SE11, Hayles Street, 34

The name Joseph Dixon appears in both the lists on the plaque: a Trustee and a Churchwarden.

16 creators