Overview

The Racecourse Ground was the original home of Northamptonshire, but they always had to fight to use the 130 yards of turf for cricket. The Freemen of Northampton Borough, who owned the land, regarded them as virtual tresspassers, and in 1879 took the club to court for enclosing part of the land for cricket. The court agreed with the borough, and shortly after the players had to climb the fence to honour a fixture with the MCC and had to be forcibly ejected. In 1885 the county moved to their current home base at Wantage Road. The land is no longer used for horseracing, but as a public park, named Racecourse Park., it retains links with its past.
Martin Williamson