Overview

The emergence of Hyde Park as Sheffield's premier ground came about quickly, and it superseded Darnell almost as soon as the cricket pitch park was opened in 1826. Its first major match was in 1830 and from then on it staged all the town's most important cricket through to the 1850s.

Large crowds flocked to games, especially single-wicket contests, and in 1833 the first side to play under the name of Yorkshire turned out against Norfolk, even though the Yorkshire side was Sheffield in all but name.

In 1837, William Woolhouse, who had been the driving force behind the venue's success, died and the enterprise went into a slow decline. In 1846 more than 16,000 watched the first outing of William Clarke's All-England XI. But those running the place turned more and more to other sports - including rabbit coursing - and by the early 1850s the search was on for a new ground, which was eventually found at Bramall Lane in 1854-55.

Cricket continued at Hyde Park, and as late as 1866 the All-England XI played there. The last matches were in 1886 when it was sold for use as a drill field. In the 1930s a small greyhound track was built, and that was used until the 1970s. The site has now been developed for housing.
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