Bamburgh's Castle Green was certainly in use for sports from the 1890s, but it was very likely used even earlier informally. The earliest we capture sports being reported on the field is the annual feast, which featured various sports as a sort of village festival. A 120 yard handicap running race, a 1 mile bicycle race and a five a side football competition took place here in 1898 with features from local clubs including North Sunderland and Bamburgh Americans - I would love to know where that name stems from! Bamburgh Castle CC had been operating since 1893, so we could possibly pin it at least this far back.

Specific references are cited in the next century. A Bamburgh Castle Lawn Tennis Club used the Castle Green for competitions against the Berwick clubs in the 1900s, and Bamburgh Castle FC certainly played their home games on the castle green. Alnwick St James' A team and Whinstone Rovers certainly played here as well as Wooler and Newcastle NER (one of the towns oldest clubs). Our first specifically referenced cricket matches here are between Bamburgh Castle and Embleton in July 1904, interesting featuring a Flintoff in a very one sided game noted, and four cricket matches in June 1903. It has to be said these were between local villagers.

Two pavilions were constructed by 1922, situated on the west side of the field near The Wynding and hear St Oswald's gate respectively. The latter was quite substantial, though I'm not sure which club owned which.

A football pitch and cricket ground remained on the links in two halves into the middle of the 20th century, though village football lost favour soon after. Bamburgh Castle CC also went defunct within the next couple of decades, but were reformed in the 2000s capitalising on the incredible location. They still have a very active fixture list today.