NEHL - There was a cricket ground a Foggy Furze from at least 1879 until the 1890s. In the 1900s the site known as the "Foggy Furze Cricket Field Estate" was up for sale as a residential development.

The first reference to the area being used for cricket is in 1879, when West Hartlepool were utilising a ground here in July. Again, a few matches in September are mentioned between "West Hartlepool Foggy Furze" and "West Hartlepool Clarence" which complicates matters further. The Clarence Club were known as the parent club with it being around much older.

The cricket ground continued to be known as this for another three decades even after use. It held festivals, with one notable "grand annual cricket match" being between clown cricketers, running through the 1880s. The West Hartlepool Temperance Society held their annual festival on the field, hosting open air concerts, bicycle races, Quoits, wheel races, shot putt, hammer throw and a number of other activities.

West Hartlepool CC moved to Clarence Road by the 1890s but the field was still casually used. The Boys Brigade had a presence here as well as agricultural shows etc.

A portion of land was also utilised by the West Hartlepool Tennis Club from around 1884, before their own grounds opened at Granville Avenue.

The exact location of the cricket ground cannot be ascertained. I have pinned the most likely site as it was advertised for sale as residential bundled in with the Burn Valley estate north west of here.