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KIRKBURTON CC

Riley Park, Kirkburton, Huddersfield HD8 0SA

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Huddersfield League

Huddersfield Junior League

Volunteer Contacts:

Steve Iredale & Mike Nicholas

 
  Club Image
 

Founded: 1860 at Rose & Crown Inn
Nickname: 'Burton'
Former Ground: Turnshaws (1860s and 1870s)
Nearest Landmark: Kirkburton Parish Church
Nearest Railway Station: Stocksmoor
By Bus: 235/236/238/239/240/341 from Huddersfield Bus Station
Nearest Other Club: Shelley CC

Club

Timeline (40kb PDF)

Early Years (1.2mb PDF)
Later Years (2.0mb PDF)

Cricket at Riley Lane: Centenary Brochure 1878-1978 (7.1mb PDF)

Club History by Ian Hodgson (310kb PDF)

History of Club and Ground - Extract from Pennine Pitch

1951 Riley Lane & Annual Dinner (63kb PDF)

1957 Huddersfield League Champions (160kb PDF)

1958 (22 Sep) Committee Meeting Minutes (65kb PDF)

1966 (19 Jun) Sykes Cup 3rd Round v Elland - Matchday Programme (170kb PDF)

1968 Committee Meeting Minutes (297kb PDF)

1969 (15 Jun) Sykes Cup 3rd Round v Almondbury - Matchday Programme (89kb PDF)

1970 (12 Oct) Committee Meeting Minutes & Section 'B' Champions (93kb PDF)

1971 (27 Sep) Committee Meeting Minutes (70kb PDF)

1978 Club Centenary, Pavilion & Action (358kb PDF)

1982 Committee Meeting Minutes (285kb PDF)

1984 (9 Dec) Committee Meeting Minutes (102kb PDF)

1985 (Jun) Committee Meeting Minutes & Manly Tourists (116kb PDF)

1991 Committee Job Spec (77kb PDF)

1993-4 Committee Meeting Minutes (149kb PDF)

1997 Scorebook - 1st XI v Hall Bower (133kb PDF)

1999 Scorebook - 2nd XI v Kirkheaton, 1st XI & Under-15s Team Photos (242kb PDF)

2007 Yorkshire Post Schools' Cricket Challenge (web link)

Watercolour of Riley Lane (15kb PDF)

Team Members at Fartown - undated (74kb PDF)
Heritage Display in Club Pavilion (191kb PDF)

CASC Clubs (web link)

LEAGUES: Huddersfield League (web link)

People

Who's Who (418kb PDF)

Memorials, Plaques & Dedications (45kb PDF)

Yvonne Collins   Interview (22kb PDF)

Phil Defreitas   Cricinfo

Steve Iredale

M.Kilner   1960 Plaque (45kb PDF)

Rodney Mee

Mike & Jean Nicholas

Ryan Robinson   Cricinfo

Colin & Jean Sutcliffe

Dean Waugh   Cricinfo

Team Photos

1900s (47kb PDF)

1920s (31kb PDF)

1930s (50kb PDF)

1950s (60kb PDF)

1960s (250kb PDF)

1970s (202kb PDF)

1980s (427kb PDF)

1990s

2000s

Undated

Ground

Story of Riley Lane (402kb PDF)

2007 Kirkburton v Golcar (web link)

3D Map & Aerial Photograph (250kb PDF)
Line Drawing by Sue Brant

Clubhouse (640kb PDF)

Signage (275kb PDF)

Scorebox (297kb PDF)

Teatime (396kb PDF)

On the Boundary (1.1mb PDF)

Spectators (1.5kb PDF)

Environs (800kb PDF)

Action (555kb PDF)

General Views (337kb PDF)

Oral History - Jean Sutcliffe

A Relaxing Day
Chocolate Cake
Cost of a Match
Two Handles
Jean's Role
Not Good Enough
Sykes Cup Six Sixes...Well, Nearly!

Local Context

Village of Kirkburton by Lindsay Pollick (577kb PDF)

Wikipedia (web link)

Village Guide (web link)

Library (web link)

Kirkburton Parish Council (web link)

Kirkburton Area Committee (web link)

GENUKI, 1820s (web link)

Francis Frith Old Photographs (web link)

Kirkburton Middle School (web link)

Cricket Heritage Trail: Park Life - Kirkburton & Shelley (web link)

Former Cricket Clubs in Local Area (web link)

Kirkburton Amateurs CC

Kirkburton Wesleyans CC

Further Reading

J.N.Fisher, Huddersfield and Kirkburton Branch (1997)

Burton Bulletin

Huddersfield Examiner

Club Archives

West Yorkshire Archive Collection 1 (Stored at Huddersfield Library)

West Yorkshire Archive Collection 2 (Stored at Huddersfield Library)

 

 

If you have any information about this club or any others in this area that could be of use please feel free to contact us via p.j.davies@hud.ac.uk.

 

 

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Select Images to View Below:

The Ground
  Archive Images

 

Greatest Moment

Winning the Sykes Cup for the third time in four summers in 2003.

Local Hero

George Senior - the first homegrown Kirkburton player to sign on as the club's professional (1937).

Bizarre Fact

In 1960 a defunct Huddersfield Corporation trolleybus was used as a pavilion after a fire at the ground.

Hills and Hedges

Kirkburton's hilly ground, on Riley Lane, is surrounded on one side by luxury houses and bungalows, built in the 1960s and 1970s; most have grown tall hedges or covered their rear windows with iron covers or netting to save a large glazier's bill in the event of a middle-order batsman swinging to leg. (Some of the bungalows also boast verandas - perfect for cricket-loving residents).

On other sides, it is farmers' fields and greenery that border onto the turf. The village church looks on, as does Emley Mast in the far distance.

The playing surface at Riley Lane is undulating in certain regions (it falls away slightly at the far end from the pavilion). In places too, the field is slightly raised. The boundary's edge is littered with benches, bins, and animals (look out for cats and dogs).

A club member says: 'It's always been a good batting wicket here - a bowler's deathbed in many ways.' There is also an artificial wicket, just to the left as you look out from the pavilion. Club spokesmen describe Riley Park as an 'elevated site' and 'a superb piece of land in a delightful setting', with a 'commanding position above the village'.

'Enterprise' of Members

A pavilion was built in 1920 and a tea room purchased in 1932 (soon after, a Ladies Committee was formed). In 1951 one observer looked on admiringly at the club; he talked about the 'enterprise and sacrifice' of members, the 'happy manner' of Kirkburton cricketers, the 'charming' and 'entertaining' way they played the game, and the excellent wicket ('one of the finest…in the league').

Exactly 100 years on from the founding of the club, the original pavilion burnt down. The disaster occurred in April 1960 - the fire destroyed the dressing rooms and much equipment. For a short space of time, the club used an ex-Huddersfield Corporation bus as their pavilion.

A new pavilion arrived in 1962 - the one that still stands today. It is a converted bungalow, with a garage next door. It took two years to build, and was then extended only two years after it was opened.

Pretty Picture

By 1969 the powers-that-be at Riley Lane were pretty satisfied; in the Huddersfield League handbook, they described the new structure as 'attractive' and 'well built', and their ground as a 'modern and pleasing home for village cricket'. They went on: 'Enjoy a pleasant afternoon at our picturesque ground and a pleasant evening in the comfort of our modern clubhouse'.

Today, the building incorporates kitchen, bar area and lounge plus a small cricket library, which members and visiting spectators are free to borrow from. Adorning one of the inside walls is a superb watercolour painting of Riley Park - the work of Jean Sutcliffe.

Aussie in Town


The scorebox, built in the early-1970s and almost a 180-degree walk from the pavilion, is an interesting feature. A warning notice on its frontage says: SCORERS ONLY PLEASE (there's also a lock and padlock to scare off intruders).

There is a cute set of steps up to the top floor and there are five small advertising boards affixed to the bottom. And three bits of trivia: (1) Steve Waugh visited Kirkburton CC in July 1995 - and a photo in the pavilion commemorates this fact; (2) Riley Park has witnessed its fair share of women's cricket; and (3) In 2002 a full tea cost £2, a sandwich £1.20, and it was 40p for a mug of tea, a cup of coffee, or a slice of cake. Great value.


And when Kirkburton won the Sykes Cup at Elland in 2003, it appeared that the whole of the village was there. The travelling support was exceptional, and obviously spurred the team on to victory.

Disclaimer - Designed and programmed by Lee Booth.

 
Heritage Lottry Fund University of Huddersfield