In June 1864 William Sheepshanks of Arthington Hall saw St Peter’s Church, which he had built, consecrated. That same month also saw the inauguration of the new cricket ground. The first ground appears to have been situated in a field nearly opposite ‘The Wharfedale Pub’ about a mile away from the present ground in Arthington Park.

The ground is a typical rural Victorian layout insofar as it is almost a square of 100 yards each side. The square is properly constructed with a coke layer under the top soil, accounting for its remarkable drying and drainage qualities. For the first forty years or so the pitches were laid north/south. This was changed to the present east/west alignment when the Sheepshanks family built the large house between the church and the grounds – obviously too many sixes were landing in the garden.

From 1864 to 1989 only friendly cricket was played by Arthington CC. In 1990 the club joined the Dales Council League playing nine seasons before entering the Nidderdale League. The Harrogate Evening League accepted Arthington from the 1995 season onwards, with fixtures being played from May through to early August on a Wednesday evening.

At the end of the 2012 season the club merged with Hawksworth CC who had previously played in the Dales Council and had previously rented the ground on alternate Saturdays. At the start of 2013 this meant that the club was able to field two teams for the first time in its history. 2013 proved to be a fruitful season with the both the first and second teams gaining promotion from their respective leagues [Division 7 & Division 9]. Steady progression through the leagues has continued and the start of the 2018 season will see the first team playing in Division 4 and the second team competing in Division 7.

Friendly cricket is still played at the ground as the ground is available for hire, predominantly in June and July. Indeed this is part of the agreement with Arthington Hall that there should be both league and friendly matches played on the ground.

The Arthington Festival takes place each year with fixtures played on Saturday and Sunday in late September and into October – the latest recorded date for a game so far is 21 October. The Festival attracts many a cricket lover to come down to the ground and watch cricket after the end of the regular cricket season. Some travel from as far afield as Lancashire and Nottinghamshire in order to watch the cricket before the onset of winter.

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