Barts, The London and BLCC
The cricket club at Barts and the London, School of Medicine and Dentistry formed from the merger of the formerly distinct hospital cricket clubs of St Bartholomew’s and The Royal London.
Cricket at St Bartholomew’s Hospital
Records of the cricket club at St Bartholomew’s Hospital Medical College began in the mid 1880’s with initiative coming in response from the start of an inter-hospitals competition. The cricket club alongside rugby football, association football, boxing and tennis clubs were pioneers in the amalgamation of sports at St Bart’s. With the financial aid provided by the 287 amalgamated members in the first year, a small spots ground at Winchmore Hill was leased which satisfied the needs of the college. As the amalgamated clubs membership grew to over a thousand members the clubs moved to its current home, Chislehurst , in 1937. In June 1938 the pavilion was completed, and after the grounds had been levelled and re-turfed, three rugby pitches, 2 cricket wickets, a football and field hockey pitch were opened. Local residents were invited to the opening ceremony in an effort to ‘foster association’ with the hope of securing donations.
The cricket club formed a big part of the amalgamated clubs and for the better part of the century, had 3 competitive sides which played various fixtures on Saturday and Sunday. This included the Past vs Present match (a tradition which is still upheld to this day), a competitive game against the MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club) and several touring matches usually held in Sussex.
Cricket at The Royal London Hospital
The London Hospital Medical College, the first school to be granted the official charter for medical teaching, opening in 1785. It was England's first purpose-built medical school, pioneering a new kind of medical education, with an emphasis on theoretical and clinical teaching. Cricket had been played here for a long time, however it was only in 1893 when records officially began. The newly formed Student’s Union had leased a sports ground at Lower Edmonton which allowed for many sports to played. Later, the college moved to their own sports ground at Hale End, Walthamstow which continued to be used and improved. The pavilion was rebuilt following its destruction by fire one night in 1956.
Cricket at Barts and the London
Following the merger of St Bartholomew’s and The Royal London Hospital Medical College with Queen Mary and Westfield College in 1995, Barts and the London, School of Medicine and Dentistry and Queen Mary University of London were established. Following suit, Barts and the London Cricket Club formed. The sports ground of St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College, Chislehurst, continued to be the new home ground of Barts and the London following the forced sale of The London Hospital Medical College’s sports ground at Hale End by Queen Mary.
The current club colours, black and white, are based on the Coat of Arms used by John Wakering, the Master of the St Bartholomew's Hospital from 1423 to 1462.
Even in the relatively short history of Barts and the London CC, the club has broken many records. Most notably, they hold the record for the most consecutive United Hospitals Cup wins, by being crowned champions from 2014 through to 2018 and consequently being voted for Team of The Year 2017-2018 at the BLSA Association dinner.
More information regarding current 'Training and Matches' and 'Socials' can be found under ‘The Club’ subheading.