The ground is located in the central area of Tunbridge Wells Common, close to the Wellington Rocks, an outcrop of Ardingly Sandstone laid down in the Lower Cretaceous period.

[2] Cricket has been played on the Tunbridge Wells Common since at least the 18th century and the first recorded match on the ground took place in 1782.

[5] The ground stopped being used as a first-class venue due to concerns over the condition of the pitch which was "regularly trampled by the public and grazing animals".

[4] After the match against the Australian team in 1882, in which Australia were bowled out for 49 runs, reports suggested that "fencing is required to keep the cows out",[3] although the match report in The Times makes no mention of the pitch being a factor in their low score, blaming instead the "carelessness" of the Australian captain Billy Murdoch and crediting the fine bowling of the Leicestershire born professional John Parnham who took 12 wickets in the match.

[4] A total of 36 first-class matches have been played on the ground, 28 of them featuring Kent as the home team.