Situated in the centre of Tunbridge Wells, the Common provides a tranquil open space amidst the hustle and bustle of this beautiful and historic spa town.
On a typical summer weekend, an estimated 3,000 people realise that there is no better place than one of the many benches around the ground to slow down and relax in the sun to the sound of leather on willow.
In 1876 Lewis Luck formed a cricket club known as Tunbridge Wells Juniors, initially playing near the present Nevill Ground.
Every Friday evening from April to September the cricket pitch is full of children playing as up to 130 boys and girls turn up to enjoy coaching where the emphasis is on learning – with fun.
A central feature of the local community with over 300 players of all ages, Linden Park Cricket Club and its welcoming 130-year-old clubhouse provided a quintessential sense of British history complementing the beautiful Georgian and Victorian architecture of the town.
Fixtures for the season were in place, pre-season practice was completed, the days were getting longer, the sides for the first matches were selected and the pitches were cut.
Everything was in place – but at around 3 am on 14 April, "Good Friday", and the day before the first game of the season, an alarm was raised – vandals had broken into the pavilion and set fire to it.
After a mammoth fundraising effort covering nearly two years, the rebuilding of the clubhouse commenced in 2007 in time for the 2008 summer, a real 'Phoenix from the Ashes' moment for the local community.