New College initially leased the land on which they played cricket from Christ Church.

To this end, trenches simulating those a soldier might encounter on the Western Front were dug on the ground.

The ground regularly hosted parades for the 1st Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry throughout the war.

[6] The ground hosted its third first-class match in 1927, with Oxford playing the touring New Zealanders.

[5] Oxfordshire returned to the ground in 1939, playing all four of their homes matches in that seasons Minor Counties Championship there (a fifth, against Cornwall, was abandoned without a toss).