Chalkwell Park


Chalkwell Park is a recreational park in Chalkwell, Southend-on-Sea, in Essex, England. It covers and contains several flower gardens, two children's playgrounds, a skateboard/BMX park and football, cricket, basketball and tennis fields.
The arts and music festival Village Green is held on the grounds of Chalkwell Park annually in the summer. The festival often receives more than 25,000 visitors each year.

History

In 1830, Chalkwell Hall was built in the centre of the park. At the time, it didn't have a well-defined purpose. The park was formed from the land surrounding the hall. In 1901 or 1903, the Southend-on-Sea Borough Council purchased the land for £20,000.
In the 1950s or earlier, a small petting zoo was established in Chalkwell Hall containing at various points in time peacocks, monkeys and eventually a bear. Today, only the peacock enclosure remains, containing 4 peacocks. The hall also serves as a modern art house.

Cricket ground

The cricket ground was first used by the Essex County Cricket Club, 1st XI in 1934 for County Championship matches and in 1970 for List A matches. The ground has not been used by the club 1st XI since 1976.
The ground has hosted 69 first-class matches and 8 List A matches:

Game information

Game statistics – first-class

Game statistics – one-day matches