Dandelion Paddock

{{Short description|Former cricket ground in Dent de Lion, Kent}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2026}} {{Use British English|date=February 2023}} {{Infobox cricket ground | ground = Dandelion Paddock cricket ground | image = | caption = | location = Margate, Kent | coordinates = {{Coord|51.378|N|1.350|E|type:landmark_scale:3000_region:GB|display=title, inline}} (approx.) | home club = Sir Horatio Mann's XI | county club = Kent (pre-county club) | established = 1789 | last used = 1806 }}

'''Dandelion Paddock''' was a cricket ground in Dent de Lion west of Margate, Kent. Sir Horatio Mann organised a number of matches there in the 1790s.

==Location== The paddock was sited in the grounds of Dent de Lion, also known as Dandelion, in Garlinge, now a suburb located {{convert|1.5|mi|km}} south-west of Margate.<ref name=casket>''The Casket'', No. 25, 28 July 1827 – see [https://books.google.com/books?id=iHEEAAAAQAAJ&dq=Dandelion+Margate&pg=PA201 Google Books]</ref> The estate was established around a former manor house in the 12th or 13th century by the family of Dent de Lyon. It was owned by Charles James Fox for many years until his death in 1806. The only remaining evidence of the estate is a 15th-century gatehouse.

==Matches== The grounds had been converted into a resort and tea garden by the time cricket matches were held there and had become very popular with residents of Margate and nearby Ramsgate.<ref name=casket/>

The earliest known match at Dandelion Paddock was in September 1789 when Mann's East Kent played a team from the Isle of Thanet. In September 1795, it became an important venue when Mann staged three successive matches featuring his own XI. Two further games took place in 1796.<ref name=S&B>Arthur Haygarth, ''Scores & Biographies'', Volume 1 (1744–1826), Lillywhite, 1862</ref>

The ground is last known to have been used on 15 September 1806 when Lord Frederick Beauclerk's XI defeated Edward Bligh's XI by 53 runs.<ref name=S&B/> Kent also used the New Cricket Ground in Cliftonville to the east of Margate for one match in 1864.<ref name=17annual210>Grounds Records in ''Kent County Cricket Club Annual 2017'', pp.210–211. Canterbury: Kent County Cricket Club.</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

Category:1789 establishments in England Category:Cricket grounds in Kent Category:Defunct cricket grounds in England Category:Defunct sports venues in Kent Category:English cricket venues in the 18th century Category:History of Kent Category:Margate Category:Sports venues completed in 1789