On the 3rd March, 1884 - "It was resolved to accept Mr. Hooson’s estimate for the erection of a cricket tent at £15/10/ and Mr. Hughes was directed to give him the order under certain conditions.

Whatever the ‘certain conditions’ were attached to Mr. Hooson’s contract he accepted them because at the monthly meeting of 7th April, the Treasurer was ‘‘instructed to settle with him.’’

The struggle to improve the playing area and the wicket in particular began almost at once. It is a process which has continued ever since. 2nd February, 1885, it was resolved "that Mr. Joseph Mitchell be requested to finish laying the ground as quickly as possible, and that if and when it was finished, he found that his agreement was insufficient to pay him for his labour, compensation be made him." On 23rd March, 1885, he was paid £21/10/- on account and 13th April, 1885, he was paid £1 more than his estimate.

Despite this effort and expenditure and with a balance in hand of only £111416 this ground at Pharaoh Lane did not satisfy for long. The urge for improvement drove them on, and on 18th December, 1885, it was decided that the old ground be used for the season of 1886 but that the ground behind the Vicarage be used for the season of 1887 and afterwards. This is the ground still in use and variously called The Ainleys, Jammy Green, and sometimes Th’Alloe Field, hence the name of the Houses which overlook the ground, Alloe Field View. It is a name taken from an old transfer deed. In view of the sweat and toil which have been necessary to bring Jammy Green up to its present state of perfection, it must have been a brave decision to try and establish a cricket club there. Such was the enthusiasm of these early pioneers.

In September of 1886 a tender of £47/10/- was accepted from Mr. L. Kershaw of Brighouse for laying the new ground. The anticipation of being able to use the new ground in the season of 1887 was not fulfilled however, and this is explained in the Annual Report of a meeting on the 4th November, 1887. Apparently there were severe frosts and subsequently dry weather in the spring of that year and Mr. Lyster Kershaw was not able to make progress. The club was involved in considerable expense for it had to keep two homes going.

Some of the practical problems but certainly not the financial ones had been settled, for the new ground was officially opened on 12th May, 1888, by Mr. J.T. Ramsden. It was something of an occasion, all Vice-Presidents were invited, flag staffs were erected, thirty posters were printed and John Jowett was asked to provide a tea at 1/- per head ‘the remainder (if any) to be paid by the club.’ Jonathan Ingham was also rewarded for his bill posting and given his tea for gate keeping. The opening game was against Ovenden United with fifteen players a side.

One of the problems in going to the new ground appears to have been the need to pay compensation for disturbance to the former tenants. To offset this however, a small amount of cash was raised from grazing rights. On April 5th, 1904, it was decided that "H . . . should be asked if he could do with the grazing of the cricket field seeing that L. . . does not care about it". H... does not seem to have cared about it either, for it was let to Walter Smith for £31/10/- to be paid by the end of August.

The improvement of the ground was a continuous process and the following items of expenditure have been extracted from a statement of 1894: Relaying 400 yards of ground by Alfred Reed £4. Labour etc., connected with the relaying. W. Eastwood, 12 hours at Sd.; Sam Whittaker, 9 hours at 5d.; Allowance to drivers, 1/6. U. Hartley, 4 horses and 2 men 24% hours at 1/6 - £21/7/-

The club apparently had its eye on making use of the Vicarage Coach House for Dressing Rooms but the Vicar had refused his permission. A deputation composed of S. Hays, I. Priestley and E. Sutcliffe must have had persuasive tongues however for on 12th April, 1897, a tender was accepted from Ned Furness for alterations to ‘stables.’ For £6/10/- he undertook to provide :— one Batten Door and casing complete; one pair of steps, landing posts and hand rail; one window made to open outwards, casings and moulds complete; one ceiling in hay loft with 1 x 6 boards; two window holes and three holes in floor boarding up, one window hole and one door hole breaking out; all outside woodwork with one coat of paint.

In January 1902, an estimate was accepted from Mr. Kershaw of Brighouse to relay the ground at each end of the wicket, and the practice wicket for £8 to £10, but Mr. Kershaw seems to have been too slow in starting the work and the job was given to John Waterfall, "as many yards as we require at 6d. per square yard." In September 1906, began the stupendous task of levelling the field — bringing the top part of the hill down to the bottom, and tipping to level it up. Mr. Hartley drew up the plans and promised to supervise the work. A dozen wheel barrows, picks and shovels were borrowed from the Halifax Corporation, Mr. Lord, the Borough Engineer stipulating that ‘these must be sent back if they are required.’ This decision was taken at a meeting on the 18th September, 1906, exactly twenty years to the very day since Mr. Kershaw signed the contract to lay out the original wicket on the ground. A month later it was decided that the work was not proceeding fast enough and we have this minute. "At a meeting held in October it was resolved that we get some paraffin oil and lamps from Wilson Stocks of Queensbury so as to enable us to work in the evenings." Match that for enthusiasm.

Apparently there had been a wage increase in the intervening years since 1894, because on the 7th January, 1907, "We ask Willie Sykes if he could work on the ground, and if so to be paid 6d. per hour, and also if possible to get a man to help him should he consider it necessary." Even in March of that year the work was still in progress.

No doubt this major operation on the ground had disturbed the wicket because at a Special General Meeting held in Spetember 1907, we have this report "The

One of the problems in going to the new ground appears to have been the need to pay compensation for disturbance to the former tenants. To offset this however, a small amount of cash was raised from grazing rights. On April 5th, 1904, it was decided that "H . . . should be asked if he could do with the grazing of the cricket field seeing that L. . . does not care about it". H... does not seem to have cared about it either, for it was let to Walter Smith for £31101-to be paid by the end of August.

Apparently there had been a wage increase in the intervening years since 1894, because on the 7th January, 1907, "We ask Willie Sykes if he could work on the ground, and if so to be paid 6d. per hour, and also if possible to get a man to help him should he consider it necessary." Even in March of that year the work was still in progress.

No doubt this major operation on the ground had disturbed the wicket because at a Special General Meeting held in Spetember 1907, we have this report "The turf is not what we should consider up to the mark, although the pitch plays very well." Therefore another project was put in hand dealing first with the two ends of the wicket, followed by a strip about five yards in width along bottom side.

Still striving for a level ground, further consideration was given to the in 1909 and 1910, Mr. Bland produced detailed estimates - if the slope were taken out at 1 in 30" instead of 1 in 20" the cost would be reduced to £90/14/9 from £140. There is no record that this project was ever carried out, a shortage of funds, followed by the Great War of 1914-18 being the barriers to progress.

In September 1919 permission was sought from the Vicar to make further alterations to the Coach House and Stables, part of which was already being used by the club. It would appear that up to this time, the visitors had used a wooden pavilion on the top of the ground. It was now proposed to have both visitors and the home teams in the Coach House but to divide the room with a partition and provide separate entrances.

With admittance to the Yorkshire Council imminent, another ground levelling scheme was launched and at a General Meeting in October 1919, an estimate from T. Bedford for £200 was accepted as satisfactory 'under the present conditions'.

In the year 1921, minor alterations were carried out to the boundary wall on the west side of the ground, and in February 1926, there is mention of a new 'Tea Tent' being under construction. This was to replace a tent which had been destroyed by fire, and which stood on the site selected for the new pavillion of 1961.

There was also another levelling programme when the Talbot Inn was being rebuilt in 1937. Much of the excavation from there was tipped on the low side of the ground, beyond the perimeter of the present boundary. In this particular project, the club struck the sort of bargain that pleased everybody. Not only was the ground levelled, but the builder paid a fee for each load tipped. The revenue was more than welcome.

From the point of view of the cricket club no major task was then put in hand until 1938, when at a cost of £125 a new refreshment tent was erected. This cost was exclusive of foundations and fittings which were carried out on a 'do it yourself' basis for the sake of economy. The building of this Refreshment Hut - or shall we stick to the colloquial ‘Tea Tent’ was the termination of a long period of wishful thinking. The opening was marked by a Ladies v. Gentlemen of the club cricket match, the male element being restricted to retired cricketers.

It had been a great struggle and it is doubtful whether any large scale operation would have been tackled for some time, but the problem did not arise. It was soon to be cricket in war time again, and down to a basis of 'make do and mend.' Even simple tasks of maintenance like painting, became a problem and the coveted 'Tea Tent' was in danger, for at one point, the possibility of selling it arose, as an economy measure. However somebody knew somebody who got some paint and the day was saved. Cabor gas was installed in 1940 and for the first time the Ladies' Committee could make their meals without struggling with an oil stove.

The war was scarcely over, and the repercussions of it still very much in the air, when the club appeared to be faced with its biggest problem yet. The open country on which the ground was situate was to become an area for re-housing, and the awful fear was, would the ground be taken? For more than half a century this ground had first been made with sweat and toil then nursed and tended like a baby. To preserve this I am quite sure the club would have gone to any length - even declared war again. It is doubtful of course, whether the criminal act of taking it for building was ever contemplated but of course, the club was merely a tenant, the land belonging to the Illingworth Church, and the rent being payable to the Vicar. Since the club did not therefore, control its own destiny there was a feeling of insecurity, and negotiations were put in hand with the Church Commissioners for the purchase of the ground. Eventually in 1950 a sum of £500 was agreed upon and as the club was now getting involved in big money, it was decided that it should become incorporated and turned into a limited company. Not a profit making company, but merely a method of safeguarding the assets under a system which was more satisfactory than the old method of appointing trustees. The purchase of the ground was a considerable foresight on the part of the officials and committee of this time and is particularly significant in the historical context in safeguarding the club's future.

In view of the development in the district and the fact that limits and boundaries were changing, it was decided to attempt another long cherished scheme. It had always been in mind that the ground should have a more symmetrical shape, and with this in view, an approach was made to purchase a section of land on the western side (i.e. the top side) of the ground, a piece large enough to add an eliptical portion to the playing area and at the same time provide a bit of distance between the spectators and the boundary edge. The Halifax Corporation agreed to the sale of 2,450 square yards but on a leasehold basis; after some legal sparring the will of the club prevailed and it was transferred freehold.

In extending the boundary along the western side there was no misapprehension; it was realised that a new walt would be necessary along this extremity. It was not anticipated however that the club would be faced with the same prospect along the northern extremity. Dry stone walls which had hitherto been quite adequate to divide the cricket ground from an adjacent pasture, soon proved to be quite inadequate when exposed to the outside world. Eventually the club was faced with enclosing almost the entire perimeter of the ground. Liability for the wall to the north was repudiated, legal exchanges with the Housing and Education Committees of the Halifax Corporation went on for some time. Illingworth became quite famous for its wall problem and it was frequently referred to as 'The Great Wall of China'.

Eventually the division of responsibility was resolved on these lines, that the Corporation would provide and deliver the material, if the club would erect it. This was by no means the end of the road however. The utmost difficulty was experienced in getting suitable labour for this kind of work. The employment of direct labour was tried but the work progressed too slowly; it was put out on contract and again it was protracted and long periods went by with no visible movement. From the first contemplation on 26th February, 1951, the eventual completion was about 8th August, 1957. Much of the stone provided f or this wall came from the Pellon Lane area and some from the Pellon Lane Baptist Chapel.

No sooner had this stage finished when the Club embarked on its biggest project yet. In a magnificent gesture by Mr. Frank Fox and his family the Club was promised £1,500 towards the cost of a new Pavilion if it could raise a similar sum. Raising it was no mean task and every form of fund-raising had once again to be utilised but it had its culmination with the opening of the new Pavilion in 1962 which was the envy of the district.

It was not surprising that a period of consolidation followed. The decade had seen a huge leap forward in terms of improvement of the ground facilities. One burning ambition still remained that of a modern Scorebox with facilities underneath for the storage of ground equipment. The old Scorebox and, prior to that, changing rooms, over the Vicar's garage had served the Club well but was to be displaced by the Club's ambition to provide first-class facilities. A large Grant from Calderdale Council finally swung the balance and the new Scorebox was opened in 1975 dedicated to the memory of Ernest Rothera who had been such a Club stalwart over so many years.

But, as had been the case over all the years, the Club did not sit still. The drive for improvement carried on. Lack of funds was a hindrance but never a restriction. Further Grant applications to Calderdale Council, the National Playing Fields Association and the Lords Taverners all bore fruit and in 1976 a new permanent practice wicket with matting and netting was completed along with the provision of a new hot water system in the Pavilion with showers in each of the dressing rooms.

Three years later another large project saw the erection of a fire escape to the first floor of the Pavilion and the creation of a new kitchen at that level, so that the upper floor could be fully utilised. The ground was not forgotten either and, after much searching, a suitable second-hand motorised roller was purchased much to the pleasure of the players and groundsmen alike.

The demand for modern facilities continued apace and not for the first time, the Club went into debt in 1980 to create a modern Bar and Lounge in the Pavilion and a hard surfaced car parking area.

Much progress has been made over 100 years and many of these schemes would be beyond the imagination of those early members who struggled to level the ground under the light of their paraffin lamps. However, this is not the essential point. None of the subsequent improvements would have been possible without the continued efforts of those earlier generations. Slowly but surely, piece by piece, the story has developed. Successive improvements have been built upon to stand the Club in good stead well into the next hundred years.