The Duke of Edinburgh opens new Warner Stand at Lord’s
Wednesday 3rd May 2017
The Duke of Edinburgh, Honorary Life Member, Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) will visit Lord’s Cricket Ground to open the new Warner Stand.
In 2013, the MCC unveiled a plan for the redevelopment of Lord’s which will take place over the next two decades. Originally built in 1958, the new stand, which is named after celebrated former England captain Sir Pelham Warner, represents completion of the first major phase of the redevelopment.
Upon arrival at Lord’s, His Royal Highness will proceed to the Committee Room to meet representatives of the MCC, alongside engineers and members of the construction team who have been involved in creating the new stand. The Duke will then visit the outfield, where he will meet architects and descendants of Sir Pelham Warner.
On the outfield, His Royal Highness will watch a children’s cricket match and view a display of equipment including various bats, a bat gauge, a pink ball and a set of stumps with tethered bails. The Duke will cut a ribbon and unveil a plaque to open the Warner Stand, and join guests in Pelham’s Dining Room for lunch.
The Duke of Edinburgh has a long association with the game of cricket and is officially involved with over 20 cricketing institutions worldwide. His Royal Highness was awarded Honorary Life Membership of the MCC in 1948, and was elected to be President of the Club twice, in 1949-50 and 1974-75.
Prince Philip was captain of the cricket team when he was a pupil at Gordonstoun. During the 1950s, The Duke often played in charity cricket matches in aid of the National Playing Fields Association, of which he became President in 1948. In 1950, HRH became Patron – or Twelfth Man – of the Lord’s Taverners, a cricketing charity which helps young disadvantaged and disabled people through sport.
Named after Sir Pelham Warner, the new Warner Stand has been designed to deliver an enhanced spectator experience for members of MCC and their guests, as well as offering a significant upgrade to facilities to ensure Lord’s remains the most prestigious ground in the world to play and watch international cricket.
Marylebone Cricket Club is the world’s most active cricket club, the owner of Lord’s Ground and the guardian of the Laws and Spirit of the game. Founded in 1787, it is recognised as the sole authority on the game’s Laws and moved to its current home in 1814. There are 18,000 Full and 5,500 Associate Members of MCC.
The current Lord’s Cricket Ground is its third incarnation. The first ever match played at ‘Lord’s Cricket Ground’ came in 1787 when businessman Thomas Lord staged a game between Middlesex and Essex at a newly built ground in what was then known as Dorset Fields. By 1811, MCC had moved to a new Ground in the Eyre Estate of St John’s Wood. This ground proved unpopular but when plans emerged for the Regent’s Canal to be built straight through it, Thomas Lord gratefully accepted compensation and moved the Ground to its current location in 1814.
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