Dachaigh airson nan Geamaichean — A home for the Games
Imagine the problem. It's 1863 and the Northern Meeting Games are very popular. However, they are no longer welcome at Inverness Royal Academy, their home since 1848.
Fortunately, there was a solution here on the west side of the River Ness. In 1863, this area was just fields but the landowner, Sir Alexander Matheson MP, was keen to develop it as a fashionable new quarter with elegant buildings and high-quality facilities.
By June 1864, a deal had been done to buy land for the Games here. Within a few months, a wall had been built around the site, grass seed had been sown, and a temporary pavilion was in place, carefully situated to stop spectators watching the Games for free from Inverness Castle! The first Games took place here in September 1864.
By the following September, the permanent Pavilion had been built. It is still in use today and is thought to be the world's oldest purpose-built Highland Games venue.
An robh fios agaibh? — Did you know?
The Northern Meeting Society originally hoped to buy the site where Inverness Cathedral now stands.
Cricket in the Park
You may not associate cricket with the Highlands but the Northern Meeting Park has been home to the Northern Counties Cricket Club since 1865. The club was formed at a meeting in August 1864 presided over by the Bishop of Moray and Ross, the Right Reverend Robert Eden (who was also the driving force behind the building of Inverness Cathedral). Notable matches in the Park's history include games with WG Grace's team and an all-Indian side with three maharajas! Nowadays, cricket is still very much alive at the Park with thriving Senior and Junior players as well as activities in local schools.
The Highland Archive Centre in Inverness holds a collection of Club photographs and programmes etc, including some collected by Stan MacDonald who was the Club's Captain in the late 1950s and mid-1960s. Stan's collection includes the Club's Centenary Souvenir Programme (1965) with the history of Northern Counties Cricket Club, in draft form with his handwritten notes.
