MCC Museum and Library
The MCC Museum is one of the oldest sporting museum in the world, dedicated to tracing the history and development of cricket.
The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) Museum was opened by HRH the Duke of Edinburgh in 1953 and is one of the oldest sporting museums in the world.
The museum’s collection was begun in 1864 and seeks to tell the full story of cricket history of cricket from its emergence as a major sport in the early 18th century, to the modern age of Twenty20 and the IPL. It included material relating to the greatest players and events, but also the grassroots, community cricket clubs which form the bedrock of the game.
The Museum’s most famous exhibit is the original Ashes urn which now permanently resides within the museum. Other highlights including the original Prudential World Cup Trophy, the stuffed sparrow that killed by being hit with a cricket ball and leangle fighting club which belonged to the aboriginal cricket tour of England in 1868. The museum has a rich variety of clothing and equipment, and collections of fine art, ceramics and blazers. The museum is actively seeking to add to its collections including items from current cricketers and expanding material relating to women’s cricket. The museum also houses objects from other sports including real tennis and baseball.
The MCC Library originally opened in 1973 and holds the world’s most comprehensive collection of books and publications dedicated to cricket. The Collection is currently growing at a rate of approximately 400 volumes per year with new items arriving from all over the world covering all aspects of the game and its history. It has a complete set of Wisden’s and extensive rare book collection.
The MCC Archive, a strong room built in 2006, holds the ‘institutional memory’ of MCC, documenting the decisions the Club has taken from 1825 onwards. This is reflected through MCC minute and score books, correspondence, membership and cash books as well as personal collections from some of the game’s great players,
statisticians, authors and collectors.
Admissions information
The Museum is open throughout the year. To visit on a non-match day you must be part of a tour, to book a tour please visit the tour’s website here: https://www.lords.org/lords/tours-and-museum/tours/
The museum is open to all spectators on matchdays.
The library is open to non-members by pre-booking to access books and archive material. To enquire please email mcclibrary@mcc.org.uk.
