In November 2024 the club was renamed from "Bank of England Cricket Club" to "West Wimbledon Cricket Club". The history below therefore refers to both names.

The Beginning

There are historical records of a Bank of England Cricket Club going all the way back to 1867, with the first recorded AGM in 1886. However, it appears that fixtures were often infrequent and the club was disbanded in 1893, with no further interest until 1908. This was the year of the foundation of the Bank of England Sports Club in Roehampton, South West London, and with it led to the re-formation of the cricket club for what we consider the official beginning of the modern club.

The Early Years (1908 - 1970)

By 1909 the club already had three teams, and went from strength to strength featuring players such as Herbert "Stairs" Bannister, capped several times by Leicestershire when he could get time off from working at the Bank. After World War 1 normal life eventually resumed and the club entered a golden age, running four teams from 1921, increasing to five from 1935. The fine tradition of touring began with the 1st XI to Sussex in 1921, with the 2nd XI following suit to Kent in 1923. Both of these annual trips were to continue up until the outbreak of World War 2 in 1939. Another annual tradition, that of a club versus a Bank of England Governors XI, also began in 1928 and would continue for the better part of a century afterwards.

Throughout this period the club were one of the premier sides in London, with the superb facilities attracting fine opposition from both near and far. In 1923 the top three sides in the club lost only seven games out of 68 played, but in 1931 Humphrey Gilbert's 1st XI topped the lot by remaining unbeaten in 33 matches played. The 1st XI would continue to dominate in the 1930s until pausing for World War 2, although a Club XI continued to play some games during this time. Indeed, B.A Smith was to take a club record 145 wickets during the 1942 season, a record that is unlikely to ever be broken.

After the war the club picked up where it left off, with the 1st XI continuing to excel and the annual tours to Sussex and Kent resuming. Several other club records that still stand to this day were set in this time - Peter Feldwick's 10-46 against Old Elthamians in 1946, Ralph Smith's 193 not out against Oxford University Authentics in 1947, as well as John Hopwood's 2055 runs in the 1948 season.

​The club remained a force on the London cricket scene, and in 1963 the 1st XI under Chris Parry (capped by Buckinghamshire) were to lose just five out of 54 matches played. During this period another record was set as Colin Parham scored 1000+ runs in a season 11 years in a row.

The Initial League Period (1971 - 1986)

Friendly cricket remained the dominant type of cricket played until 1971, when the club joined the Surrey Cricketers League for its inaugural season. The 2nd XI also joined the league in 1972, with friendly cricket continuing to flourish in the 3rd XI, 4th XI and Sunday XI. There were some successes in league cricket although the club found it tougher going than previously, usually finishing towards the lower end of the table.​

In the 1970s another club record was set when Norman Ashley took 100+ wickets in a season eight years in a row. Off the field the Bank of England began to see a gradual decline in the number of staff employed, with the inevitable consequence of a few "outsiders" helping to make up the teams. The 1st XI annual tour to Sussex ended in 1979 having been a feature of the cricket season since 1921 (although the annual tour to Kent continued), but better news was soon to be around the corner in the 1980s. This would begin in 1982 with an overseas tour to Barbados to celebrate the club's 75th anniversary, as well as the setting up of the 4th XI annual tour to Buckinghamshire in 1986.

Elsewhere In 1986 the Midweek XI under John Hodges were runners up in the United London Banks Cup and from 1987 the club regularly began to put out five teams for the first time since the 1930s. Of course, not wanting to be called the 5th XI the extra team were christened the 3.5s (sitting in between the 3rd XI and 4th XI), and were soon regularly winning the Fuller Cup (the internal club award for the Saturday team with the most wins).

The League Evolves (1987 - 1997)

In 1987 the Surrey Cricketers League merged with the Surrey Championship and from 1989 the club began to enter three sides into the league. 1988 featured a month long tour to Australia which kick-started a second golden age for the club, including an occasional 6th XI. Of course, they were immediately branded as the 3.75s (sitting in between the 3.5s and the 4th XI). The new found strength within the club helped Simon Tremlin's 1st XI become runners up in Surrey Championship (Old) Division 2 in 1989, promoted to the top tier of league cricket within Surrey for the first time. The club's first silverware followed in 1990, as the Midweek XI under Tremlin won the United London Banks Cup, and the 3rd XI under David Buffham also won their division. A bi-annual club tour to Holland was also started around this time.

1993 was to be one of the most momentous years in the club's history, with another overseas tour, this time to New Zealand, being capped by a double promotion for Simon Halliday's 1st XI and Paul Jones' 2nd XI from their respective Surrey Championship divisions. Particularly impressive was the 1st XI, who became the first club side to remain unbeaten in over 60 years. The most important thing however, was the hard work of Barry Brown in setting up the junior section, which is still thriving in the present day.

In 1994 the Midweek XI under Nick O'Hara won the United London Banks Cup for a second time. The 2nd XI led by Paul Jones achieved our highest ever finish in the 2nd XI league structure, with 7th in Surrey Championship 2nd XI (Old) Division 1, making us the seventh best 2nd XI in the county. Although the higher sides remained competitive in the top divisions the rest of the club entered some lean years as availability proved an issue. 1996 saw the 3rd XI relegated and decide to return to friendly cricket, whilst the 3.5s folded, leaving the club with two Saturday league teams and two friendly teams.

The League Modernises (1998 - 2019)

In 1998 the 1st XI under Ian Stuart achieved the club's highest ever finish in the 1st XI league structure, by finishing 4th in Surrey Championship (Old) Division 1. This made us the fourth best team in Surrey and resulted in qualification for the newly formed 10 team Premier League in 1999. This proved tricky as the only club not to pay any of their players, with relegation swiftly following. In 2001 the 1st XI under Tim Cox bounced back by finishing as runners up in Surrey Championship Division 1, but again this was to be a brief one year stay. The strength at the top end of the club saw the 2nd XI under Mark Flack join the party by winning their division, which also enabled a brief crack at the 2nd XI Premier League.

​​2003 featured another excellent overseas tour (this time to South Africa), although this was to prove the last major club overseas trip to date. Times became harder on the pitch, as a high turnover of players meant the 1st XI suffered successive relegations in 2005 and 2006 to drop down to Surrey Championship Division 3. The same problems hit the 2nd XI, who also suffered successive relegations in 2004 and 2005, which was no great surprise as sides were regularly filled out by players from the 3rd and 4th XIs.

The biennial tour to Holland also ceased in 2007, although brief respite was provided by the 1st XI under Matt Bird gaining promotion back to Surrey Championship Division 2, albeit for just a one year spell. The influence of the junior section helped to stabilise the club hereafter, as numerous graduates of the system filtered up the club both on and off the pitch. The club celebrated it's centenary in 2008 with our first (and thus far only) cricket week, culminating with the Players (led by Matt Adey) defeating the Gentlemen (led by Barry Hoffmann).

A highlight of the 2010 season was Richard Kendall's unbeaten 4th XI, a first for a Bank side since 1993. The club was also victorious in the first Public Services T20 Tournament, to be contested annually by us, HMT, HMRC and the Civil Service.

Sadly 2013 was the last of the annual club versus Bank of England Governor's XI matches, who since 1928 had included in their sides numerous cricketing legends such as Viv Richards, Graeme Hick, Mark Nicholas, Courtney Walsh and Andrew Strauss. More bad news also saw a sudden drop in numbers in the junior section and almost financial oblivion, with the loss of all junior sides from u12 and above. Fortunately the section rebounded and continues to provide a steady stream of talented cricketers throughout the club.

The strength of the club gradually began to improve again and in 2014 the 2nd XI under Aaron Walder gained promotion for the first time in a decade. In 2015 the 1st XI led by James Woodroof finally ended seven seasons in Surrey Championship Division 3 by gaining promotion back to Surrey Championship Division 2.

The Club Changes (2020 - 2024)

A curve ball was thrown at the end of the 2019 season, as the Bank of England committed to leasing out the Roehampton Sports Centre that had been our home since 1908. The worldwide covid 19 pandemic hit at the same time and forced the cancellation of the first half of the 2020 season, so the club's Management Committee had to work extraordinarily hard to find playing venues for the remainder of the shortened cricket year. These were eventually found at Oberon Playing Fields (West Wimbledon) and Barn Elms Sports Centre (Barnes). Sadly the junior section were unable to play at all, with the Sports Centre unavailable and many venues opting not to prepare pitches for such a narrow playing window.

The playing location challenges meant changes were necessary for the structure of the club and its financial set up, which allowed for several amendments to the rules that traditionally governed the club. At the 2020 AGM the historic decision was made to allow a fully open membership, rather than being restricted to Bank of England affiliates and a limited number of "guests". This reflects the fact that in the modern day the club primarily serves the local community, in addition to representing the Bank of England. On the field there was a first ever entry into the Surrey Slam midweek T20 competition, as the popularity of the shorter format of the game continued to grow.

In 2021 the off field changes allowed the club to successfully apply for Community Amateur Sports Club (CASC) status. This was an important step in helping towards previously unrequired commercial endeavours, which included the club's first ever sponsorship deals. On the pitch we entered the Surrey Slam Indoor Cricket League for the first time, whilst the 3rd XI re-joined the Surrey Championship for the first league cricket at that level in 25 years. This was an especially momentous occasion for long serving players such as Peter Andrews, Richard Down & Eddie Hilton, who had remained regular members of the side throughout the friendly cricket era.

Away from senior cricket the junior section were able to resume its activities (after the enforced break in 2020) in the new Surrey Junior Cricket Championship, which amalgamated all of the historic Surrey junior leagues under one county wide banner. The appetite for cricket from junior members even resulted in an occasional 5th XI being fielded for the first time in more than 20 years.

In 2022 it was eventually confirmed that a return to the Bank Sports Centre under its new leaseholders was very unlikely, as the pitches had been turned into tennis courts. The Management Committee therefore began to activate plans for what a successful long term future for the club would look like elsewhere. The first step was to move 3rd XI / 4th XI cricket from Barn Elms Sports Centre (Barnes) to Beverley Meads Recreation Ground (Wimbledon Rugby Club) in West Wimbledon, a 5 minute walk from the 1st XI / 2nd XI at Oberon Playing Fields). This brought all senior cricket within the club to a similar location, with the junior section continuing in Barnes.

There was some positive news elsewhere, as the club was finally eligible for ECB Clubmark accreditation, which was awarded for the first time largely thanks to the hard work behind the scenes by Richard Kendall. There was also the truly momentous occasion of a girls team taking to the pitch for the first time, with an u10 side victorious in their inaugural match.

Further change was enforced upon the club at the end of the 2023 season, as the leaseholders of Oberon Playing Fields opted not to renew our agreement. Yet again we were forced into a search for alternative playing locations, but this time were unable to find anywhere of a suitable standard to enable continuing Surrey Championship Division 2 cricket. This meant we had no choice but to withdraw from the Championship and instead enter the Surrey County League, a drop of 6 divisions for the 1st XI. This predictably led to a wholesale turnover of players for the 2024 season, with the 4th XI sadly disbanding as a result.

The 1st XI (temporarily playing at West End Recreation Ground in Esher) and 2nd XI (now playing at Beverley Meads) entered the new league, whilst the 3rd XI (also playing at Beverley Meads) remained in the Championship 3rd XI lower divisions. The process of transitioning the junior section of the club to the West Wimbledon area began, with ECB All Stars (5 to 8 year olds) and Dynamos (8 to 11 year olds) programmes being set up at Beverley Meads. Our first junior match at the ground took place with an u9s team made up of players from the "new" local area.

The girls section of the club continued to progress as the u12s (the u10s from 2022) entered the Surrey Junior Cricket Championship for the first time. This inspired us to enter a full women's team into a Surrey Cricket Foundation soft ball festival, marking the first time an adult female team had taken to the field of play under the club's banner.

The End of An Era (Changing the Club Name)

In November 2024 at an EGM the club's members unanimously voted to change the name of the club to West Wimbledon CC. This was an emotional moment after 116 years, but was a decision taken to safeguard the future of the club.

Over many years the number of Bank staff as our playing members had been on a downward trend, and it was believed unsustainable for that to continue. The BOE were understandably cautious about the name being used for commercial reasons, but this negatively impacted our ability to source sponsorship and raise much needed funds elsewhere, which were required to help contribute towards improving our playing facilities. The BOE name also made it more challenging to recruit players at both adult and junior levels from the local area.

As we were in the process of starting new junior and women’s sections in West Wimbledon, plus continuing to rebuild the men’s section after the location challenges, the timing was right to make such a change. The club’s needs had completely changed in the previous 5 years, so we needed to evolve with the times to ensure a prosperous future.

New Beginnings (2025 - Present)

As we enter 2025, we do so as part of a new era for cricket in Surrey, as several of the traditional leagues (including Championship and County Leagues) merge to form the new Surrey Cricket Championship, creating one regionalised pyramid.