The Radnor Cricket Club was first established as the Merryvale Athletic Association in the 1880’s. The Club first met in Wayne Hall, which was the community’s civic center at the time. It is unsure where the group had their athletic events at the time, although the next door Louella estate had a substantial amount of land. In 1889 Wendell and Smith, builders who were constructing houses in North Wayne at the time, built a new clubhouse for the organization on West Beechtree Lane, on a five acre piece of land adjoining the train tracks. This land was once split in half by North Bellevue Ave., which continued from its intersection with West Beechtree. This land, once part of the Wayne Estate, was probably donated by Drexel and Childs. The name “Merryvale” was displayed on a large placcard next to the clubhouse.

The clubhouse was a substantial three story frame building. The half  of the building facing the street was flat in appearance, but the side facing the field had a large porch, gables, dormer windows, and grandstands. The entire right half of the building was a covered two story grandstand. The bottom half was enclosed probably around 1900.

The club was reorganized in 1892 and renamed the Wayne Country Club. In 1897 it was again renamed the Radnor Cricket Club. During this time the club hosted Fourth of July celebrations on its property. The celebration consisted of a tug of war, a baseball game between North and South Wayne, and fireworks in the evening.

The clubhouse caught fire sometime after 1910. The right half was completely destroyed, but the west end was salvaged and turned into a house. At this point the land which once the athletic field was subdivided, and North Bellevue Ave. was once again extended to meet North Wayne Ave. The pieces of land were bought by Milton W. Young, who apparently planned to build houses on the field. However, for some reason the houses were never built, and the land was eventually purchased by the Radnor Township School District. The School District named the field after Dr. Seneca Egbert around 1946. Strangely, the field was also donated to the community by an “anonymous benefactor” in 1966. At that time it was named “Merryvale Park,” reinstating the original name.

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The clubhouse shortly after it was built, when its giant sign read "Merryvale." Radnor Historical Society Collection		A rare interior view of the clubhouse, showing the pool table and engraved fireplace. Radnor Historical Society Collection

The Club in July, 1892, when Radnor played Belmont at cricket. From "Radnor: A Pictorial History"		This postcard of the Club shows the bottom floor enclosed. Also of note, the handwriting on the card reads, "Pleasant recollections of Fourth of July celebrations fire works etc. Do you remember it?" GP Collection