The Early Years: Hatfield Cricket Club in the Nineteenth Century

Hatfield Cricket Club at Lord’s Cricket Ground Hertfordshire cricket is entrenched in the history of Thomas Lord’s third (and current) cricket ground in St John’s Wood, London. On 22 June 1814, the County provided the opposition for the MCC in the first match played on the new ground. Today, the Lord’s Ground is primarily reserved for elite cricket; however, in the nineteenth century, the ground was available for hire by local clubs and was also utilised by elevens raised by employees of Lord’s. In the latter respect, Hatfield Cricket Club was well served in the century’s final decades. Ben Warsop, a famous bat maker of the time with a factory adjacent to Lord’s, was a frequent visitor to Hatfield to fell willows for his bats, and he made several appearances for the club. As mentioned previously, George Lambert was a Real Tennis professional at the Lord’s Court, and William Lambert was a professional cricketer with the Middlesex County Club, who became tenants at Lord’s in 1877. Between 1871 and 1897, Hatfield visited the ‘Home of Cricket’ in London, NW8, on at least twelve occasions. Incomplete records make it impossible to give a precise figure, and it is likely the club made further undocumented excursions. Monday, 21 August 1871 When Hatfield made their first known appearance at Lord’s, the ground would have been unrecognisable from the modern stadium in situ today. It would, however, have been impressive for its time. Following the destruction of the original wooden pavilion in 1823, an impressive brick replacement was rapidly erected in its place. After the MCC acquired the ground in 1865, a grandstand was built during the winter of 1867-68. Shortly before the visit of Hatfield, such was the popularity of the ground that turnstiles had been introduced. Such are the vagaries of cricket in the nineteenth century that, although their invitation had come courtesy of George Lambert, the identity of Hatfield’s opposition on this day is uncertain. The Hatfield scorebook listed the fixture as being against G Lambert’s XII; however, when it had also done so on 10 August 1870 for a match in Hatfield Park, The Sportsman had reported the fixture as being between Hatfield and St John’s Wood Ramblers. Hopefully, the Hatfield men enjoyed the occasion, as they probably didn’t enjoy the match, which they lost by an innings and ten runs. Hatfield’s undoing was instigated by its ‘friends’. George Lambert took five wickets in Hat47

field’s first innings total of 68, while Ben Warsop helped himself to nine wickets as Hatfield succumbed to a total of 66 all out in their second attempt. The Hatfield XII on this momentous occasion were Charles Dunham, James Walby, Charles Lambert, Henry Hankin, G Barker, Thomas Dunham, E Potter, Richard Green (Essendon CC), Charles Cox, J Coleman, James Cox, and James Woolley. Monday, 7 September 1874 Extant records of the club’s activities in the seasons spanning 1872 and 1876 are few and far between. Home and away fixtures against St John’s Wood Ramblers in 1877 suggest that regular matches between the two clubs may have continued during the intervening years. It also appears to put to bed the question as to the identity of Hatfield’s opponents at Lord’s in 1871, with the Ramblers likely to be correct. Since the club’s previous (documented) appearance, the ground had undergone further developments. In 1873–74, an embankment was constructed which could accommodate 4,000 spectators in four rows of seats. For 1874’s visit to Lord’s, the Hatfield side had been strengthened by the inclusion of some outside help, including William Hearn of St Albans CC and the unidentified C Lawrence, who was the top scorer on the day. A glance at the scorecard may make one wonder why Hatfield didn’t allow themselves enough time to bowl their opponents out; however, declarations were not allowed in cricket until 1888, and the flurry of ducks in the lower order suggests that the damage may have been self-inflicted. ST JOHN’S WOOD RAMBLERS v. HATFIELD This match was played at Lord’s on September 7 and resulted in a draw, Hatfield being at the wickets nearly all day. Lawrence’s 69 were made without a chance, and Hammond and William Hearn also played well. The Ramblers tried no less than seven bowlers, and Lambert’s five wickets were obtained at a cost of 30 runs. Owing to G F Hearne’s good long-stopping, only a single bye was scored. W Slatter fielded well. The first Rambler’s batsman at 26, but Warsop was caught first ball, and Lambert at long-leg a well-judged catch. Score: HATFIELD ST. JOHN’S WOOD RAMBLERSJ Hammond b Lambert 43 Skerman c Hankin b J Walby 9J Gentle b Worsop 7 Hughes not out 19H Reville b Lambert 11 B Warsop c and b J Walby 0R Townsend b Lambert 5 G Lambert c Gentle b Townsend 5C Lawrence not out 69 G F Hearne E Kewley c Woodhouse 7 R Garner W Hearn c Worsop b Hughes 40 Barnaby 
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J Walby c A Fisher b Lambert 0 W Fisher H H Hankin b A Fisher 12 A Fisher A Lawrence c Worsop b Lambert 0 Woodhouse W Walby c A Fisher b W Fisher 0 F Darke H P Eve c Slatter b W Fisher 0 W Slatter G Warner b W Fisher 3 Dr Gaye Bye 1 Total 198 Total 33Sporting Life - 12 September 1874 Thursday, 9 August 1877 Despite strengthening the team with a few players imported for the occasion, Hatfield’s cause was not helped by the fact that they had to play the first innings of the match with only ten men. The ten that arrived at Lord’s on time, in batting order, were as follows: George Skerman (Hertford CC), Charles Lambert, Arthur Dagg, Charles Wodehouse, William Caldecourt, J Payne, Henry Hankin, William Walby, Frederick Hankin, and William Lambert. W H Caldecourt Jr (not to be confused with W H Caldecourt Sr, a former first-class cricketer) was a professional cricketer in the Middlesex area who was often found playing both for and against Hatfield. At this time, Charles Wodehouse was studying at Merton College, Oxford, and he made his debut for Hertfordshire the following year. It wasn’t a good day at the office for the ten men. Dismissed for only 35 runs in the first innings, Hatfield then chased leather as the St John’s Wood Ramblers knocked up 154 runs in reply. Although at full strength for the second innings, there wasn’t much of an improvement. Robert Townsend, who had presumably missed the train, opened the batting and made the top score (12) in a total of 41 for six wickets when time was called, the Ramblers winning by 119 runs on the first innings. Tuesday, 3 September 1878 Presumably, since it was taken from the Hatfield CC scorebook, the above date is correct; however, when publishing a summary of Greville Cricket Club’s season, Bell’s Life in London and Sporting Chronicle printed the date as the 5th. The Greville club was a prestigious one, staging home matches at The Oval in addition to Lord’s. From all accounts, the scorebook was a bit of a mess indeed; had it not been for the above publication, the identity of Hatfield’s opposition would be unknown. H J Gray’s interpretation of Hatfield’s opening batsman is that the name Gregory has been superimposed over that of G Clifford. Putting that aside, the rest of the 49

team was listed as Charles Lambert, William Lambert, Arthur Dagg, Arthur Cheshire (Hertford CC), George Lambert, Walter Dagg, Frederick Hankin, William Groom, ‘Ted’ (??), C Slatter, and C Cox. George Clifford bowled when the home side batted, so it is possible that he was a late arrival and his place in the Hatfield line-up was taken by H Gregory, secretary of the Greville club. However, since whoever the batsman was, with 42 runs, was Hatfield’s top scorer, it is tempting to assume that Clifford, a first-class cricketer with Surrey, took his rightful place in the batting line-up. It may be that he was a late arrival and batted lower down the order. The surnameless ‘Ted’ added 23, and Slatter, who may have been S C Slatter of the Lord’s-based Cross Arrows CC, 18, in Hatfield’s total of 124 all out. This was just enough to edge out Greville, who included Ben Warsop in the XI, by three runs on the first innings. Batting a second time, Hatfield had reached 42 for the loss of one wicket by the close of play. Wednesday, 10 September 1879 Even with two newspaper reports and an entry in the scorebook, the exact composition of Hatfield’s XI for this match remains unclear. What is evident is that Hertford CC’s Arthur Cheshire scored a match-winning halfcentury for Hatfield, and it is known that J Fennell was a Greville player. In the second report below, the Hatfield line-up lists A Ross and A Dagg. In the scorebook, A Dagg is crossed out and replaced with A Ross, with the second Dagg annotated with the initial ‘W’. The first report mentions Dagg Jr, which is unexpected since all the Daggs known to have played for the club belong to the same generation. Lastly, in the scorebook, the bowler and wicket-taker is A Dagg rather than A Ross. Arthur Dagg, who has the middle name Ross, only adds to the confusion. GREVILLE v. HATFIELD This match was played on Sept 10 at Lord’s, in delightful weather on a perfect wicket, and won by the Greville on the first innings by 10 runs. Score: GREVILLE HATFIELDB Warsop c Cheshire b Walby 0 J Fennell c Haywood b Lee 8W Haywood run out 45 G Skerman b Lee 1E R Lee c Walby b Rayment 19 J Walby run out 0D Jennings c Rose b Walby 12 C Lambert b Lee 6H Carswell c Lambert b Ross 21 A Ross b Harris 0H Hardy leg b w b Walby 4 A Cheshire b Jennings 52P Pearce not out 0 C Rayment c Lee b Haywood 11J Macbeth c Fennell b Ross 3 F Hankin c Jennings b Lee 1650

C Harris run out 9 A Dagg b Jennings 13A Dark b Walby 4 F Dunham not out 2C Bending c Fennell b Walby 2 P Dagg c Warsop b Harris 0Byes, etc 10 B 7, l b 3 10Total 129 Total 119In the second innings of Greville, Warsop scored (not out) 16, Lee (run out) 10, Jennings (c and b Walby) 0, Carswell (b Walby) 3, Hardy (not out) 4, Pearce (run out) 4, Macbeth (b Warby) 1 - total 38.Bell's Life in London and Sporting Chronicle - 20 September 1879 Last week, a match was played at Lord’s between the Greville and the Hatfield Clubs. The Greville went in first and scored 129, of these, Mr Hayward made 46 and Mr Lee 19. In the second innings, they scored 32 with five wickets down. Hatfield made 119 and had only one innings, of these, Mr Cheshire made 52, Mr Hankin 17, Mr Dagg, jun. 13, and C Rayment 11. The game was decided by the first innings. Herts Advertiser - 20 September 1879 Thursday, 9 September 1880 Strangely, Hatfield’s visit to Lord’s in 1880 was not recorded in the scorebook, although thankfully, a brief newspaper report survives as evidence that the fixture took place. The club’s book of accounts provides the additional information that the services of a player by the name of T Morris were engaged for the fixture at a fee of five shillings. It is not known who he may have been. GREVILLE CLUB v. HATFIELD The return match between these clubs was played at Lord’s on Thursday. Hatfield went in first and scored 56; their opponents, who played a very strong team, made 103. In their second innings, Hatfield made 86 for the loss of six wickets. The match was thus left unfinished, though greatly in favour of the Greville Club. Hertfordshire Mercury - 11 September 1880 Thursday, 15 September 1881 It was a very strong Hatfield XI that journeyed to Lord’s on this occasion. George Skerman (Hertford CC), Gilbert Hutchins (Stevenage CC), Valentine Titchmarsh (St Albans CC), Ishmael Fish (Hertford CC), William Lambert, Tom Blinko, Charles Bradshaw, Charles Lambert, George Lambert, William Groom, and Frederick Hankin. Of these, Titchmarsh, Fish, 51

and Blinko were contemporary Hertfordshire County XI players. William Lambert was at Middlesex, and had George Lambert not chosen Real Tennis as a profession, it is believed he could have been a first-class cricketer. Greville batted first and were all out for 83 runs, to which Hatfield replied with a total of 89. In the second innings, there was only sufficient time for Greville to reach 95 runs for the loss of eight wickets, leaving Hatfield as the victors by six runs on a one-innings basis. Thursday, 14 September 1882 Hatfield’s eleven was heavily reinforced by including no less than four ‘guests’ from Hertford CC, namely John Hughes, George Skerman, George Ogilvie, and Ismael Fish. However, the Hatfield-born and bred Charles Lambert was the mainstay of the Hatfield innings, left unbeaten a solitary run away from a half-century, cruelly denied by his brother William, who blew away the Hatfield tail with the final six wickets. The result was a rather tame draw, which, had time allowed, would probably have ended in a victory for the home side. GREVILLE v. HATFIELD Played at Lord’s on Thursday, September 14. HATFIELD GREVILLEJ Hughes c Carter b Hearne 24 E Lee b Skerman 43G Skerman c sub b Lee 0 E Davies b Fish 3G Ogilvie c Carswell b Lee 14 G Carter c Dagg b Hughes 0I Fish run out 15 J Bates lbw b Ogilvie 23C Lambert not out 49 G F Hearne not out 19A R Dagg b Lambert 0 W Lambert not out 3C Bradshaw lbw b Lambert 6 H Carswell W Groom lbw b Lambert 0 H Gregory G Elliott c Warsop b Lambert 2 G Barton A Platten b Lambert 8 B Warsop A Whitby b Lambert 3 b 10, lb 2, w 1 13 b 3, lb 1 4Total 134 Total for 4 wickets 101Cricket - 21 September 1882 Wednesday, 24 September 1884 It is unknown if Hatfield ventured to NW8 in 1883 or if a fixture had been arranged. There were no reports in the press of any Hatfield CC activities in the first three weeks of September, so the weather may have intervened. By the time Hatfield arrived in St John’s Wood, Lord’s had fol52

lowed in the footsteps of The Oval and Old Trafford and hosted Test Match cricket, England beating Australia by an innings and five runs.1 The Hatfield eleven, without any notable outside assistance, somehow clung on for a thoroughly undeserved draw. BEN WARSOP’S ELEVEN v. HATFIELD The veteran bat maker of St John’s Wood improvised a team to meet Hatfield yesterday at Lord’s, the result being a draw, much in favour of the home team. BEN WARSOP’S XI HATFIELDBreeds b Blinko 5 C Lambert b Robinson 7Rose c Blinko b A R Dagg 60 C Bradshaw c Robinson b Lambert 4B Warsop st Dagg b Tew 36 J Bates b Lambert 1W Lambert b C Lambert 17 T Blinko b Robinson 6C Robinson c Bradshaw b Tew 16 A R Dagg st Rose b Robinson 0Gregory run out 0 G Barrett st Rose b Robinson 0Carswell c Barrett b Lambert 5 Dixon not out 25Welch b C Lambert 5 Cash b Warsop 2Saker b Tew 0 P H Dagg b Lane 18Shannon c and b Tew 0 H Brown b Lane 7Need not out 0 Cox not out 6 Tew b Lambert 3Byes, etc 27 Byes, etc 5Total 172 Total 84Sporting Life - 25 September 1884 Thursday, 17 September 1885 According to Hatfield CC’s book of accounts, the club played Greville on this date, but unfortunately, no record of the result survives. A photograph of the Hatfield team was taken on the day, and positively identified players are Walter Whitby, Tom Blinko, Ben Warsop, George Barratt, James Cox, Charles Lambert, and Frederick Hankin. Since it was the custom for professional players to eat lunch at the club’s expense, it can also be deduced that the Hatfield XI on the day included J Fennell, a Greville player who had previously assisted the club in 1879. Interestingly, the accounts also show that Hatfield contributed two shillings to a man for ‘making wickets’, so presumably, the club had to share the costs when playing at Lord’s. Wednesday, 1 September 1886 As with 1885, the only evidence that Hatfield played Greville at Lord’s in 1886 is the book of accounts detailing train fares, etc., for the fixture. Whereas the previous year, the club had made a payment for a man ‘mak53

ing a wicket’, on this occasion, Hatfield’s contribution to proceedings was to pay someone two shillings for ‘rolling the ground.’ Tuesday, 13 September 1897 How many times, if at all, Hatfield CC visited Lord’s in the intervening season since 1886 will probably never be known. Match reports are scarce for the period in question. A home fixture was played against a Ben Warsop XI in 1890, so it is not unreasonable to suspect that a reciprocal match was also played. The Lord’s ground had undergone a major transformation since the last known visit of Hatfield. With spectator numbers and membership numbers increasing, it had been decided that a new pavilion should be constructed. The Thomas Verity-designed pavilion that we are all familiar with was erected in 1889-1890. Not for the first time with this fixture, there is some uncertainty as to the name of Hatfield’s opposition. A handwritten note of the scores found in the possessions of Jack Richardson, who played in the match, states that it was played against a Ben Warsop XI. This is substantiated by newspaper reports. However, a photograph of the occasion (see below) has the opposition listed as Cross Arrows. Cross Arrows CC evolved from St John’s Wood Ramblers and consisted of employees of the Lord’s ground. The match itself was something of a mismatch, but the teams included some interesting selections. Walter Brearley, who took five wickets for Hatfield, would later play for Lancashire and England. Opening the batting for Ben Warsop’s XI (Cross Arrows) was Arthur Ross Dagg, who played for Hatfield from 1875 until at least 1887. As for the ‘Anglo-Australians’… Qualification in the nineteenth century was either by place of birth or a three-year residency. The financial rewards on offer tempted many an Australian to come to England to, for example, seek employment on the ground staff at Lord’s. Albert Edwin Trott (1873-1914) played for Australia against England in the 1894/95 Test Series (against Hatfield CC player Francis Ford) but opted to travel to England to further his career. Having qualified for his adopted country, Trott represented England in two Test Matches against South Africa in 1898/99. His fellow partner in crime, James Patrick O’Halloran, represented Victoria before coming to England. Albert Trott holds the distinction of being the only player to have hit a six over the current pavilion at Lord’s. 54

MR B WARSOP'S XI v. HATFIELD The return match between these teams was played at Lord’s on Tuesday. The visitors were weak, while the Anglo-Australians, A E Trott and O’Halloran were on the other side, and consequently, the visitors were easily beaten. Scores: B WARSOP’S XIA R Dagg lbw Wells 15W Warsop b Brearley 16A E Trott b Brearley 3O’Halloran b Johnson 39Thomas run out 13C F Barrett b Brearley 8J Deane b Brearley 4J Douglas c Bamford b Brearley 3Lowles not out 22Unwin not out 4A Warsop Extras 29Total for 8 wickets 1561st Innings HATFIELD 2nd innings G Elliott c Trott b O’Halloran 0 I Horsey c Deane b O’Halloran 0 not out 14B Bamford b Trott 1 not out 32H Cox c Warsop b O’Halloran 0 A Whitby b Trott 5 H Wells c Lowles b O’Halloran 0 M Johnson c Warsop b Trott 7 W Brearley b O’Halloran 1 C Horsey c Dagg b Trott 3 b Dagg 0J Richardson c Unwin b Trott 0 H Andrews not out 4 b Lowles 13Extras 5 Extras 7Total 26 Total for 2 wickets 66Herts Advertiser - 18 September 1897 MR B WARSOP'S XI v. HATFIELD The Australian bowlers Trott and O’Halloran, who leave England for South Africa at the end of next week to fulfil a winter engagement there, were strongly in evidence in this match at Lord’s. Hatfield could do nothing with their bowling, Trott dismissing five of the Hatfield batsmen for six runs and O’Halloran taking the other five wickets for 15 runs. Needless to say, Mr Warsop’s team won easily. Sporting Life - 16 September 1897 This is the final known appearance of the club Lord’s. However, it is known that a home match against Ben Warsop’s XI was played in 1898, so 55

it is not beyond the realms of possibility that a return fixture was also played. 1 Test Matches were not classified as such until 1892, with status awarded retrospectively, so Hatfield’s players would not have been aware that they were playingat a ‘Test’ venue. Hatfield CC vs. Greville c.1885 at Lord’s Cricket Ground. Standing L-R. Walter Whitby, William Groom, Bill Swift, ??, Joe Lambert, Tom Blinko, Ben Warsop. Seated George Barratt, James Cox, ??, ??, ?? On Ground. ??, Charles Lambert, F J Hankin, ??, ??, ?? 56

The Lord’s Cricket ground, circa 1887.The old Pavilion.57

Hatfield Cricket Club at Lord’s Cricket Ground, 13 September 1897. Back: Bill Swift (umpire), Branton Bamford, Walter Brearley, Walter Clarke, J Butler, Joe Lambert, Frederick Hankin, Manasseh Johnson, Arthur Dagg, Tom Blinko, Cranborne Wright, Ernest Dunham. Middle: George Elliott, Herbert Andrews, Harry Cox, Alfred Whitby, Jack Richardson, Hardy Wells. Front: Ireton Horsey, Conrad Horsey.The Lord’s Cricket Ground, circa 1890s.58

The handwritten scorecard of Hatfield Cricket Club’s final appearance at Lord’s found in the possession of William John ‘Jack’ Richardson.59

Officials Fundamentally, the reason for accepting 1850 (or 1851, depending on your perspective) is that it marks the beginning of any recorded knowledge of elected club officials. However, there are significant gaps in that knowledge. Hon. Secretaries W Hart (1818-1854) The recorded history of Hatfield Cricket Club begins with an entry in the book of accounts, ‘Receipts - 1851, July 14: From former Secretary, W Hart, £4 12s 7d.’ There is no way of knowing when he began his tenure, but it is safe to say that William Hart was the club’s secretary in 1850. The Harts, a family of butchers from Fore Street, were synonymous with Hatfield CC for over a century, encompassing five generations. William was christened on 18 January 1818, so it is a possibility that his year of birth was 1817. His father, John Sr (1788-1863), was a member of the second-earliest known Hatfield CC XI, which played against the County of Hertford in 1818. Ten years later, John was himself a member of a County XI against St Albans. While the first record of William as a player came in 1835, it is difficult to know when his brother, John Jr (1820-1911), whose playing career may have overlapped with that of John Sr. Although there is little evidence of him playing, the grandson of John Sr and son of John Jr, William Henry Hart (1865-1908) was mentioned in a report of an Annual Dinner. It required a lot of investigation to link Herbert ‘William’ Hart (1877-1926) to the family. He was a great-grandson of John Sr, via an illegitimate son of his sister Charlotte. The youngest of the Williams had the most successful playing career of the Harts, culminating in his winning the Batting Prize in 1905. After the First World War, Herbert William’s son, Sidney William (1903-1967), completed the cycle, playing with the 2nd XI until 1924. Given the plethora of Williams in the family, it only seems proper to mention that the patriarch of this dynasty (the father of John Sr and Charlotte) was, naturally, called William. As earlier hinted, Hart was replaced as secretary in 1851, at which point he then became ‘treasurer’. The final entry in the book of accounts attributed to Hart was on 23 February 1852, so it is to be assumed that he relinquished his duties shortly after this. Not long afterwards, he died at the tragically young age of 36 and was buried on 3 March 1854. 60

F G Faithfull (1832-1892) The first sighting of a Faithfull in Hatfield colours dates back to 1818, when it is presumed that the man in question was the Rev. Francis Joseph Faithfull (1786-1854). FJF (it is easier to use initials from hereon in), curate of Hatfield from 1812 and then Rector from 1819 until his death, was the father of Francis Grantham Faithfull, and Rev. James Grantham Faithfull (1817-1873) and the Rev. Valentine Grantham Faithfull (1820-1894). JGF was educated at Harrow (as were his brothers) before matriculating at Exeter College, Oxford, from where he graduated with a BA in 1838 and an MA in 1843. While at Oxford, he made a solitary first-class appearance for the university against the MCC at Lord’s in 1839. His first ecclesiastical posting was as chaplain to the Marquess of Salisbury, before becoming the vicar of North Mymms in 1844. Following his time at Harrow, VGF went to Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, where, like his brother, he played a solitary match as a first-class cricketer, likewise against the MCC. After being ordained, he was curate at Hatfield until 1848, when he undertook various positions in Edinburgh. FGF achieved his BA in 1853 and his MA in 1856 from Trinity College, Oxford. After university, he entered the War Office, where he was assistant private secretary to Sir John Pakington when Secretary of State for War in 1868, and subsequently private secretary of Lord Northbrook. In the latter part of 1870, he was elected clerk of the Merchant Taylors’ Company. As far as Hatfield CC is concerned, it is difficult to know how much cricket the elder brothers played, doing so as they did at a time of limited knowledge. It was presumably a young JGF that played against Hitchin in 1834, but other than that, the only confirmed sightings are restricted to the 1840 and 1841 seasons. FGF was first seen in 1850 against Haileybury College, and he played regularly during the years of his secretaryship. FGF is the only one of the Faithfull brothers known to have scored a fifty for the club, hitting 58 against South Herts in 1852. In many ways, Faithfull appears to have been an odd choice as secretary, for he was only nineteen years old when he first took on the position, and he combined the role with his studies at Oxford. His time with Hatfield came to an end when, shortly after the close of the 1854 season, his father died, and his mother left the town to live with her daughter Caroline in Hoddesdon. FGF too, settled in East Herts, returning to Hatfield Park in the early 1860s with his own elevens and Broxbourne CC, although it is possible that F G Faithfull’s XI and Broxbourne were synonymous. A small piece of trivia: the singer and actress, Marianne Faithfull, whose 61

great-great-uncle (Leopold von Sacher-Masoch’s) novel Venus in Furs gave the world the word ‘masochism’, was FGF’s cousin four times removed. [The Hatfield CC honours board lists the Hon. Sec of 1851-1854 as ‘Rev F G Faithfull, and as shown above, FGF was the only male member of the family not toenter the cloth. I briefly considered whether or not FGF was the right man. In oldfashioned script, a capital J is not dissimilar to an F, which led me to consider if JFGwas a contender. On balance, with FGF’s association with the town seemingly ending in late 1854, he was probably correctly identified.] E H Brodie (1832-1906) The man to whom Faithfull passed the baton may have a unique position in the annals of Hatfield Cricket Club as a published poet. Born in Salisbury, Erasmus Henry Brodie was a contemporary of Francis G. Faithfull at Trinity College, Oxford, from where he obtained a first-class in classical moderations in 1852 and a third in Literae humaniores (Greats) in 1854. Presumably introduced to the club by Faithfull, Brodie’s term as secretary is strange insofar as its beginning and end coincided with those of his playing career, from 1855 to 1857. Brodie returned to Oxford to complete his MA in 1860, after which he became a tutor to the family of Lord Salisbury. In 1859, he was appointed as a Government inspector of schools in Yorkshire, Durham, and Northumberland. In the 1860s, he moved to Salford, where he was responsible for Yorkshire and parts of Lancashire (Source: Dunford, J. E. (1976) Her Majesty's inspectorate of schools in England and Wales 1860-1870, Durham theses, Durham University). According to newspaper reports of his death, he was later appointed as Government Inspector of Schools for the Midlands, subsequently becoming senior inspector in Devonshire. Brodie had a book published entitled Euthanasia: A Poem in Four Cantos of Spenserian Metre on the Discovery of the North-West Passage by Sir John Franklin. Euthanasia seems to be an apt title, as presumably, that is what someone would crave when confronted by a poem that was over a hundred pages in length. An anthology of sonnets penned over thirty years, aptly called Sonnets, went to print in 1885. J B Dunham (1834-1919) - E J Dunham (1869-1945) James Benjamin Dunham was, of course, the young man who had recorded in his diary on 17 June 1850, ‘entered Hatfield Cricket Club.’ To 62

confuse things, there were two Dunham families with cricketing connections, which were, as far as can be seen, unrelated. The other ‘Dunhams’ were James Dunham (1818-1876), who played in the 1840s. He was originally from Wheathampstead and was followed by his sons Thomas (1847-1884) and Charles (1853-1930), who played in the 1870s. It may, of course, be that he was a 2nd XI player whose exploits went unreported, but it appears that the playing career of J B Dunham had already passed when he took over as secretary in 1858, aged 24. Dunham was a prodigious worker who held every office, civic or otherwise, at one time or another and, frequently, several of them simultaneously. He was the first Clerk appointed to Hatfield District Council as well as Clerk to the Board of Guardians, both appointments coming later on in his life. He resigned from these last two positions in October 1911, when he was 77 years of age. During his life, he had been a librarian, superintendent registrar, postmaster, insurance agent, and, from 1864, secretary to the Gas Company, which was located in Old French Horn Lane. James had an elder brother, Henry (1833-1889), who also played briefly in the early 1850s. J B Dunham’s term in office ended in 1865, and skipping ahead, and out of sequence, we come to his son, Ernest James Dunham, who was secretary from 1897 until 1899. Like father, like son, the playing career of the junior Dunham flew under the radar. J Cox (1839-1915) ‘Dr’ James Cox came from a family of druggists who plied their trade in Fore Street. Cox could politely be referred to as a chemist, but he was not a qualified pharmacist, hence the inverted commas around Dr. In the words of H J Gray, ‘Ladies of Victorian vintage spoke reverently of James Cox as one who dispensed bottles of physic containing ipecacuanha’. This was a strong emetic which was taken in the hope of inducing a miscarriage to abort unwanted pregnancies. It should not surprise you to learn that abortions were illegal at the time. In his book, H J Gray consistently refers to Cox as having the middle name of William, and the honour’s board gives him a middle initial of W; however, it does not appear in any official Records, nor is there a record of a J W Cox in Hatfield. Cox’s father, Stephen (1804-1879), was what you would call a local ‘character’. In addition to being a schoolmaster, he also traded as a druggist and stationer. A lay reader, he used to conduct religious services on Sunday mornings for Hatfield Hyde residents in the kitchen of Woodhall Lodge, the farmhouse of Frederick Farr, using the copper bath for a pulpit. 63

It is possible that the good doctor made his first appearance in 1853 when only fourteen years old, in an understrength side that took on the Earl of Uxbridge’s XI at Tewin Water. His playing career proper got underway in 1862, and two years later he was joined at the club by his brother Charles (1846-1911). If it was James who played in 1853, he had an extraordinarily long career, with his last appearance seemingly being in 1892. Less impressively, in forty years, his sole achievement was a five-wicket haul against Hertford Albion in 1870. But to be fair, that match shows that Cox was a 2nd XI player, so most of his performances will have been left unrecorded. ‘Dr’ Cox’s time as Hon. Secretary was short-lived, holding office for the 1866 and 1867 seasons only. This wasn’t the end of his work behind the scenes, as he was known to be a member of the club’s committee in the 1880s and 1890s. Cox’s son, Harry, was a prolific run-scorer in the 1890s, and he is discussed in the chapter: Other Notable Players. H H Hankin (1842-1912) - F J Hankin (1845-1918) Despite having never knowingly encountered anyone called Hankin, it was a remarkably popular surname in Hertfordshire in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, particularly in the area stretching from Hatfield up to Royston. The story of the Hatfield CC Hankins begins with the Baldockborn William Hankin (1777-1851). When William, from a family of glovers and harness makers, moved to Hatfield is not known; however, it was before the birth of his son Henry (1808-1869), who fathered Henry Hudson Hankin and Frederick John Hankin. In 1840, William set up in business at 38 Fore Street, which, after his death, was taken over by his son-in-law, William Skillman (1823-1904), who played for Hatfield in the early 1850s, and his son, Henry Hankin. In time, the business was carried on by H H Hankin, while F J Hankin set up shop as a draper at 44 Fore Street. Both of the brothers had long, if inglorious, playing careers for Hatfield. With only 1st XI matches as a guide, HH played from 1861 until 1881, while FJ’s cricketing days spanned the seasons from 1869 to 1891. Naturally, it was the older brother who was incumbent as Hon. Secretary first, replacing James Cox in 1868 and completing four years in the job before stepping down in 1872. How long Frederick spent in the job is difficult to ascertain, as both the beginning and end of his tenure coincided with gaps in the club’s known history. It is possible that he was his brother’s immediate successor; however, there is no evidence of him in the role before 1874. Similarly, he was still in situ for the 1886 season and had been replaced by 1889, but the 1887 and 1888 seasons remain a mystery. This wasn’t the end 64

of his involvement with the club, and he remained a committee man after standing down, before making a brief return as secretary for the 1894 season. Frederick’s progeny ensured that the Hankin bloodline continued at Hatfield CC. Two of his sons, Oliver (1877-1959) and Stanley Coles Hankin (1882-1957), had playing careers that straddled the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In addition, two of his daughters married Hatfield cricketers. Rosa (1876-1945) was married to Hardy Wells, who is discussed later in this chapter, while Ethel (1879-1959) was the conjugal partner of Alfred Otway Fuller (1886-1965), who became 1st XI captain in the 1920s. M de C Elmsall (1864-1915) Firstly, a few words on the name of Mansfeldt de Cardonnel Elmsall. Surprisingly, he was far from alone in the 1700/1800s in having M de C as a first name, although no one has seen fit to speculate on its origin. The correct family name is also open to debate. The baptism records for the children of M de C’s paternal grandfather, Joseph, list his surname as ‘Greaves or Elmsall’. In later life, M de C appears to have used GreavesElmsall as his surname. If only Elmsall’s time with Hatfield CC had been as interesting as the romance of his parents. Depending on your point of view, it reads as either the plot of a movie or an episode of The Jeremy Kyle Show. On 17 April 1855, Harriet Eloise Trebeck married Sir William Ridley Charles Cooke, 9th Baronet. A dame by marriage, and living at Wheatley Hall, Doncaster (demolished 1934), Harriett had a lot to lose when she embarked on a friendship with M de C Elmsall Sr. When their friendship began is not known, and it may just be a coincidence that, despite being natives of Doncaster, both were to be found in Cambridgeshire in the early 1850s. After disagreements over this friendship, Harriet left her husband and briefly moved to Chelsea before requesting a reconciliation and returning home. The issue flared up again, and she left for good in April 1861 to live with her mother, at first in Whitby and then Dover. On learning that Harriet and M de C Sr had embarked on a trip to the continent in March 1862, Sir Charles instructed his legal team to track them down. The trail led from Paris to Zurich, to Lucerne, to Lugano, to Milan, to Turin, to Geneva, to Basel, and finally to Offenburg in May, where the divorce papers were served. At the Divorce Court, in November 1862, the pair denied adultery; however, the judge disagreed and issued a decree nisi with costs awarded against Elmsall. Had adultery taken place? I’ll allow you to make your own 65

judgment, but the basic facts are that the divorce hearing took place eighteen months after Harriet left her husband, and six months after the notice had been served. Two months later, Harriet and M de C Sr baptised their daughter Mary. On 3 July 1864, M de C Jr, as his sister had been previously, was christened in Upper Llanfihangel-y-creuddyn, Cardiganshire. Six months later, M de C Sr died in Christchurch, Hampshire, and the family went to live with Harriet’s mother in Southwell, Nottinghamshire. In 1871, Harriet returned to Wales to remarry, and on 11 January 1874, she died in childbirth in Southampton. The orphaned M de C Jr was educated at Sandhurst, which suggests a military background and may explain why the family was zig-zagging across the country. A military life was not to be for Elmsall, and by 1888, he was in Hatfield, where he became a director at the Pryor, Reid Brewery. Elmsall did all right out of the ale drinkers of Hatfield. His last known abode in the town was the now-demolished Newtown House, a large three-story building that stood on St Albans Road (today the site where it stood is in White Lion Square, adjacent to Simmons). When he died in Portsmouth in 1915, he left his wife a sum equivalent to over half a million pounds in today’s money. As a cricketer, Elmsall earned his place in the Hatfield CC XI on account of his abilities as a wicketkeeper. Fortunately, he was good behind the stumps as he certainly wasn’t in front of them. In a career that lasted for thirteen summers, he reached double figures only once, with a highest score of 11. The highlight of his playing days came against Welwyn in 1897, when he took three catches and two stumpings. A newspaper report confirms that Elmsall was the club’s Hon. Secretary in 1889; however, as he was in the chair for that year’s general meeting, it is not inconceivable that he began the job in 1888. In 1890, Elmsall was also elected as the team captain, a position he wished to resign from the following year, only to be persuaded to reconsider, and he completed a second (and final) season. He continued as secretary until after the 1893 season. C G Smith (1867-1937) If Charles Gregory Smith, Hatfield CC’s Hon. Secretary from 1895 to 1896, played for the club, which presumably he must have done, it must have been for the 2nd XI, as there is no record of any appearances. Other than in his capacity as secretary, the only other mention of him concerning the club is as an attendee of the annual dinner in 1889. Smiths don’t feature heavily in the club’s history, and being such a common surname, at66

tempting to link those that did together was a futile pastime. Charles’s father came to Hatfield from Upton (near Aylesbury), Buckinghamshire, so it is safe to assume that he was not related to any of the Smiths who had played previously. Charles himself was born in Hatfield, although sadly, he would have had no memories of his mother, who died when he was very young. In 1894, Smith married Agnes Bamford, whose older brother, Branton, was a very good batsman who is discussed elsewhere. Smith continued to help the club after he had resigned from the secretaryship, remaining on the committee until 1904. H Bottoms (1879-1944) For 1900, the final season of the nineteenth century, Hatfield Cricket Club had a new secretary, Harry Bottoms. He lasted less than twelve months in the job, leaving Hatfield for South Africa with the Imperial Yeomanry, lured by the thrill of the Boer War. Harry had first appeared for the club in 1896; however, he didn’t become a regular fixture in the side until 1899, the same year that his younger brother, Frank George Bottoms (b. 1883), also began playing. Harry made it back from the Transvaal unscathed in 1903 and promptly won that season's bowling prize by taking 44 wickets. The Bottom brothers continued playing until 1904, after which the family emigrated en masse to Woodstock, Ontario, Canada. Harry and his wife, Lillian, returned to England during the 1910s, while Frank spent the rest of his days in the territory of the Great Lakes. A picture of Frank’s gravestone exists, but sadly, the year of his death is unreadable. Hon. Treasurers The role of treasurer of Hatfield Cricket Club before 1890 is ambiguous at best. Before this, the identity of the treasurer had been attained from entries in the book of accounts. However, the entries in the ledger were completed by the Hon. Secretary, with the duties of the ‘treasurer’ seemingly confined to collecting and/or looking after the cash. On this basis, it is assumed that from 1858 until 1889, the Hon. Secretary carried out these duties in addition to those of the secretaryship. William Har was the money man from 1851 until some time between 23 February and 6 June 1852, at which point J B Dunham began collecting monies on quarterly club nights in his place. Both have already been discussed in this chapter. 67

A L B Peile (1830-1911) The name of the Reverend Arthur Lewis Babington Peile is emblazoned upon the club’s honours board; however, it is questionable as to whether or not he held the position of treasurer. The root of this summation appears to have been based on two entries in the book of accounts, i.e. the last entry of 1853 and the first of 1854. The cash in hand at the end of one season was signed over to Peile, who returned the same sum ahead of the following season. Whether he was simply looking after the cash for safekeeping or whether he did have formal responsibilities is a matter of conjecture. Peile was the son of the Rev. Benjamin (1798-1842), curate of Hatfield, and Angel (née Babington) Peile. His earliest known appearance for Hatfield came while studying at Cambridge, as part of the eleven that played in the club’s first ‘official’ match against South Herts in 1851. With Peile opening the batting and being Hatfield’s top run scorer in the game, it would not be unreasonable to suggest that he may have played previously. In his early years with the club, Peile played alongside his mother’s brother, James Pelly Babington (1807-1879), who was also an opening batsman. Performances with the bat improved in the final years before he left Hatfield for Wimbledon, the best of which was a score of 46 against Clapton in 1958. The Rev. Arthur Lewis Babington Peile, CVO, Master of the Royal Collegiate Hospital of St Katherine, Regent’s Park, died at his residence, 39 Fitzroy Road, NW, yesterday. Mr Peile was the eldest son of the late Rev. Benjamin Peile, of Hatfield, Herts. He was born on September 10, 1830, and he was educated at Eton (King’s Scholar, 1842) and Jesus College, Cambridge, graduating in 1852. He served his first curacy at Hatfield from 1853 to 1859, and after being for three years curate at Wimbledon, he was appointed in 1862 first vicar of Holy Trinity, Ventnor, Isle of Wight. Queen Victoria made him one of her Honorary Chaplains in 1881, promoting him in 1884 to be a Chaplain-in-Ordinary. After 27 years’ work at Ventnor, Queen Victoria conferred upon him in 1889 the Mastership of St Katherine’s Hospital, and in September of that year, he was made the first President of the Queen Victoria Jubilee Institute for Nurses, to which he devoted himself with untiring energy for many years. He was Honorary Chaplain to King Edward and to King George, and in 1908, he was created CVO. He married in 1863 Ellen Olivia, daughter of Mr G W Sheppard, JP, of Frome, who died a year ago, and leaves seven sons and two daughters. The funeral will take place at Ventnor on Friday at 2 o’clock. A memorial service will be held at half-past 2 o’clock on the same day at St Katherine’s, Regent’s Park. The Times - 20 September 1911 68

J W Church (1830-1867) On 10 July 1854, the Reverend Peile handed the club’s cash to John William Church (1830-1867), whom it is therefore assumed took over responsibility for its finances. This is further evidenced by H J Gray noting that the book of accounts was handed over to him. Hatfield CC first encountered Church on 15 July 1851, when he was playing for South Herts. By the time of the return fixture in August, he had switched allegiances, with his younger brother, Sir William Selby Church (1837-1928), 1st Baronet of Woodside, in the South Herts XI on this occasion. John was a bowler, while William, who joined Hatfield in 1852, was primarily a batsman who could also turn his arm over on occasion. For John, his finest moment on the field of play came against King’s Langley in 1853, when he took five wickets in each innings. William managed to score two half-centuries for the club, with his highest score of 65 against Charterhouse in 1857. Unlike his eldest son, John William Church (1879-1918), who played his cricket with St Mark’s CC, William’s second son, Brigadier, Sir Geoffrey Church (1887-1979), played for Hatfield in the 1920s until he inherited the barony upon his father’s death. As far as can be deduced, Church spent a solitary season overseeing the club’s cash flow. J H Wane (1826-1893) After the educated guesswork that had preceded it, there is no doubt about the identity of Hatfield CC’s treasurer in 1889, as it was announced in a newspaper report of the club’s general meeting held at the One Bell Inn on Wednesday, 13 February. It appears to have been an altruistic act on behalf of John Haynes Wane, since there is no record of him ever having played for the club. However, his son, Alfred George Wane (1872-1943), was a junior member of the club. Born in the Cotswold village of Amney Crucis, Wane relocated to Hatfield sometime before the 1861 census, when he plied his trade as a grocer and ironmonger. Wane’s involvement with the club dates back to at least 1886, when he was a member of the committee, as evidenced by the only known fixture card from the nineteenth century. From newspaper reports, it can be deduced that Wane was still the club’s treasurer for the 1892 season; however, with no record of the 1893 General Meeting, there is no way of knowing if he was still in situ when he died on 27 October of that year. Alfred Wane enjoyed a career in banking, but rather than follow in his father’s footsteps, he settled for becoming one of the club’s auditors. 69

W Whitby (1862-1915) Just as there is no way of being certain when John Wane ceased to be the club’s treasurer, neither can we be sure when Walter Whitby started his reign, although he was in position by 1895. Walter was the eldest of three cricketing brothers, along with Alfred (see below) and Edward (1872-1949). Walter, who made his debut in 1880, was an all-rounder, although for the first decade of his playing career, it was his ability with the ball that was to the fore. Between 1882 and 1889, Walter took five or more wickets in an innings at least ten times, with eight wickets at Essendon in 1889 being the pick of the bunch. As his off-field responsibilities increased, his on-field appearances reduced in frequency. By this time, he was the headmaster of Hatfield Boys School, which may have impinged on his free time. While the wickets began to dry up, Walter’s run-scoring improved, and had he played enough matches to qualify for the averages in 1895, he would have been a contender for the batting prize. It was during that season that he hit the only fifty scored by any of the Whitby brothers, a knock of 52 against H W Stride’s XI at Hatfield Park. Before becoming treasurer, a position that he held until 1905, Walter had served on the club’s committee from at least 1886 until 1889. Edward was also a useful all-rounder, although other than taking seven wickets against The Park Wanderers in 1889, his career didn’t reach the heights of his elder brother’s. Edward’s sons, Harry (1910-1984) and Walter (1915-1968), played for Hatfield in the twentieth century, with the latter enjoying an association with the club that would last for over three decades. Others As in the case of the treasurers, details of captains and Assistant Hon. Secretaries have only come to light for the final years of the century. Arthur Dagg (captain 1886), Tom Blinko (captain 1892), and Charles Lambert (vice-captain 1895-1897) are profiled elsewhere in this book, while Lord Robert Cecil (captain 1895-1903) is excluded because his appointment was purely symbolic, with no evidence that he ever carried out his duties on the cricket field. F C A Harrison (1850-1904) How Frederick Charles Adolphus Harrison ended up as Assistant Hon. Secretary to Frederick Hankin in 1894 is a bit of a mystery, primarily because there is no record of him ever having played for the club. Harrison 70

was born in Lenham, Kent, and he remained in the Garden of England until sometime between the birth of his son in 1879 and the 1881 census, by which time the family had relocated to the Stroud Green area of Islington. The Harrisons arrived in Hatfield before the 1891 census was completed, at which time Frederick was listed as a wine and spirit manager, which would no doubt have made him popular with George Elliott (see Chapter: Other Notable Players). Harrison was in office for a solitary season and spent the rest of his short life in Hatfield. Frederick’s widow, Sarah, and their son, Henry William, remained in Hatfield after his death on 6 December 1904, with Henry becoming the parish church organist and choirmaster in 1906. W J Richardson (1861-1940) Harrison passed the baton on to William John ‘Jack’ Richardson in 1895, who, like his predecessor, served as the club’s Assistant Hon. Secretary for a solitary season. As far as can be ascertained from surviving match reports, Jack’s playing career lasted from 1887 until 1906; however, since his younger brother, Henry Joseph Richardson (1865-1942), was playing as early as 1884, it is possible he was playing for the 2nd XI before this. If Jack produced any performances of note, then, alas, they would also have been for the 2nd XI and lost to history. Regardless of his lack of success on the field, he was a dedicated clubman, and he was a member of the committee in the late 1880s and early 1890s. His involvement with the club extended beyond his playing days, becoming its treasurer in 1912, a position that he didn’t relinquish until after the conclusion of the 1919 season. On a point of trivia, for many years Jack resided at No. 41 Park Street, Hatfield, the upper floor of which served as the clubhouse of Hatfield CC from 1971 to 1978. M Johnson (1873-1949) Although born in Hatfield himself, Manasseh Johnson’s parents were not natives. William Johnson was from Northampton, and no doubt it was his employment on the railways that led him to Hatfield, where he was a train driver. Depending on which census you read, his mother, Mary, was born in either County Kerry or County Cork in Ireland, so presumably somewhere near the border. Johnson was only seventeen years old when he made his first appearance in the senior eleven and was a regular pick from 1894 onwards. Between 1894 and 1898, he was joined on the side by his elder 71

brother, Henry (1871-1949), but it was the younger Johnson who was the talent in the family. A genuine all-rounder, his overall record of one fifty (70 runs against St Mark’s, 1898) and one five-wicket haul (five wickets against Great Northern Rail Athletic Association, 1900) does not do justice to his consistent performances. Off the field, Johnson became the club’s Assistant Hon. Secretary in 1896, continuing to do so for three seasons. In 1901, following the sudden departure of Harry Bottoms to South Africa, he spent a year as Hon. Secretary, after which he left the Hatfield area. Formerly a clerk in the Supreme Court, he was ordained as a deacon in 1917 after studying at Sarum Theological College. Unusually, he did not proceed to priest’s orders until twenty years later at Farway, in the diocese of Exeter. He left the priesthood in 1839 on account of ill health. H Wells (1876-1958) Hardy Wells, the club’s final Assistant Hon. Secretary of the nineteenth century (and the first of the twentieth century), was the son of Richard Hardy Wells and Mary Wells, licensees of the Red Lion Hotel. Even though he broke into the team in 1892, when aged sixteen, it was not until he was twenty-one that he flourished as an all-rounder. Although a useful batsman, with a highest score of 50 against City Police in 1899, it was as a bowler that Wells flourished. In the seasons from 1897 to 1899, Wells took five or more wickets in an innings on at least six occasions, the best of which was in 1899 when he removed nine of the Great Northern Rail Athletic Association batsmen. Hardy had a cricketing brother, Edwards Wells (b. 1881), whose playing career spanned from at least 1897 until 1908, albeit with little success. Hardy succeeded Manasseh Johnson as the club’s Assistant Hon. Secretary in 1899, remaining in the position for six years. His playing days came to an end in 1908 when he moved to Beenham, Berkshire, where he briefly ran a greengrocer’s shop, before, in 1912, he emigrated to Winnipeg, Canada, where he lived out the remainder of his days. W Groom (1856-1907) In one sense, nobody did more to ensure the continuation of Hatfield CC, in that, of the six sons he sired, five of them (Alfred, Frank, John, William, and Edward ‘Ted’) would go on to play for the club. It perhaps should be no surprise that his progeny would become cricketers, as their mother, Sarah (née Elliott), was the sister of George Elliott (see chapter: Other Notable Players). Groom became a regular in the Hatfield XI during the 1875 sea72

son, and although he continued to play until 1901, his highest-known score for the club, 39 against Warren Wood, came in that debut season. But, to be fair to him, the main forte of William Groom was the art of wicketkeeping, a skill that was inherited by his son ‘Ted’. This may be an unfair critique of his abilities with the bat, for he did finish second in the averages in 1883, although his statistics for the season were not recorded for posterity. It is a shame that such records do not exist, as there is a strong possibility that Groom was the club’s leading stumper in the nineteenth century. The earliest mention of Hatfield CC’s committee in the local press dates to 1885, and Groom was among its number. By 1889, he had been elected as team captain. It may have been earlier, as although it is known that Arthur Dagg was in situ in 1886, it is not known who held the position in the intervening years. But 1889 was his final (if not only) season in the job. His final season as a player, 1901, was also his first year as the club’s groundsman. He continued to maintain and prepare the club’s pitches until 1906, when he was forced to retire from his duties due to his declining health, having suffered from gout for many years. He was dead before the conclusion of the following season. These were very different days… In the early 1900s, Groom ran an amateur group called Groom’s Merrie Minstrels. For those of you who are fortunate enough to be too young to have seen the BBC show The Black and White Minstrel Show, Groom and his companions performed in blackface (and with blackhands). A Whitby (1864-1925) Ironically, despite being the least successful of the Whitby brothers on the cricket pitch, Alfred was the only one to be elected as captain. But then again, history has repeatedly shown that the best players don’t necessarily produce the best captaincy material. Like Walter, Alfred’s potential was also spotted at an early stage, and he made his debut as an eighteen-year-old. Alfred’s successes on the cricket pitch were confined to two five-wicket hauls, the best of which witnessed him dismissing six of Potters Bar’s batsmen in 1885. Off the field, Alfred became involved in the club’s administration at a relatively young age, with a mention of a committee meeting in the Herts Advertiser in 1885 naming him as one of the attendees. In all of the years before the Second World War, the identity of the club’s auditors was revealed only twice, in 1889 and 1901. On both occasions, Alfred was named, so it is not unreasonable to assume that his tenure was unbroken, which would have meant that from 1895 (or possibly 1894) onwards, he was 73

marking Walter’s homework. Alfred succeeded Charles Lambert as the club’s vice-captain in 1898, continuing to do so until 1902 before reprising the role from 1904 to 1905. During his first spell, as noted above, Lord Robert Cecil was captain in name only, so Alfred was the de facto skipper of the side. There are huge gaps in knowledge for the nineteenth century, but the following are known. HON. SECRETARY ASSISTANT HON. SECRETARY1850 W Hart 1894 F C A Harrisson 1851 - 1854 F G Faithfull 1895 W J Richardson 1855 - 1857 E H Brodie 1896 - 1898 M Johnson 1858 - 1865 J B Dunham 1899 - 1904 H Wells 1866 - 1867 J Cox 1868 - 1871 H H Hankin 1875 - 1887 F J Hankin 1889 - 1893 M de C Elmsall 1894 F J Hankin 1895 - 1896 C G Smith 1897 - 1899 E J Dunham 1900 H Bottoms HON. TREASURER1851 - 1852 W Hart 1852 - 1853 J B Dunham 1853 - 1854 A L B Peile 1854 - 1855 J W Church 1858 - 1889 Position jointly held by Hon. Secretary1889 - 1892 J H Wane 1895 - 1907 W Whitby Captain Vice-Captain 1883 - 1886 A R Dagg 1894 - 1897 C Lambert 1889 W Groom 1898 - 1902 A Whitby 1890 - 1891 M de C Elmsall1892 T C W Blinko 1894 - 1903 Lord R Cecil 74

Francis Grantham Faithfull - Hon. Secretary of Hatfield Cricket Club 1851-1854.75

Hatfield, Hertfordshire and… England Hatfield and Hertfordshire Hertfordshire County Cricket Club, as we know it today, came into being in 1876. Although this chapter concentrates on the cricketers who played for the county between 1876 and 1900, you will notice that at various times within this book, references are made to elevens of Hertfordshire and the County of Hertford before this date. These were ad hoc elevens, with no structure or membership, selected by individuals, and it was rare for them to play against other counties. But when all is said and done, that’s as good as it got at the time, so briefly, here is a short résumé of the Hatfield players who are believed to have represented the ‘county’ pre-1876. The earliest recorded match involving a ‘Hertfordshire’ XI took place on 5th and 6th September 1798 at Thomas Lord’s first ground at Dorset Square, against a ‘Middlesex’ XI that included Lord himself, and future Hatfield CC player, Lord Frederick Beauclerk. Hatfield’s interest in this fixture came in the form of Thomas Pacy (1766-1801), who was a member of the earliest known Hatfield CC XI. In 1812, ‘Hertfordshire’ visited Thomas Lord’s ‘middle ground’ at Lisson Grove to play St John’s Wood. H J Gray wrote some contradictory speculation as to the make-up of the county XI, the conclusion of which was that John Rawley (1778-1851), William Farr (1784-1819), and Edward Taylor (1784-1821), of Hatfield’s 1818 XIs, played in this match. The Herts County Club completed the hat-trick of Lord’s Cricket Grounds on 22 June 1814, when it earned its place in cricketing folklore when it played the MCC in the first match to be played at the current Lord’s Ground. Reports of the match failed to assign any initials to the Herts players, so it is pure speculation that Taylor was Edward Taylor, and that Sibley was Hatfield’s Robert Sibley (1798-1873). A fun fact about Robert Sibley: After the death of his first wife, Sibley married a woman a mere thirty years his junior. The majority of the remaining Hatfield CC men who played for the pseudo-Hertfordshire XIs are profiled elsewhere in this book, namely: Thomas Hammond, William Faircloth, James Grantham Faithfull, Valentine Faithfull, William Stocks, Arthur Peile, James Walby, William Selby Church, and Frederick Woolley. Others who made appearances were Francis James Archer (1806-1847), Edward Thomas Daniell (1815-1875), Charles John Smith (1833-1893), Warine Bayley Marshall Lysley (1833 -1905), William ‘Gerard’ Lysley (1831-1887), and Albert Palliser Marryat 76

(b. 1837). From 1876 onwards, choosing the players to feature isn’t as simple as you might think. As clubs didn’t have fixtures arranged for every week during the summer months, and those that were could be played on any day of the week, as previously explained, the better players in the area, although they would have one club that they would mostly associate with, would be members of more than one club. With this in mind, the following list of players does not include everyone who has played for both Hatfield CC and Hertfordshire CCC during their careers. Those who made the cut played for Hatfield across multiple seasons, and they would have appeared for the county during the years that they were active with the club. Incredibly, the first eleven to represent the official county club, against Bedfordshire at People’s Park, Luton, on 20/21 June 1876, included seven players who represented Hatfield at some point in their careers. The ‘Hatfield’ contingent accounted for all twenty of the Bedfordshire wickets to fall. A R Dagg (1857-1929) Of all the club’s players to have represented the county, Arthur Ross Dagg is the only one to have been born in the town and for whom Hatfield was his main club. The cricketing brothers Arthur, Walter Lewis (1859-1931), and Percy Herbert (1863-1919) were sons of County Corkborn John Ross Dagg, who was Steward to the 2nd Marquess of Salisbury. The ‘works’ accommodation that the family lived in wasn’t too shabby; the property is presently the Lawn House Hotel. Educated at Haileybury College, Arthur qualified as a solicitor in 1880 and set up practice as Field & Dagg, with an office at 47 Charing Cross Road, WC. Arthur made his debut for Hatfield aged eighteen, making an instant impression when taking twelve wickets (six in each innings) in a match against Warren Wood. Walter’s career was brief, but his brothers were regular fixtures in Hatfield XIs, Arthur from 1875 to 1888, and Percy from 1882 until 1887. But it was Arthur who was the star of the family, responsible for all the best performances in the name of Dagg, the highlight of which was taking nine wickets against Stevenage in 1881. Not content with batting and bowling, Arthur was also a competent wicketkeeper. The complete all-rounder, in a match played in 1883, he bowled and kept wicket in both of Potters Bar’s innings, taking wickets and stumpings in each. This was a trick he repeated on more than one occasion before his playing days were over. The fixture card for the 1886 season shows that Dagg was Hatfield’s captain that year, which 77

makes him the club’s earliest-known skipper. It cannot be ruled out that he became captain before this date, and a report of the club’s end-of-season dinner in 1883 suggests that he may well have been in the post at the time. For Arthur, as far as Hertfordshire was concerned, it was a case of being in the right place at the right time. In 1875, when Dagg was taking thirteen wickets in the match, Hubert Lavie Butler (1858-1937) of Warren Wood outperformed him by taking fifteen. Two years later, Butler brought two elevens to Hatfield Park, under the guise of Young Hertfordshire. The best guess is that Young Hertfordshire was something akin to a 2nd XI, or more likely a trialist XI for the recently formed County Club. Dagg seized the opportunity to impress, with innings of 43 in the first match and 45 in the second. The following season, on 6/7 June 1878, Dagg made his debut for the county at Hartham, Hertford, against Suffolk, and in his second appearance against Essex, he scored 29 runs, which turned out to be his highest score in county cricket. In the remainder of his short career, he also featured in fixtures with Sussex and Bedfordshire in 1879, followed, after a gap of five years, by a last hurrah against Warwickshire. While living in the Hatfield area, Dagg combined his life as a solicitor with that of a farmer, living at Bolton Farm, North Mymms, the site of which is now the Royal Veterinary College. After his playing days for Hatfield had come to an end, Dagg left for the suburban delights of Sutton, Surrey, initially living at Strawberry Lodge, on Gander Green Lane, immediately adjacent to the home ground of Sutton United FC. His cricket career presumably continued as he played against his old club for Ben Warsop’s XI at Lord’s in 1897. It would be interesting to know the reasons why, but on 31 July 1912, Dagg and his wife, Helen, boarded a ship at Southampton bound for Arica, Chile, via the West Indies. Before the opening of the Panama Canal, this involved an arduous journey around Cape Horn, which took two months to complete. From here, they made the hazardous trip to La Paz in Bolivia, where they remained for two years, returning home via New York in October 1914. It is not known if they followed their son Kenneth or if he followed them, but he married a South American girl, had children, and spent the rest of his life in Bolivia. WELL-KNOWN SOLICITOR DEAD: DEFENDED MISS O’DARE Mr Arthur Ross Dagg, aged 71, a solicitor practising at Bow Street for more than 30 years, died at his residence in Brunswick Road, Sutton, on Saturday. He defended Miss Josephine O’Dare, who, two years ago, was sentenced at the Old Bailey to four and a half years’ penal servitude for the fraud involving 78

£18,000. He was also engaged in many murder cases. His last prominent case concerned the Caledonian Road murder, in which case the man Hurn was sentenced to death for shooting his wife, and afterwards reprieved. The Daily Herald - 15 April 1929 T C W Blinko (1857-1930) It is fair to say that the Blinkos were a completely different kettle of fish from the Daggs, although, like Arthur Dagg, Thomas Charles William Blinko was not unfamiliar with the inside of a courtroom. The Blinkos were a family of cattle dealers from Beaconsfield, Bucks, and Thomas Sr moved to North London at some time in the 1850s. The Blinkos were not an easy family to research, with a surprising number of misspellings, and Thomas Jr knocking years off his age in subsequent censuses. Maybe it was an act of vanity that saw him claiming to be three years younger than he was by 1901. Discovering Blinko’s year of birth was also complicated by his being born out of wedlock. His parents, Thomas Sr and Louisa Stuart Davies, married three months after his birth. Like his age, Blinko’s place of birth was a movable feast in censuses; Camden, Holloway, and St Pancras are all possible contenders. What can be said with confidence is that he was baptised in St Pancras Old Church, St Pancras, in 1858, although even here, there are two dates given in the records. There is no doubt that Thomas Jr inherited his cricketing genes from his father. Thomas Sr began his cricket career in Beaconsfield, and after moving to North London circa 1857, played for a plethora of clubs, including The United Master Butchers, Islington Albion (for whom he was elected as President in 1860), Parthenon, Tufnell Park, Stamford Hill, and Metropolitan. Hatfield first encountered Thomas Sr in 1864 when he was playing for Metropolitan CC. In 1860, he made a handful of appearances for the Middlesex County Club, a forerunner of Middlesex CCC, as well as Buckinghamshire, the county of his birth. In 1868, Blinko and Middlesex played against the Australian Aboriginal Cricket Team, the first overseas side to tour England. Incidentally, this was the last match played at the Islington Cattle Market Ground. These were very different times. In reports of their match with Middlesex, in which Thomas Sr played, the visitors were referred to as ‘the blacks’! Thomas Jr first moved into Hatfield’s orbit in the late 1870s, when he moved to North Lodge Farm, which was located on the road from Potters Bar to Botany Bay. Playing for multiple clubs in the Potters Bar/Hatfield 79

area, his first spell at Hatfield CC lasted from 1878, the year he appeared for Middlesex Colts, and 1884. It was during this period that Blinko played the majority of his matches for Hertfordshire. Like Dagg before him, he found the step up a difficult one to master, and his best innings of 30 runs came on his debut against Bedfordshire in 1880. Blinko returned to the Hatfield fold in 1889 when he was living in Newtown, Hatfield, and his second spell proved to be a fruitful one, finding success with both bat and ball. His bowling peaked in the seasons 1896-1897 when he took five or more wickets on eight occasions, including nine-wicket hauls against Hatfield Lawn Tennis Club and the Foreign Office. It is perhaps no surprise that he won the bowling prize, having taken 48 wickets at an average of 5.72. He also made regular scores with the bat, including two half-centuries, the best of which came in 1890 against Luton Montrose, and his average of 30.6 in 1894 secured him the batting prize. He was elected as Hatfield’s captain for the 1892 season, but for how long he held the position is sadly unknown, with details of the 1893 and 1894 incumbents unknown. Blinko’s second, and final, spell with the club ended after the 1897 season, when he moved to the Bowes Park area of Southgate, with his final match as a Hatfield player taking place at Lord’s Cricket Ground. As alluded to earlier, Blinko was no stranger to the inside of a courtroom. The majority of such appearances were, on the main, for nonpayment of debts, with the occasional neighbourly dispute, and one instance when he was accused of inflicting malicious injury to a dog. Financial mismanagement was something that ran in the family. Blinko’s grandfather was declared bankrupt in 1847 and 1865, and Thomas Jr followed suit in 1894. A LOAN ACCOUNT.– Thomas Blinko, cattle salesman, of Westbury Road, Bowes Park, was summoned for the sum of £6 12s. 6d. Balance of money obtained from the Wood Green Loan Society, with costs. The bench committed the defendant to prison for six weeks, order to suspend for a month. The Weekly Herald - 23 February 1900 W Lambert (1843-1927) (See Chapter: The Lamberts of Hatfield). B Bamford (1868-1900) Branton Bamford, who was born in Essendon, came from a cricketing 80

family of blacksmiths and farriers. Branton’s grandfather, William Bamford, his father, William Nathaniel Bamford, and his uncle, Thomas Bamford, all played cricket with Essendon CC. Branton and his wicketkeeping brother, William John Bamford (1866-1941), turned out regularly for both Essendon and Hatfield CCs. Branton’s life and death, away from the cricket field, are detailed in the obituary below, so I shan’t dwell on it here. The only additional detail of significance is that after marrying, in 1889, he set up home in Back Street (Church Street), Hatfield, so it is no coincidence that this was also the year that he first appeared for the club. 1896 was Branton Bamford’s year. As well as winning Hatfield CC’s batting prize, he also finished second in Essendon’s batting averages. Considering that Bamford scored four half-centuries for Hatfield (67 v. Cockfosters, 60 v. Hatfield Lawn Tennis Club, 80 v. St Mark’s, and 69 v. Wrotham Park), it is no surprise that he headed the averages, although unfortunately, his stats for the season were not recorded. To put it into perspective, Francis Ford was the only other Hatfield batsman to hit a fifty that year, and as shall be seen shortly, he wasn’t a bad player. This was also the year that Bamford came to the attention of the Hertfordshire selectors, and he made the first of three disappointing appearances for the county. He played his last game for Hatfield in 1899, after which his career was tragically cut short. The death at sea of Sergeant Branton Bamford of the 42nd Company Imperial Yeomanry is an unusually sad affair. Sergeant Bamford, it appears, had been invalided home, although from his letters he seemed in excellent spirits. He sailed from Cape Town in the SS Nubis, but unhappily, whilst on the voyage, contracting a severe chill, he developed pneumonia and died at sea on October 19th. The sad news was cabled to the War Office by the Consul General at Las Palmas on October 26th, and when, on the following day, it became known in Hatfield, it created a consternation amongst his large circle of friends. Numerous messages of sympathy and condolence were sent to the bereaved widow, who, with four young children, has to thus early mourn the death of her husband. Mr Bamford had, previous to the war, served two years in the army with the Life Guards (Blue) and also the Dragoons. Tall and of fine physique, it seemed as if he, at any rate, would stand the hardships of a stiff campaign. He entered the private service of the Marquis of Salisbury on leaving the army and, in that capacity, had earned the respect and esteem of the whole of the Cecil family. From Hatfield House he received an appointment at the Foreign Office, and at the time of joining the Yeomanry he was still at that office. He was present at the farewell dinner given at the Red Lion Hotel, and spoke in earnest tones of the work they had undertaken. His comrades in arms were Corporal A Wells and Private W Ashton, both of whom are well and still at the front. The sergeant was a thorough sportsman, being an ardent cricketer, and often 81

seen in the wake of the draghounds. His family are well-known in the Hatfield District, his father being resident at Essendon. The bells of St Etheldreda’s rang a muffled peal on Saturday evening and were half muffled on Sunday. We have a melancholy interest in recording the death of this brave Hertfordshire man, for he has delighted many of our readers with the graphic and racy letters which he addressed to us from time to time. He kept our readers posted well up in the doings of our local soldiers at the front, and although his correspondence was a labour of love and without request on our part, we had come to regard him almost in the light of a representative, so reliable was his information and so graphic the stories which he told us. The news of his death comes as a great surprise, because nothing in his letters gave the slightest hint of indisposition, yet he must, when writing in a spirit of elation and enthusiasm, have been in actual suffering. As a matter of fact, he was invalided through sunstroke, and he had been wounded by the bursting of a shell. That Sergeant Branton Bamford was a hero is beyond a doubt. One who fought with him has put it on record that he was the means of saving half his company by his foresight and good management, and that he was to have been recommended for the Royal Humane Society’s Medal for saving the life of Lieutenant Earl from drowning. We are not surprised that the captain of the vessel upon which the lamentable death occurred should have described him as “a general favourite with all on board.” He was just coming to the prime of his life - 32 years old - and in his death, the county has lost a gallant son. Herts Advertiser - 10 November 1900 Dagg, Blinko, Lambert, and Bamford are the only players to have represented Hertfordshire who can justifiably be described as bona fide members of Hatfield CC. However, as explained elsewhere, with clubs playing relatively few fixtures each season at the time, the top players would (usually for a fee) play for multiple clubs. The following players were regular ‘guests’ of the club. T A Pearce (1847-1898) Of all the ‘part-time’ Hatfield players to have represented the county, it was Thomas Albert Pearce who was most closely associated with the club. Given that Tom, as he was known, was born in Essendon, that may not be surprising, but given that his family had moved to St Albans before he was five years old, and that he was one of the best batsmen in the county, it probably was. Although having said that, he was loyal to his roots, frequently appearing for Essendon CC as well as Hatfield. Pearce broke into the St Albans 1st XI when he was a fifteen-year-old in 1862, and first played against Hatfield the following summer. Generally 82

known as a batsman and a wicketkeeper, he also bowled slow lobs, occasionally putting in a swift straight one, which generally proved destructive. Pearce made his first-class debut at Lord’s in 1872, representing the South against the MCC. He played in four further first-class matches, twice for the MCC against Nottinghamshire, in 1874 and 1876, and also in 1875 for the South versus the North, and the Gentlemen of the South against their counterparts from the North. His Hertfordshire career lasted from 1876 to 1891, during which time he amassed over 4,000 runs for the county. Unfortunately, but unsurprisingly, Pearce was unable to repeat his highest score for St Albans (200 not out v. Hitchin in 1874) while playing for Hatfield, for whom he appeared between 1871 and 1891. Although a steady run-scorer, he was only able to score one half-century for the club, which came against Hertford in 1890 when he scored 52. He had more success with his ‘lobs’, taking five wickets in an innings three times, his best in 1882 when he removed seven Hertford batsmen. DEATH OF A PROMINENT CRICKETER After a protracted and painful illness, Mr Tom Pearce, to the regret of every follower of the good old English game of cricket within the county, and of many more besides, has passed away at the age of 51. It is common knowledge that for a long period he had been suffering from the relentless disease consumption, which has at last numbered him among its many victims. But in spite of his lengthened incapacity, the end came somewhat suddenly. In the early hours of Saturday morning, he was overcome by a fit of coughing, the violence of which caused the rupture of one of the blood vessels, and, lying down at the request of his wife to gain relief, he expired almost immediately. As an exponent of cricket, perhaps the deceased was one of the best-known men in the country – certainly in the county – for he had been a member of the county club ever since his formation about 20 years ago, having joined at the outset when Mr C E Keyser was occupying the position of secretary. Up to four or five years ago, he was a constant player with the county team, and subsequently he was a conspicuous figure at the Mid-Herts matches, with which he was associated up to the season before last. From his connection with the Hertfordshire team, he became well-known all over the country, in fact, there were few county grounds in England that he had not played upon. He was a great favourite at Norwich; in fact, no matter where the county team went he was asked after, being a general favourite on all grounds. It would be difficult to find a more efficient all-round man than he. As a batsman he was much admired, being true and a hard-hitter – a “punisher” to slow bowling. He was one of the most reliable batsmen that the county ever had, while as a lob bowler he had the reputation of being the best in England. It has often been said by Mr Charles Pigg that with Pearce bowling or taking wicket and ‘Billy’ Hearn at cover point, they would fill the 83

room of three or four men. Some years ago he was on the ground staff at Lord’s and was formerly at Harrow School, when the Hon. Robert Grimston was coaching. As a heavy scorer, he rendered very material assistance to his team. Having made many centuries, at a match at Hitchin on one occasion he made over 200, and at the last county match played on the Heath he had 107 to his credit, Mr W T Westell scoring 179. As a bowler, he has been known more than once to take all the wickets. Many interesting anecdotes are told by those who moved about constantly with him. It is interesting to know in what manner the taste for cricket was fostered in so able a player. As a lad of about 15 he was taken up by Mr Blanks, the father of Mr F Blanks of Lattimore Road, to play in a match at Kensington, where he succeeded in making a good score for his age. This encouraged Mr Blanks, who, being an ardent cricketer, took an interest in the training of the lad, and thus “brought him on” and it was to his careful attention that he owed, in a large measure, his success in after years. Throughout his illness he has received the unreserved sympathy of all his previous confreres, and at the time of his death a subscription, started at the instigation of Mr B A H Goldie, was being raised for his benefit, the proceeds of which will now be handed on to his widow. Enquiries from all quarters as to his health were numerous, and it was only on the Wednesday prior to his death that he was visited by a party of the oldest cricketers in the county, which included Mr John Hughes of Hertford, Mr Solly Willis of Hemel Hempstead, Mr J Skerman of Hertford, Mr Tom Westell and Mr J Gentle of St Albans. Such a gathering of veteran sportsmen was of no little interest. In the family of the deceased, bereavements have been painfully frequent of late, for within a very short space of time, he had suffered the loss of his brother and his sister-in-law, and it was only recently that his sister (Mrs D Mitchell) passed away. His father, aged 84, is still living, and he leaves a widowed family of five, some of whom are grown up to mourn their loss. Herts Advertiser - 27 August 1898 J Hughes (1825-1907) In much the same way that during the 2024 General Election campaign, Kier Starmer lost no opportunity to inform the world that his father had been a toolmaker, all references to John Hughes’ cricket career seem to contain the additional information that he was a pipe-maker. It is a testament to Hughes’s ability as a cricketer that he was fifty-one when the County Club was formed, and still found time to take 274 wickets before he retired. If he had been born in another place and/or time, and he wasn’t so dedicated to his business interests, the name of John Hughes could have achieved far greater ‘fame’ than he did. As was the case with the top players of the time, Hughes played for many clubs in addition to Hertford CC. In an in84

terview with Cricket magazine in 1901, Hughes recalled that ‘I frequently had six matches a week, and had to walk a long way to some of them. If a match was far off, it would sometimes take me seventeen or eighteen hours from the time that I started until I reached home again.’ Although he played an immense number of cricket matches, Hughes tended to stick to the east of Hertford and played surprisingly few games for Hatfield, considering that his career lasted for five decades. It is also surprising that he found the time to run his business during the summer months! The pipe-making business, located on The Folly, Hertford, had originally been set up by Hughes’ father, John Hughes Sr. In 1846, Hughes Sr also acquired the tenancy of The Jolly Bargeman Inn, which was in a cottage adjoining the pipe-making premises. In time, after the death of Hughes Sr, both businesses were run by Hughes Jr. Although largely rebuilt and extended over the site of the pipe-making business, The Jolly Bargeman still stands and is now known as The Old Barge. Hughes and his wife, Ellen, left the Bargeman in 1879 and took over The Old Coffee Shop Inn. Long since demolished, the pub was situated on the corner of Maidenhead Street and Honey Lane. Hatfield first encountered Hughes, playing for Hertford, in 1844, in a match between the ‘under-elevens’ of the respective clubs. Presumably, as already mused upon, an ‘under-eleven’ was another way of saying 2nd XI. Across the next forty seasons, Hughes would be the bane of Hatfield’s life, taking a phenomenal amount of wickets, including sixteen in one match in 1865, with nine in the second innings. Although he probably took more satisfaction from the time that he bowled W G Grace out for a duck. With the services of Hughes in high demand, his appearances for Hatfield were limited, and he was only called upon against opposition of a certain calibre. He played his first match in Hatfield colours against Clapton in 1855, with Surrey’s George Brockwell as a teammate. His best performances for the club came while he was active with Hertfordshire, taking six wickets in matches against the Lord’s-based sides St John’s Wood Ramblers and Greville, in 1877 and 1878, respectively. Hughes made his solitary first-class appearance when he played for the South against the MCC in 1874, taking seven for 46 in the second innings. His reputation was such that he was selected in ‘All England’ XIs, and was afforded a benefit match, played at Bishops Stortford (one of Hughes’ many clubs), in 1890 between Hertfordshire and an England XI. He was also deemed worthy of an obituary by Wisden. 85

OBITUARIES IN 1907 JOHN HUGHES, who played for Hertfordshire for almost thirty years, was born at Hertford on July 2nd, 1825, and died at his native place on January 29th. Scores and Biographies remarks of him:- Is a tolerable batsman, and fields generally at short slip, but is principally noted for his excellent slow, round-armed, twisting bowling. He delivers, easily to himself, with great precision as to pitch and straightness, and has certainly been very successful in the matches in which he has participated. He began to play in 1843, and first appeared for his county in 1855, but it was not until 1870, when in his forty-fifth year, that he played at Lord’s for Hertfordshire v. MCC and Ground, when, in the first innings (53) of the latter he bowled seventy-two balls for 16 runs and five wickets. When appearing for XXII of St Albans against the USEE in 1865, he dismissed Tom Humphrey, Pooley, and Jupp with the first three balls he delivered, and Mr I D Walker with the fifth, whilst for Hertfordshire v. MCC and Ground, at Chorleywood in 1872, he took seven wickets for 16 runs. In 1890, a match between XIV of the County and an England XI was played for his benefit at Bishop Stortford. Hughes was in quite the front rank of bowlers, and was, in a measure, unfortunate not to be identified with a leading county. Wisden - 1908 W T Westell (1854-1924) The Westells played a prominent role in St Albans and Hertfordshire cricket for decades. William Thomas Westell’s father, William (Bill) Sr, and his uncles, Thomas and Joseph, were all cricketers and were all in the St Albans XI that played against Hatfield in 1863. William Sr served time as the Hon. Secretary of St Albans CC and played in the pseudo-Hertfordshire XIs of the pre-1876 era, while his brothers also represented the County side proper, playing alongside their nephew, William Jr. In the earlier part of his cricketing career, Westell was known as a ‘very fast bowler’, with a reputation for breaking stumps. He was a regular for the county from 1876 until 1883, when he met with an accident at Tottenham, fracturing his arm so badly that he never bowled again with the same level of success and had to concentrate on his batting. Not that this was too much of a hardship, since Westell was credited with a century in every season from 1877 until 1890. As far as the county was concerned, his crowning glory was in 1884 when he hit 188 runs against Essex. Following a solitary appearance for the county in 1885, he didn’t play again until a brief swansong, playing three matches between 1889 and 1892, including a game at Lord’s against the MCC. Westell also had two spells with Hatfield CC. The first, from 1881 to 1882, was his most successful, with fifties against Greville 86

(69) in 1881, and Holborn (50) in 1882. Westell capped a fine performance against Holborn by also taking six wickets. The second time around, he found success in his last known appearance for the club, in 1892, dismissing six Harpenden batsmen. In the mid-1890s, Westell engaged in a brief but successful career as an umpire, culminating in 1898 when he stood in half a dozen first-class matches. As the century approached its finale in 1900, the St Albans XI that faced Hatfield included an H Westell, who may have been William’s son, Harold. V A Titchmarsh (1853-1907) Born on Valentine’s Day at Belvedere House, Kneesworth, Cambridgeshire, Valentine Adolphus Titchmarsh had the greatest success with the county eleven of all the players featured in this chapter. Described in Scores and Biographies as ‘An excellent batsman, and a successful fast round-armed bowler, while in the field he takes no particular place… He is a left-handed batsman, but bowls and fields right.’ He began his playing career in the Royston area before moving to St Albans in the early 1870s. A member of the inaugural Hertfordshire XI alongside Hughes, Pearce, and Westell, between 1876 and 1897, Titchmarsh accumulated just shy of 4,500 runs and 750 wickets for the county. Additionally, he also made eight first-class appearances, six for the MCC and two for the South. His time with Hatfield was brief, appearing in only the 1881 and 1882 seasons, with a best of 44 against Hertford. Before his playing days came to an end, Titchmarsh had begun a very successful secondary career as an umpire. He began standing in County Championship matches in 1896, and he continued to do so until 1906, when illness forced him into retirement. Without wishing to cast aspersions against his good name, the illness, which eventually led to his death, was locomotor ataxy, which is a symptom of syphilis. On a brighter note, a measure of the esteem with which his umpiring was held can be seen in the fact that he umpired in three Test Matches against Australia: Trent Bridge 1899, Lord’s 1902, and Headingley 1905. THE LATE V A TITCHMARSH As announced in yesterday’s issue, the funeral of Valentine A. Titchmarsh, the well-known umpire and Hertfordshire cricketer, took place at St Albans on Wednesday. Titchmarsh was born at Royston on February 14, 1853. His excellent batting as 87

a youngster soon brought him into prominence, and in 1876, he was given a place in the Herts County trial teams. In the following year, he played as an amateur for his county, appearing at Lord’s. Playing against Essex at Hitchin, he captured the whole ten wickets for 33 runs, and in the return game at Brentwood, he secured seven wickets for 30 runs. Just afterwards, against Bedfordshire, he took six wickets for 15 runs. This was a promising start for one in his first year for his county. In 1879, Titchmarsh was appointed a ground bowler at Oxford University, a position he held for five years. He joined the MCC ground staff at Lord’s in 1884 and has always done well for the MCC, both in batting and bowling. He formed one of the team against Sherborne School on one occasion, and in the second innings he secured all ten wickets. On the following day he went on to Rossall School and scored 101 not out. The deceased was the best all-round professional Herts had while a regular member of the team. He never managed to score a century for the county, but many times he ran into the 90s. As an umpire, Titchmarsh was known to habitués of all the first-class county grounds as one of the best in the country, and occupied the leading position among those officials. He was always a very keen observer of the game. He was alert and prompt in giving his decisions, and the stoic-like tones in which they were uttered carried conviction to the mind as to their accuracy. Rarely did a batsman or a fieldsman challenge his judgment. He stood in some of the most exciting tests and other games of recent years. He umpired in numerous famous games, and he considered the Gentleman v. Players match at Lord’s in 1903 as the most extraordinary in which he officiated. In it, the professionals scored 478 while the amateurs were dismissed for 178. On the third day, when the Gentleman was struggling to avert an innings defeat, C B Fry and A MacLaren became associated, and they put on over 300 runs without being separated. The innings then being declared closed. Titchmarsh viewed this partnership, taking all the circumstances into consideration, as one of the finest exhibitions of batting he had ever seen. The Middlesex v. Somerset match at Lord’s in June of last year was played for his benefit, and on the first day between 10,000 and 12,000 spectators were present. The Sporting Life - 18 October 1907 I A Fish (1855-1918) Ishmael Arthur Fish is a player who escaped identification by H J Gray, a victim of calligraphy. Ishmael appeared in newspaper reports at various times as I A Fish, J A Fish, J Fish, and even T A Fish. Luckily, having previously been confounded by a player that I knew had the initial ‘I’ repeatedly being shown as having the initial ‘J’, after a little bit of research, I was able to determine that in many old-fashioned scripts, a capital ‘I’ looks uncannily like a ‘J’. Born in Maresfield, Sussex, Fish moved to Chapmore End in 1860, when his father was appointed superintendent of Hertfordshire Re88

formatory for Boys, which was a Victorian equivalent of a youth detention centre. After his father died in 1878, Fish Jr succeeded him in the position. With Hertford CC as his main club, Fish made what seems to have been a one-off appearance in 1877 for Hatfield before becoming a more familiar face in 1881 and 1882, although he made no significant performances for the club. Fish had a run in the Hertfordshire side in the early 1880s, which was about as successful as his time with Hatfield. C E Wodehouse (1856-1943) If nothing else, Charles Edward Wodehouse, allegedly a direct descendant of Edward III, is possibly the richest man to have played cricket for Hatfield. His father, William Herbert Wodehouse (who changed the family name from Woodhouse), established the church at Letty Green and the railway station at Cole Green. The family home of Woolmers Park, which lies halfway between Hertford and Hatfield, was put up for sale in 2016 with a guide price of £30 million! (In the 1920s, the ‘house’ was acquired by Claude and Cecilia Bowes-Lyon, Elizabeth II’s maternal grandparents, and is currently the home of the Hertfordshire Polo Club.) Like Fish, Wodehouse mainly identified with the Hertford club, and although seen in a Hatfield XI as early as 1877, his appearances were mostly restricted to the 1882 season. His best performance for the club came against Greville in Hatfield Park in 1882, when he took six wickets for 21 runs. Making his county debut in 1878, Wodehouse was a regular for Hertfordshire in 1880, 1882, and 1883. S U Robins (1848-?) A man with an identity crisis and a dubious ending. Appearing in both official and Hatfield CC records as alternately Strode Upton Robins and Upton Strode Robins, H J Gray erroneously concluded that there were two individuals with similar names. Census records show conclusively that they were one and the same. A Stevenage CC player, Robins’ appearances for Hatfield spread from 1870 until 1880, with his only score of note an innings of 35 runs against Bohemians in 1871. He appeared in the first match played by the newly formed County Club, against Bedfordshire, in 1876, was out for a duck, and was never picked again. Robins’ career as a solicitor and his life ended in disgrace. Having been caught siphoning off his clients’ money, he did a runner, was declared bankrupt, and struck off. His private life may have been complicated. At the time of the 1891 census, his wife 89

and daughters were living in Lathbury, Buckinghamshire, with the head of household absent on the day. Robins was meanwhile living in Hanover Square, Westminster, with a different wife! Although I have been unable to find any official record of a marriage, given Robins’ propensity to change his identity, bigamy cannot be ruled out as a possibility. What happened to Robins next is a mystery. By the time of the next census, his wife (the real one) was labelled as a widow; however, there is no official record of his death. IN RE STRODE UPTON ROBINS, A SOLICITOR – EX PARTE THE INCORPORATED LAW SOCIETY Mr Hollams presented the report of the committee in this case, from which it appeared that the charge was that the respondent, having been instructed by the complainant to obtain letters of administration with the will annexed of the complainant’s mother and to realise the estate, and having thus obtained the sum of £1,794 13s. 11d., being the net residue of the estate, misappropriated part of the said sum to his own use. The solicitor, Strode Upton Robins, was admitted on November 30, 1875, Bedford Row. The committee found the charge proved. The respondent did not attend before them. It was shown that he absconded in September, 1893, and was adjudicated bankrupt in November 1893. The Court directed his name to be struck off the rolls. The Times - 26 May 1894 Hatfield and… England There have been many surprises thrown up as a result of the research carried out for this book. The prevalence of professional cricketers in local club cricket was high among them. Hatfield made use of many players with first-class experience. Two in particular raised an eyebrow. H J Gray had correctly identified them as first-class county players, yet inexplicably failed to notice that the pair would go on to play Test Match cricket for England after appearing for Hatfield. It would be facetious to declare them as players of the Club on the back of a solitary sighting in Hatfield CC’s ranks. Since both of their playing careers encompass multiple seasons, I am claiming them as sons of Hatfield. F G J Ford (1866-1940) The Hatfield CC career of Francis Gilbertson Justice Ford stands out because of its proximity to his England career. Ford’s first appearances for the Club came just six months before he set sail on the Orient steamship 90

Ophir, bound for Australia and his five Test Matches representing his country. Twelve months after returning, he was back in Hatfield. How did such a high-profile cricketer end up with the Club? Although on the books of Middlesex, Ford was an amateur player. At the time, the playing squads of the first-class counties (and the England team) were a mixture of professionals and amateurs. When not available for their counties, the part-timers could ply their trade as they pleased. As a tutor, Ford only made himself available for Middlesex out of term time, enabling him to play for the likes of Hatfield in the early months of the season. The Club was well-connected at the Lord’s Cricket Ground, and Ben Warsop likely delivered the invitation to Ford. DEATH OF MR F J G FORD Mr Francis Ford, who died at Burwash, Sussex, yesterday at the age of 73, was a prominent figure in first-class cricket half a century ago. He played for Cambridge University and for Middlesex and was chosen as a member of the team which Mr Stoddart took out to Australia in 1894-95, appearing in the five test matches, of which England won three after a desperate struggle. A left-handed batsman, he was a tremendous hitter of an orthodox type and when in form most attractive to watch. In style he was like Woolley, the well-known Kent professional. Both were tall men and there was the same rhythm and perfection of timing about their batting. Their drives were made with the same effortless ease and reached the boundary at the same alarming pace. Francis Ford, who was born in December 1866, was the youngest of seven brothers, all of whom were at Repton, where they were distinguished both in scholarship and at games. The two elder Fords, W.I. and A.F.J., were Cambridge Blue in their time and played on occasion for Middlesex. The two youngest of the family were Lionel, afterwards headmaster of Harrow, and the subject of this notice, who was the best cricketer of them all. Francis went to Repton in 1880, and in 1882, when he was 15, he took part in a junior house match which deserves mention as a cricket curiosity. He went in first for his house with Kelsey, also a promising boy player, and when Ford had made 200 and Kelsey 100, without either of them looking like getting out, it became clear that something had to be done. So though there was no rule about declaring in those days they retired, and the other side went in. The two unconquered batsmen went on to bowl and dismissed their opponents for eight in the first innings and eight in the second. It was observed in the school magazine that, as a contest, the match was scarcely close enough to arouse much interest. He was in the Repton XI from 1883 to 1886, being captain in his last two years, and in the holidays after he left school he played a couple of matches for Middlesex. Going up to King's College, Cambridge, he represented the University for the next four seasons and captained the XI in 1889. He never did much against Oxford, but his batting and bowling made him an invaluable member of the side, 91

and in the trial matches he made many large scores. He was a double blue at Cambridge for he also captained the Association football team. He was a first-rate goalkeeper and did good service for Corinthians in that position. It may be said of him that as a cricketer his full powers were slow in developing, and it was not until 1893 that he regularly came to the front, playing in many of the Middlesex fixtures and delighting the spectators at Lord’s with brilliant displays of hitting. Against Surrey, who had Richardson and Lockwood, two fast bowlers who made great names for themselves, he scored in 55 minutes 74 runs out of 91 while he was at the wicket. The way in which he drove the fast bowling to all parts of the field was amazing, as may be judged from the fact that at one time Richardson had five men round the boundary for him. His best season was 1897, when he headed the batting averages with 805 runs and an average of 53. He was an obvious choice for the Gentleman at Lord’s and did very well with two not out innings of 50 and 79. In the second innings, he had the unusual experience of being outclassed by a partner who was even better than himself at forcing the game. When he was joined by Gilbert Jessop 86 runs were added in 35 minutes, and of those Jessop scored 67. Ford admitted afterwards that during this period of inactivity he was fascinated by the skill of his companion, who hit the fastest and shortest balls to every point of the compass by strokes which appeared risky but were executed with the utmost certainty. In the following seasons of 1898 and 1899, he was again most successful for his county, but in 1900 he retired, finding the strain of first-class cricket too much for him. As a young man he was constitutionally delicate, but his health improved in later years. In recent years he interested himself in cricket legislation, coming out as an ardent advocate of the alteration of the leg-before-wicket rule. He argued the case for reform of a vigour which apprised some of his friends, who had not credited him with such oratorical gifts. In youth, his tastes and pursuits were mainly athletic, and he never won the academic honours which fell to several of his brothers. But in later life he showed plenty of sound sense and judgment. When he settled down under happy circumstances at his country home in Sussex, he took up other interests with thoroughness and enjoyment. He was the pleasantest of companions and the most loyal of friends, and the breadth of sympathy which makes for popularity. The Times - 08 February 1940 Ford’s accomplishments for Hatfield were impressive. Reports survive of four of his appearances, two from 1894 and two from 1896. He was the first Hatfield CC batsman (definitely) known to have scored a century, 111 not out against Frogmore in 1894. In the return fixture, he scored 55 runs and took 5 wickets. Returning in 1896, he became Welwyn’s nemesis with 6 wickets, followed by a knock of 75. His overall average for Hatfield is an impressive 83.33. In first-class cricket, Ford scored 7,359 runs (averaging 27.05) and took 200 wickets (23.78). Ford played in all five Tests against 92

Australia in 1894/95, although with a thirteen-man squad including two wicketkeepers and a ‘lob’ bowler who was not in serious contention for a place in the side that was never in doubt. It was a disappointing series for Ford. He started well with 30 and 48 in the first Test but only managed a further 90 runs in the remainder of the series. He did show the Australians a glimpse of his talent in a tour match, scoring 106 against South Australia. W Brearley (1876-1937) Lancastrian Walter Brearley was a late-comer to the first-class game, making his county debut five summers after first appearing for Hatfield CC. Brearley was an acquaintance of the Wells family, who ran the Red Lion Hotel, and it was as a result of his visits to see the Wells that he would, on occasion, be found playing cricket in Hatfield Park. Nothing has been written on the subject of Brearley’s pre-cricket life. He was the same age as Hardy Wells (Assistant Hon. Secretary 1899-1903), so it is not impossible that they schooled together. H J Gray suggested that Brearley may have married one of Hardy’s sisters, but this was not the case. Walter’s bestknown performance for the Club came in his first recorded appearance. Playing against Welwyn on Whit Monday 1897, as part of a very strong Hatfield XI that also included Evan Nepean (Middlesex CCC), he dismissed seven of the Welwyn batters. Nepean took the other three wickets, and between them, in one innings, they added more runs than the entire Welwyn team could muster from two innings. This was not a one-off, and Brearley made further appearances for Hatfield in 1897, returning in 1898. He failed to better his performance on debut; however, he did secure returns of six wickets and five wickets in matches against Ben Warsop’s XIs. DEATH OF MR W BREARLEY The death occurred in a London hospital on Saturday at the age of 60 of Mr Walter Brearley, at one time Lancashire’s and England’s fast bowler. He had been ill for only a few days and underwent a serious operation on Friday night. Our cricket correspondent writes:– The excellence of a cricketer sometimes survives the memory only of a particular generation, and thereafter it is forgotten except by those whose habit is to read the history of the past. Walter Brearley played at a time when English cricket was at its zenith, and his was such a great and noble personality that he was acclaimed by the older generation and his contemporaries alike. His fame then was so handed down to a much younger generation that his name would outlive many 93

another. He bowled with all the energy of his great heart and strong frame against batsmen the like of whom, collectively, have never since been seen, so setting an example unsurpassed by any other bowler. Lancashire, quick to recognise merit, has had its heroes. Briggs, Maclaren, JT, Tyldesley and Spooner, to mention but a few, but it is possible that Walter Brearley was the greatest of all Old Trafford’s heroes. A medium to fast bowler with an economic and semi-circular stride up to the wicket, he had that body action–windmill action he himself liked to call it–which meant a good length, a swerve either into the batsman or away from him, and a vicious break back. No occasion could daunt him, no batsman would he consider too good for him, and no day in the hottest weather was too long for him. He carried within him that wonderful enthusiasm, energy and love of the art of bowling to this last summer, when once again he was to be seen day after day at the Easter classes for schoolboys at Lord’s, benignly, though sternly, insisting on the bowling arm coming through with the left foot well down the pitch. As a bowler he was a model and as a man he was the most genuine human being that could be conceived. He had strong opinions about the game of cricket and his impressions of contemporary players were outspoken but always helpful and kind. A technical expert, he gloried in discussion, and one of the writer’s most recent and pleasant memories was of a wet day last summer when Walter Brearley and C B Fry with their coats off and their shirt sleeves rolled up were showing each other how to bat and bowl in the members' luncheon room at Lord’s with the waitresses long since wanting to clear the tables for tea. His stories of cricket, for he was an expansive speaker, were more often than not against himself, yet with a modest insinuation that he was the hero of the episode. But they ran true to the wholesome delight of cricket and made one realise that his was a glorious exposition of the game of which he was so cheerful and ornament. A “cricketer who never grew up.” Each winter means the loss of a friend in the world's cricket, but it is certain that not for a long time has so great a personality left us. Born on March 11, 1876, Walter Brearley attracted attention when in the Bolton and Manchester clubs before appearing for Lancashire in 1902. Beginning his first-class cricket when 26 years of age, he had a comparatively short career lasting until 1912. All together for Lancashire he took 690 wickets at a cost of 18 runs apiece and in first-class cricket his record was 844 at 19.31. He met with special success in the great local struggles with Yorkshire, and in the matches played between these counties from 1903 to 1911, he dismissed 125 batsmen at 16 runs each. His best year came in 1908 when he took 163 wickets, but he was never in better form than in 1905, when he had the distinction of playing for England against Australia at Old Trafford and the Oval. He found a special pleasure in making extra efforts to dismiss some batsmen, and during that season he dismissed Victor Trumper no fewer than six times when playing for England, the Gentleman and Lancashire. He also played for England against Australia at Leeds in 1909 and once against South Africa during the triangular tournament in 1912. One of his best performances was at Lord’s in 1905 when, for the Gentlemen against the Players on a slow pitch that seemed unsuited to him, by sheer energy 94

in the first innings he took seven wickets for 104 runs and followed this by bowling 24 overs for 51 runs and two wickets. The Times - 01 February 1937 Francis Gilbertson Justice Ford (1866-1940). England, Middlesex and Hatfield.95

Walter Brearley (1876-1937). Hatfield, Lancashire and England.96