1743 English cricket season
Encyclopedia
In the 1743 English cricket season, a significant development was the rise of a very strong club at Woburn who beat London
2-1 in a tri-series played in May and June.
The heavy modern-type ball with wound core and thick leather cover may have come into use about this time for it is recorded that Mr Clout was by then active in Sevenoaks as "the first cricket ball maker of any pretention" .
The well known painting The Cricket Match by Francis Hayman
(1708–1786) dates from this year. It now hangs at Lord’s
. It apparently depicts a game at the Artillery Ground
and shows a "tall" two stump wicket. The batsman has a bat that is distinctly hockey shaped; the ball has been trundled but appears to be "off the ground" so perhaps it was a quicker skimmed delivery; and in the foreground is a scorer notching the tally.
From the same year comes An Exact Representation of the Game of Cricket by Louis Philippe Boitard (c.1733 – c. 1767). This now hangs in the Tate Gallery
.
. This is evidence of the involvement of the brewing industry in the sport; a number of grounds, ranging from Broadhalfpenny Down
to Trent Bridge
, were established on fields adjacent to innings and taverns .
Thurs 16 June. A game on Walworth Common in which Bermondsey defeated Deptford & King’s Yard by an innings and 27 runs. Clearly a minor fixture but Mr Ashley-Cooper helpfully explains that Walworth Common was situated where Westmoreland Road, Faraday Street and Mann Street stood in 1900. The ground was about three quarters of a mile from where the Bee Hive Ground afterwards existed. At the end of the 18th century, Walworth was the home of the Montpelier Cricket Club
who played on Aram’s New Ground .
Mon 11 July. A three-a-side game was played at the Artillery Ground and the six players were stated to be the best in England. They were William Hodsoll
(Dartford
), John Cutbush (Maidstone) and Val Romney
(Sevenoaks) playing as Three of Kent; and Richard Newland
(Slindon
), William Sawyer (Richmond) and John Bryant (Bromley
) playing as Three of All-England. Hodsoll and Newland were captains. Kent won by 2 runs. The London Evening Post says the crowd was computed (sic) to be 10,000. A return match was arranged at Sevenoaks Vine
on Wed 27 July but it did not come off. The Daily Advertiser of Thurs 7 July says that Ridgeway
was to play alongside Hodsoll and Romney. Then, on Fri 8 July, John Cutbush, known to have been a clockmaker from Maidstone, was named instead of Ridgeway .
Tues 16 August. A five a side game on Richmond Green
between Five of Richmond and Five of London. Wickets were pitched at one o’clock on forfeiture of fifty pounds .
Mon 29 August. A five a side game at the Artillery Ground between Five of London and Five of Richmond. Wickets were pitched at two o’clock and the prize was "a considerable sum" .
London Cricket Club
The original London Cricket Club was formed by 1722 and was one of the foremost clubs in English cricket over the next four decades. It is closely associated with the Artillery Ground, where it played most of its home matches.-Early history of London cricket:...
2-1 in a tri-series played in May and June.
The heavy modern-type ball with wound core and thick leather cover may have come into use about this time for it is recorded that Mr Clout was by then active in Sevenoaks as "the first cricket ball maker of any pretention" .
The well known painting The Cricket Match by Francis Hayman
Francis Hayman
Francis Hayman was an English painter and illustrator who became one of the founding members of the Royal Academy in 1768 and later its first librarian....
(1708–1786) dates from this year. It now hangs at Lord’s
Lord's Cricket Ground
Lord's Cricket Ground is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and Wales Cricket Board , the European Cricket Council and, until August 2005, the...
. It apparently depicts a game at the Artillery Ground
Artillery Ground
The Artillery Ground in Finsbury is one of London's most centrally located cricket grounds, situated just off the City Road immediately north of the City of London...
and shows a "tall" two stump wicket. The batsman has a bat that is distinctly hockey shaped; the ball has been trundled but appears to be "off the ground" so perhaps it was a quicker skimmed delivery; and in the foreground is a scorer notching the tally.
From the same year comes An Exact Representation of the Game of Cricket by Louis Philippe Boitard (c.1733 – c. 1767). This now hangs in the Tate Gallery
Tate Gallery
The Tate is an institution that houses the United Kingdom's national collection of British Art, and International Modern and Contemporary Art...
.
Matches
| Date | Match Title | Venue | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 May (M) | Kent v London, Middlesex & Surrey | Bromley Common Bromley Common Bromley Common is the area centered around the road of the same name, stretching between Masons Hill at the south end of Bromley and Hastings Road, Locksbottom. Part of the A21... |
LM&S won (Kent forfeited) | |
Scores at eight o’clock pm: LM&S 97 & 112-3; Kent 69. Play was due to continue next day but Kent "gave it up". The LM&S team was also described as Lord Montford’s XI. Lord Montford was a noted patron of the game. The Kent side was organised by Lord John Philip Sackville. |
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| 27 May (F) | Woburn v London | Woburn Park Woburn Abbey Woburn Abbey , near Woburn, Bedfordshire, England, is a country house, the seat of the Duke of Bedford and the location of the Woburn Safari Park.- Pre-20th century :... |
London won | |
Woburn was the seat of the Duke of Bedford who was another noted patron. |
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| 28 May (S) | Woburn v London | Woburn | Woburn won | |
This must have been arranged as soon as the previous game finished. The further game on 13 June may have been intended to be a decider. |
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| 9 June (Th) | Greenwich & Deptford v London | Blackheath | G&D won | |
Played for a "considerable sum". |
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| 13 June (M) | London v Woburn | Artillery Ground Artillery Ground The Artillery Ground in Finsbury is one of London's most centrally located cricket grounds, situated just off the City Road immediately north of the City of London... |
Woburn won by 54 runs | |
London were ante-post 11 to 8 favourites. The match may have been a decider following the two at Woburn on 27 and 28 May (see above). |
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| 24 June (F) | Chislehurst & Bromley v London | Bromley Common | C&B won "with difficulty" | |
It was specified beforehand that the game is to be played out, presumably to emphasise a main clause in the articles which were drawn up to define the terms of the wager. In any case, it was completed on the first day of play. |
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| 27 June (M) | London v Chislehurst & Bromley | Artillery Ground | result unknown | |
No details known other than the pre-announcement. |
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| 4 July (M) | Richmond & Kingston v London | Richmond Green Richmond Green Richmond Green is a recreation area located near the centre of Richmond, which is a town of about twenty thousand inhabitants situated in south west London. The green is essentially square in shape and its open grassland, framed with broadleaf trees, extends to roughly twelve acres... |
London won | |
Robert "Long Robin" Colchin Robert Colchin Robert "Long Robin" Colchin was a highly influential professional English cricketer of the mid-Georgian period at a time when the single wicket version of the game was popular.-Cricket career:... of Bromley played for London as a given man. |
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| 18 July (M) | London v Richmond, Kingston & Egham | Artillery Ground | London won by 67 runs | |
Scores are known: London 57 & 117; Richmond &c 55 & 52. This was a return to the match at Richmond Green Richmond Green Richmond Green is a recreation area located near the centre of Richmond, which is a town of about twenty thousand inhabitants situated in south west London. The green is essentially square in shape and its open grassland, framed with broadleaf trees, extends to roughly twelve acres... on 4 July (see above). Robert "Long Robin" Colchin of Bromley again played for London as a given man. |
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| 25 July (M) | London v Addington Addington Cricket Club Addington is about three miles south-east of Croydon. It is only a small place but Addington Cricket Club fielded one of the strongest cricket teams in England from about the 1743 season to the 1752 season.... |
Artillery Ground | Addington won by inns & 4 runs | |
Scores are known: London 32 & 74; Addington 110. Robert "Long Robin" Colchin Robert Colchin Robert "Long Robin" Colchin was a highly influential professional English cricketer of the mid-Georgian period at a time when the single wicket version of the game was popular.-Cricket career:... of Bromley Cricket Club Bromley Cricket Club Bromley Cricket Club was one of the strongest English cricket clubs in the mid-18th century when its team was led by Robert Colchin aka "Long Robin".-Earliest mentions:... and Tom Peake Tom Peake Tom Peake was a noted English cricketer of the mid-18th century... of Chelsfield played for Addington as given men. William Sawyer of Richmond played for London as a given man. Tom Peake, who died in 1767, lived at Chelsfield and Orpington. Addington is about 3 miles south-east of Croydon and this was the club’s first game in London. They had a very strong eleven for some years at this time and the club immediately accepted the Slindon challenge, in 1744, to play against “any parish in England”. |
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| 1 August (M) | Woburn v London | Woburn | London won by 3 runs | |
Scores are known: London 46 & 60; Woburn 72 & 31. |
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| 3 August (W) | Lewes v Pevensey | Lewes Down | result unknown | |
The venue was described as on Lewes Down, near the Horse-Course. |
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| 8 August (M) | London v Woburn | Artillery Ground | London won by 1 wicket | |
Scores are known: Woburn 104 & 36; London 93 & 48-9. |
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| 23–24 August (Tu-W) | Sevenoaks v London | Sevenoaks Vine | London won 6 runs | |
Scores are known: London 41 & 54; Sevenoaks 49 & 40. Sevenoaks had been 24-6 in the second innings at close of play on the Tuesday, still needing 23 to win. |
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| 29 August (M) | London v Sevenoaks | Artillery Ground | London won | |
The match report states that London won "with great difficulty". The standards of journalism and editing at the time are self-evident when you read that: the match played on Sevenoaks Vine, being won with great difficulty by London, has caused several considerable bets to be laid, between the noblemen and gentlemen then present; ‘tis desired all persons will keep the utmost extent of the line. |
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| 5–6 September (M-Tu) | London v Horsmonden & Weald | Artillery Ground | London won by 1 wicket | |
Three runs were still required when the last man went in. |
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| 12 September (M) | London v Horsmonden & Weald | Artillery Ground | London won | |
No details were reported of this return match which London won perhaps without difficulty. |
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| 14 September (W) | London v Sevenoaks | Artillery Ground | result unknown | |
Pre-announced as "the third great match of cricket" between the two sides. It followed the games on 23 & 20 August (see above). As London won the first two, the series as such was already decided. No report of the outcome of the third match could be found. |
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| 19 September (M) | London v Middx, Bucks & Berks | Artillery Ground | London won by 53 runs | |
Scores are known: London 70 & 97; MB&B 71 & 43. It was announced beforehand that: the days being short, it is ordered that the wickets be pitched at 10 o’clock. This will be the last great match of the season. |
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Other events
Mon 6 June. A game between Shacklewell and Westminster played at The Cock in Shacklewell, near Stoke NewingtonStoke Newington
Stoke Newington is a district in the London Borough of Hackney. It is north-east of Charing Cross.-Boundaries:In modern terms, Stoke Newington can be roughly defined by the N16 postcode area . Its southern boundary with Dalston is quite ill-defined too...
. This is evidence of the involvement of the brewing industry in the sport; a number of grounds, ranging from Broadhalfpenny Down
Broadhalfpenny Down
Broadhalfpenny Down, situated on a hilltop about a mile from the rural village of Hambledon in Hampshire, was the home venue for first-class cricket matches of the Hambledon Club from 1753 to 1781...
to Trent Bridge
Trent Bridge
Trent Bridge is a Test, One-day international and County cricket ground located in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England and is also the headquarters of Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club. As well as International cricket and Nottinghamshire's home games, the ground has hosted the Finals Day of...
, were established on fields adjacent to innings and taverns .
Thurs 16 June. A game on Walworth Common in which Bermondsey defeated Deptford & King’s Yard by an innings and 27 runs. Clearly a minor fixture but Mr Ashley-Cooper helpfully explains that Walworth Common was situated where Westmoreland Road, Faraday Street and Mann Street stood in 1900. The ground was about three quarters of a mile from where the Bee Hive Ground afterwards existed. At the end of the 18th century, Walworth was the home of the Montpelier Cricket Club
Montpelier Cricket Club
The Montpelier Cricket Club was prominent in English cricket from about 1796, when it began to compete against Marylebone Cricket Club and other leading "town clubs", until 1845 when its members were the prime movers in the formation of Surrey County Cricket Club.Montpelier was based at George...
who played on Aram’s New Ground .
Mon 11 July. A three-a-side game was played at the Artillery Ground and the six players were stated to be the best in England. They were William Hodsoll
William Hodsoll
William Hodsoll , was a noted English cricketer of the mid-Georgian period. Hodsoll lived at Dartford for some years and was a tanner ....
(Dartford
Dartford Cricket Club
Dartford Cricket Club is one of the oldest in England and its origins go back to the early 18th century, perhaps earlier.See also: Dartford Brent...
), John Cutbush (Maidstone) and Val Romney
Val Romney
Valentine "Val" Romney was an English professional cricketer who played first-class cricket during the 1740s. A specialist batsman, he was mainly associated with Kent but also represented All-England...
(Sevenoaks) playing as Three of Kent; and Richard Newland
Richard Newland
Richard Newland was an English cricketer in the mid-Georgian period who played for Slindon Cricket Club and Sussex under the patronage of Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond. He also represented various All-England teams...
(Slindon
Slindon Cricket Club
Slindon Cricket Club was famous in the middle part of the 18th century when it claimed to have the best team in England. It was located at Slindon, a village in the Arun district of Sussex....
), William Sawyer (Richmond) and John Bryant (Bromley
Bromley Cricket Club
Bromley Cricket Club was one of the strongest English cricket clubs in the mid-18th century when its team was led by Robert Colchin aka "Long Robin".-Earliest mentions:...
) playing as Three of All-England. Hodsoll and Newland were captains. Kent won by 2 runs. The London Evening Post says the crowd was computed (sic) to be 10,000. A return match was arranged at Sevenoaks Vine
Vine Cricket Ground
The Vine Cricket Ground is one of the oldest cricket venues in England. It was given to the town of Sevenoaks in 1773 by John Frederick Sackville, 3rd Duke of Dorset and owner of Knole House, where the ground is sited...
on Wed 27 July but it did not come off. The Daily Advertiser of Thurs 7 July says that Ridgeway
Ridgeway (Sussex cricketer)
Ridgeway was a noted English cricketer of the mid-18th century who played for Sussex and All-England.-Cricket career:...
was to play alongside Hodsoll and Romney. Then, on Fri 8 July, John Cutbush, known to have been a clockmaker from Maidstone, was named instead of Ridgeway .
Tues 16 August. A five a side game on Richmond Green
Richmond Green
Richmond Green is a recreation area located near the centre of Richmond, which is a town of about twenty thousand inhabitants situated in south west London. The green is essentially square in shape and its open grassland, framed with broadleaf trees, extends to roughly twelve acres...
between Five of Richmond and Five of London. Wickets were pitched at one o’clock on forfeiture of fifty pounds .
Mon 29 August. A five a side game at the Artillery Ground between Five of London and Five of Richmond. Wickets were pitched at two o’clock and the prize was "a considerable sum" .
First mentions
- John Bryant
- John Cutbush
- RidgewayRidgeway (Sussex cricketer)Ridgeway was a noted English cricketer of the mid-18th century who played for Sussex and All-England.-Cricket career:...
- Robert ColchinRobert ColchinRobert "Long Robin" Colchin was a highly influential professional English cricketer of the mid-Georgian period at a time when the single wicket version of the game was popular.-Cricket career:...
- Tom PeakeTom PeakeTom Peake was a noted English cricketer of the mid-18th century...
- Val RomneyVal RomneyValentine "Val" Romney was an English professional cricketer who played first-class cricket during the 1740s. A specialist batsman, he was mainly associated with Kent but also represented All-England...
- William HodsollWilliam HodsollWilliam Hodsoll , was a noted English cricketer of the mid-Georgian period. Hodsoll lived at Dartford for some years and was a tanner ....
- William Sawyer
External sources
Further reading
- H S AlthamHarry AlthamHarry Surtees Altham, CBE, DSO, MC was an English cricketer who became an important figure in the game as an administrator, historian and coach. His Wisden obituary described him as "among the best known personalities in the world of cricket"...
, A History of Cricket, Volume 1 (to 1914), George Allen & Unwin, 1962 - Derek BirleyDerek BirleySir Derek Birley was an English educator and writer who had a strong interest in sport, especially cricket.He was educated at grammar school in Hemsworth, West Yorkshire, and at Queens' College, Cambridge University....
, A Social History of English Cricket, Aurum, 1999 - Rowland BowenRowland BowenMajor Rowland Francis Bowen was a cricket researcher, historian and writer....
, Cricket: A History of its Growth and Development, Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1970 - David UnderdownDavid UnderdownDavid E. Underdown was a historian of 17th-century English politics and culture and Professor Emeritus at Yale University. Born at Wells, Somerset, Underdown was educated at the Blue School and Exeter College, Oxford...
, Start of Play, Allen Lane, 2000