Henry Marten (MCC cricketer)
Encyclopedia
Sir Henry William Martin, 2nd baronet (born 20 December 1768, Bishopstown
county Cork, Ireland
eldest surviving son of Henry Martin
, naval officer; died 3 February 1842 at his house in Upper Harley Street
, London, England). Elder brother of Thomas Byam Martin
er who made 7 known appearances in first-class cricket
matches from 1797 to 1813 as well as numerous appearances in other significant matches. His name is given as "Marten" in most if not all cricket sources. Martin was mainly associated with Surrey
and was a member of Marylebone Cricket Club
(MCC).
and many pages are displayed online by the British Library, external link below.
Auctioneer's description: Fine and extensive journal of Sir Henry Martin of Harley Street, London, chronicling his visit to the West Indies between 1836 and 1837, a detailed manuscript journal, closely written on 271 pages, with one pencil sketch showing a group of carts crossing a bridge, bound in marbled boards, 8vo A highly important account by a high status visitor to the West Indies at a very early date. Martin appears to be a very meticulous individual, with an eye for minute detail throughout his journey in every degree, making this an invaluable record not only of the West Indies, but also the general conditions in every place he visited, including the U.K. For example, he leaves Piccadilly in December 1836 via the Herald Coach to Falmouth noting, "Passage money inside £4:5:0, outside £2:5:0 - I had three enquiries made at the coach office on different days to ascertain the exact time that the coach got into Falmouth for the purpose of ordering dinner or not ...". He then notes in great detail the time taken to reach Falmouth. He leaves Piccadilly at 9.47am, reaching Bagshot at 53 minutes past noon, for example. He and his family (with servant) leave Falmouth on board the Mutine, the passage for all costing £38. On board are a group of Cornish miners going to Cuba on a mining scheme. During the journey, he logs latitudes and longitudes for the entire passage, and details the day to day happenings on the vessel. The family reach the West Indies the following February and the journal is equally detailed about the topography and general social conditions which Martin observes. For example, he says of Martinique, "There are here many excellent shops, which would not disgrace Paris, and many private houses three storeys high and from four to six windows in line, chiefly I think built of stone ... we went to a hotel (as it's called) kept by a mulatto woman called Parker, a native of Barbados and well known to all naval persons who have been here of late years - I think she must be nearly 60 but she looks very much younger. She is quite a character and a very shrewd one too ...". This is an invaluable insight into the early 19th century, which deserves considerable research.
Bishopstown
Bishopstown is a southwestern suburb of Cork, Ireland with a population of 24,136 people. Baile an Easpaig, anglicised Bishopstown, consists of two townlands which are Ballineaspigmore and Ballineaspigbeg...
county Cork, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
eldest surviving son of Henry Martin
Sir Henry Martin, 1st Baronet
Captain Henry Martin, 1st Baronet was a naval commander whose final appointment was Comptroller of the Navy 1790–1794.Martin was born at Shroton House, Dorset, 29 August 1733...
, naval officer; died 3 February 1842 at his house in Upper Harley Street
Harley Street
Harley Street is a street in the City of Westminster in London, England which has been noted since the 19th century for its large number of private specialists in medicine and surgery.- Overview :...
, London, England). Elder brother of Thomas Byam Martin
Thomas Byam Martin
Admiral Sir Thomas Byam Martin, GCB was a highly influential British Royal Navy officer who served at sea during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars and then as a naval administrator until his death in 1854...
Cricket career
Martin was an English amateur cricketCricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er who made 7 known appearances in first-class cricket
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
matches from 1797 to 1813 as well as numerous appearances in other significant matches. His name is given as "Marten" in most if not all cricket sources. Martin was mainly associated with Surrey
Surrey county cricket teams
Surrey county cricket teams have been traced back to the 17th century but the county's involvement in cricket goes back much further than that. The first definite mention of cricket anywhere in the world is dated c.1550 in Guildford.-17th century:...
and was a member of Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club is a cricket club in London founded in 1787. Its influence and longevity now witness it as a private members' club dedicated to the development of cricket. It owns, and is based at, Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood, London NW8. MCC was formerly the governing body of...
(MCC).
British West Indies
Of a family long resident in Antigua and Montserrat his 271-page Travel journal of Sir H. W. Martin is in the manuscripts collection of the British LibraryBritish Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,...
and many pages are displayed online by the British Library, external link below.
Auctioneer's description: Fine and extensive journal of Sir Henry Martin of Harley Street, London, chronicling his visit to the West Indies between 1836 and 1837, a detailed manuscript journal, closely written on 271 pages, with one pencil sketch showing a group of carts crossing a bridge, bound in marbled boards, 8vo A highly important account by a high status visitor to the West Indies at a very early date. Martin appears to be a very meticulous individual, with an eye for minute detail throughout his journey in every degree, making this an invaluable record not only of the West Indies, but also the general conditions in every place he visited, including the U.K. For example, he leaves Piccadilly in December 1836 via the Herald Coach to Falmouth noting, "Passage money inside £4:5:0, outside £2:5:0 - I had three enquiries made at the coach office on different days to ascertain the exact time that the coach got into Falmouth for the purpose of ordering dinner or not ...". He then notes in great detail the time taken to reach Falmouth. He leaves Piccadilly at 9.47am, reaching Bagshot at 53 minutes past noon, for example. He and his family (with servant) leave Falmouth on board the Mutine, the passage for all costing £38. On board are a group of Cornish miners going to Cuba on a mining scheme. During the journey, he logs latitudes and longitudes for the entire passage, and details the day to day happenings on the vessel. The family reach the West Indies the following February and the journal is equally detailed about the topography and general social conditions which Martin observes. For example, he says of Martinique, "There are here many excellent shops, which would not disgrace Paris, and many private houses three storeys high and from four to six windows in line, chiefly I think built of stone ... we went to a hotel (as it's called) kept by a mulatto woman called Parker, a native of Barbados and well known to all naval persons who have been here of late years - I think she must be nearly 60 but she looks very much younger. She is quite a character and a very shrewd one too ...". This is an invaluable insight into the early 19th century, which deserves considerable research.