William Capel (cricketer)
Encyclopedia
The Honourable & Reverend William Robert Capel (1775–1854), sportsman, Vicar of Watford, Hertfordshire, Rector of Raine, Essex, and a chaplain-in-ordinary to HM Queen Victoria.
third son of the 4th Earl of Essex and his second wife, Harriet Bladen. The Capel Earls of Essex were seated at Cassiobury Park
, Watford, Hertfordshire and subsequently elected to spell their family's surname Capell.
He married 7 June 1802, Sarah, daughter of T Samuel Salter, brewer of Moneyhill House, Rickmansworth and they had three sons and four daughters. He died 3 December 1854 at Watford
, Hertfordshire
.
, Hertfordshire on 8 June 1799 and rector of Raine, Essex on 30 January 1805, both in the gift of the Earl of Essex.
In 1829 it appeared to the new Bishop of London, of his own knowledge, that the ecclesiastical duties of the vicarage and parish church of Watford were inadequately performed, by reason of the vicar's negligence. After three months without the instructed appointment being made by Capel the Bishop appointed a curate with a stipend. Capel refused to allow the curate to officiate and the stipend was not paid. "Capel resisted stoutly, and on one occasion the rector and the curate had a race for the reading-desk in church".
In 1832 the dispute was brought to the Hertfordshire Assizes. Bishop Blomfield
's, very expensive, case was lost on a technicality. Capel v. Child (2C. & J. 558)
A few years afterwards Blomfield came down from London to preach a charity sermon at Watford, and was Capel's house-guest. Capel "came down to breakfast in an old grey dressing gown and red slippers, much to the surprise and something to the discomfiture of his Diocesan". Asked, before the event, by a close friend
how he had managed to have his invitation accepted Capel's reply was said to have been: "How, why I gave him a good licking and that made him civil. We are very good friends now."
. He played cricket as an amateur and made 1 known appearance in first-class cricket
in 1808. His recorded career in significant matches ran from 1796 to 1809. Capel was a member of Marylebone Cricket Club
(MCC) and of Homerton Cricket Club
. He was a distant kinsman of the more famous cricketer Martin Bladen Hawke
.
.
The rights of property owners: The Earl of Essex v. The Hon. and Rev. W. Capel.
In 1808 a public meeting of Noblemen Gentlemen and Farmers at Stanmore, chaired by the Earl of Essex, discussed the activities of the Berkeley hounds in the vicinity of the metropolis.
In 1809 the Old Berkeley hunted a fox
into the Essex estate and Capel with a follower jumped locked gates smashing the top rail of a fence. The Earl of Essex, his brother, George, thereupon sued him for trespass. The case was heard before Lord Ellenborough
, Chief Justice of the Court of King's Bench, at the Hertford Assizes
24 July 1809 and reported in The Times of 26 July 1809.
The defendants, the members of the hunt, claimed the right of pursuit of their game over every man's enclosure . . . unless the law allowed them to do so, it would wholly destroy the manly exercise of the chase.
Evidence was given that Holingshead, his Lordship's keeper, had been asked not to destroy foxes and told he would be sent a barrel of ale to drink success to the Berkeley Hunt.
Lord Ellenborough decided the only question on the record was whether the defendants pursued the game with the sole view of extirpating noxious animals or with the desires of sportsmen.
The jury found a verdict for the plaintiff and it was agreed to take similar verdicts in other actions.
Family
Capel, was born 28 April 1775 in EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
third son of the 4th Earl of Essex and his second wife, Harriet Bladen. The Capel Earls of Essex were seated at Cassiobury Park
Cassiobury Park
Cassiobury Park is the principal public open space in Watford, Hertfordshire, in England. It comprises over and extends from the A412 Rickmansworth Road in the east to the Grand Union Canal in the west....
, Watford, Hertfordshire and subsequently elected to spell their family's surname Capell.
He married 7 June 1802, Sarah, daughter of T Samuel Salter, brewer of Moneyhill House, Rickmansworth and they had three sons and four daughters. He died 3 December 1854 at Watford
Watford
Watford is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, situated northwest of central London and within the bounds of the M25 motorway. The borough is separated from Greater London to the south by the urbanised parish of Watford Rural in the Three Rivers District.Watford was created as an urban...
, Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
.
Clerical career
Capel was appointed vicar of WatfordWatford
Watford is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, situated northwest of central London and within the bounds of the M25 motorway. The borough is separated from Greater London to the south by the urbanised parish of Watford Rural in the Three Rivers District.Watford was created as an urban...
, Hertfordshire on 8 June 1799 and rector of Raine, Essex on 30 January 1805, both in the gift of the Earl of Essex.
In 1829 it appeared to the new Bishop of London, of his own knowledge, that the ecclesiastical duties of the vicarage and parish church of Watford were inadequately performed, by reason of the vicar's negligence. After three months without the instructed appointment being made by Capel the Bishop appointed a curate with a stipend. Capel refused to allow the curate to officiate and the stipend was not paid. "Capel resisted stoutly, and on one occasion the rector and the curate had a race for the reading-desk in church".
In 1832 the dispute was brought to the Hertfordshire Assizes. Bishop Blomfield
Charles James Blomfield
Charles James Blomfield was a British divine, and a Church of England bishop for 32 years.-Early life:Blomfield was born in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk and educated at the local grammar school and at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he won the Browne medals for Latin and Greek odes, and the Craven...
's, very expensive, case was lost on a technicality. Capel v. Child (2C. & J. 558)
A few years afterwards Blomfield came down from London to preach a charity sermon at Watford, and was Capel's house-guest. Capel "came down to breakfast in an old grey dressing gown and red slippers, much to the surprise and something to the discomfiture of his Diocesan". Asked, before the event, by a close friend
John Villiers, 3rd Earl of Clarendon
John Charles Villiers, 3rd Earl of Clarendon PC , styled The Honourable until 1824, was a British peer and Member of Parliament....
how he had managed to have his invitation accepted Capel's reply was said to have been: "How, why I gave him a good licking and that made him civil. We are very good friends now."
Cricket
Capel was a keen sportsman, principally associated with fox-hunting and 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...
. He played cricket as an amateur and made 1 known appearance 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...
in 1808. His recorded career in significant matches ran from 1796 to 1809. Capel 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) and of Homerton Cricket Club
Homerton Cricket Club
Homerton Cricket Club was based in Homerton, Hackney and was recognised as a first-class cricket team during the first decade of the 19th century. The club had been established in the 18th century and it first came to notice in 1800 when it played the strong Montpelier team...
. He was a distant kinsman of the more famous cricketer Martin Bladen Hawke
Martin Hawke, 7th Baron Hawke
Martin Bladen Hawke, 7th Baron Hawke of Towton , generally known as Lord Hawke, was an English amateur cricketer who played major roles in the sport's administration....
.
Foxhunting
Capel was an enthusiastic foxhunter as master of the Old Berkeley fox-hounds with kennels at Gerrards CrossGerrards Cross
Gerrards Cross is a village in Buckinghamshire, England. It is in the south of the county, near the border with Greater London, south of Chalfont St Peter. Gerrards Cross is also a civil parish within South Bucks district, which was known as the Beaconsfield district from 1974 to 1980...
.
Landmark foxhunting court case
In 1808 a public meeting of Noblemen Gentlemen and Farmers at Stanmore, chaired by the Earl of Essex, discussed the activities of the Berkeley hounds in the vicinity of the metropolis.
In 1809 the Old Berkeley hunted a fox
Fox hunting
Fox hunting is an activity involving the tracking, chase, and sometimes killing of a fox, traditionally a red fox, by trained foxhounds or other scent hounds, and a group of followers led by a master of foxhounds, who follow the hounds on foot or on horseback.Fox hunting originated in its current...
into the Essex estate and Capel with a follower jumped locked gates smashing the top rail of a fence. The Earl of Essex, his brother, George, thereupon sued him for trespass. The case was heard before Lord Ellenborough
Baron Ellenborough
Baron Ellenborough, of Ellenborough in the County of Cumberland, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1802 for the lawyer, judge and politician Sir Edward Law, Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench from 1802 to 1818. His son, the second Baron, notably served as...
, Chief Justice of the Court of King's Bench, at the Hertford Assizes
Assizes
Assize or Assizes may refer to:Assize or Assizes may refer to:Assize or Assizes may refer to::;in common law countries :::*assizes , an obsolete judicial inquest...
24 July 1809 and reported in The Times of 26 July 1809.
The defendants, the members of the hunt, claimed the right of pursuit of their game over every man's enclosure . . . unless the law allowed them to do so, it would wholly destroy the manly exercise of the chase.
Evidence was given that Holingshead, his Lordship's keeper, had been asked not to destroy foxes and told he would be sent a barrel of ale to drink success to the Berkeley Hunt.
Lord Ellenborough decided the only question on the record was whether the defendants pursued the game with the sole view of extirpating noxious animals or with the desires of sportsmen.
The jury found a verdict for the plaintiff and it was agreed to take similar verdicts in other actions.