The Match at Hall Place Park Monday 5 June 1848 and additional article on Cricket in Leigh in 1848
Cricket – Match at Hall Place Park Monday 5 June 1848 : Played between Eleven Gentlemen of the Leigh Union Club and eleven Gentlemen of Meopham Club.
The team to play at Hall Place were selected from a list of sixteen players. The names included on the list were as below.
Other than a few of the names, it is not possible to determine with any certainty who these players might be or where they lived. A few on the list appear to have some connection with Leigh – or at least the immediate area of Chiddingstone, Penshurst, Tonbridge possibly are the correct men.
For some of the other names, the various entries found in the 1841 and 1851 census are merely guesswork. It is not possible to say with certainty whether they would have played for Leigh. And some names cannot be found in either the 1841 or 1851 censuses for Kent at all. That does not mean they did not have a connection with Leigh, but I have just not been able to find them.
In the Leigh 1899 photo of Leigh cricket club, there is still a W Duke playing for Leigh; and an F Martin and B Martin – perhaps these could be connected to the W Duke and W Martin listed below? There was also George Martin, landlord of the Goats Head in the 1860s and 1870s – perhaps a connection there too?
The Society has been given some of the cricket club records by John Knock – it might be possible to find some of the information in there but I believe it only goes back to the late 19th century and so perhaps would not be of help.
THE LIST OF SIXTEEN
Mr W Duke
There is a William Duke (wife Ann) at Chiddingstone Causeway in 1851 census: he is 49, his wife is 61. He is described as a painter – b. Kent Penshurst.
Or more probably William Duke (son of Timothy and Ann Duke, living at Redleaf in 1851 census and born Penshurst aged 24 – see below)
Mr J Duke
There is a John Duke living at Penshurst in 1851 census, born Penshurst: he was 20, a manufacturer of cricket balls – living at Redleaf with his parents, Timothy Duke, aged 51, manufacturer of cricket balls, employing 36 men. Born Penshurst – his wife Ann Duke, aged 55 b. Ireland – he has a brother there – William Duke, aged 24, manufacturer of cricket balls, also born Penshurst.
Mr J Moon
There is a James Moon aged 35, and wife Ann 38, living at Soho Cottages in Tonbridge (possibly London Road). He is a groom and gardener and was born in Leigh. He has five children, the eldest is 12, all born at Tonbridge.
There is also a John Moon living at White Post in Chiddingstone – he is 46, a cordwainer and was born in Hartfield, He is married with one son and daughter in 1851.
There is another John Moon, living at Gas Lane, Tonbridge. He is 36 and a manufacturer of gas, born Robertsbridge: he is married with two young children in 1851.
Mr A Lockyer
Cannot find anyone with the initial ‘A’ in the 1841 or 1851 census for Kent.
Mr G Wigzell
There is a G Wigzell aged 39, born Sevenoaks, and living at Sevenoaks, he is a brewer. He has a wife and young family. The only person by this name and initial living in Kent found in 1851 census.
Mr A Bartholomew
There are Bartholomews living in the area, but unable to find any with initial A in the 1851 census. In 1841 census at Sevenoaks there is an Amos Bartholomew who is aged ‘15’, but I can’t seem to find him in the 1851 census in Sevenoaks or Kent; although he appears in other censuses at Sevenoaks – in 1861 at Sevenoaks he is described as a Sanitary Inspector. He is still in Sevenoaks aged 75 in 1901.
Mr R Dean
Cannot find an R Dean in the area in the 1841 or 1851 census.
Mr H Foster
There are Fosters living in Leigh at the time but not an H Foster.
In the 1851 census, there is also a Henry Foster living a Poundsbridge, born Penshurst, aged 25 and he is a farmer.
Mr A Arnold
Cannot find an A Arnold in the Leigh area in the 1841 or 1851 census.
Mr S Field
In the 1851 census, there was a Stephen Field – aged 27, farmers bailiff who was born in Leigh, but living at Chelsfield with his wife Eliza who was born in Tonbridge. In 1841 he is living at Leigh with his parents, William and Lucy Field – they are living at Kennards – and his father is a farmer.
Mr W Finch; J Finch; F Finch
One would assume that they are all connected – brothers, cousins. However, the Finch surname is quite common in the area and there are Finches in Tonbridge, Speldhurst, Sevenoaks and Sundridge but cannot put the three together. [n.b. William Finch mentioned in Bagshaws Directory 1847 as a veterinary surgeon but cannot link into the census)
Mr T Rogers
In 1841 there is a Thomas Rogers (aged 15) living with his parents in Tonbridge. In 1851 he is 28, a railway labourer, born Tonbridge, but he is then living at St Leonards, Hastings.
There is also a Thomas Rogers, aged 25, living at Sevenoaks. In 1851 he is 36, married and a grocer and born in Wrotham.
Mr W Martin
In the 1851 census there is a William Martin, labourer born Penshurst and living in Penshurst, who is aged 39. Married to Elizabeth, born Chiddingstone, and has several children.
Mr T Blackwell
Cannot find a T Blackwell (probably Thomas) living in this area of Kent in 1841 or 1851.
Joyce Field (August 2020)
CRICKET IN 1848 IN LEIGH
(Hall Place Park Match: Monday 5 June 1848 between Eleven Gentlemen of the Leigh Union Club and eleven Gentlemen of Meopham Club).
A Poster for the above match between Leigh and Meopham was given to the Society by John Hawkins, who lives in South Africa, but was born in Leigh. The Poster can be seen in our archives and on our website.
By 1848 England was just starting to come out of a 30 year period of hardship. The name of Leigh’s Cricket Club had been changed to Leigh Union Club in sympathy with the Chartist movement of the time, when the term “Union” became prominent, although by 1849 the term Union was dropped as South West Kent began to recover.
Leigh Cricket between 1800 and 1850 could be spectator or ‘Grand Matches’ – with large crowds. Landowners often had their own teams and pitches, although in Leigh the vast majority of matches were on the Green (then owned by Hall Place). But it was unusual to have a match played in Hall Place grounds, as it was on 5 June 1848.
Large prizes were sometimes given (100 guineas at an 1805 Leigh match). Ordinary village players were often paid – one guinea a man was one example and betting freely indulged! Games were sometimes two day events with two innings each or one day events as with the 1848 game against Meopham. With village prestige – and that of its gamblers – at stake, outsiders could be brought in (and paid). According to the poster, play started at “Ten o’clock precisely”, with a fine of a guinea if one team started late. A “Good Ordinary” or lunch was served at 1 o’clock – in this case by R. Best.
In 1848, Richard Best was victualler at the Porcupine (he is listed as such in Bagshaws 1847 Directory). Although there are several Richard Bests in our area of Kent, he is most likely to have been Richard Best born at Chiddingstone in 1818, the son of John Best, a carpenter, and Ann, who also both came from Chiddingstone. By 1841 Richard is working as a man servant in Chiddingstone but by the time of his marriage to Esther Burfoot on 27 September 1843 he is a licensed victualler: this occupation is given on their marriage certificate at St Botolph’s, London, although why they married there is not known. One might assume he ran a pub in the area, but their place of residence on the marriage certificate is given as Chiddingstone. However, in 1848, Richard and his family are at the Porcupine, although three years later, in the 1851 census, they are living in ‘The Street’, Leigh, and Richard has become a baker. It appears from the places of birth of their children that between 1851 and 1861 that the family were continually moving – Sandgate, Kent, Barking in Essex, back to Tonbridge and then Nettlestead where in 1861 Richard, with Esther and five of their children, is working as a groom. He eventually comes back home in 1867, when his body is brought back to be buried at Chiddingstone.
The poster also lists the players for both teams. For Leigh there were 16 men listed: Mr W Duke; Mr J Duke; Mr J Moon; Mr A Lockyer; Mr G Wigzell; Mr A Bartholomew; Mr R Dean; Mr H Foster; Mr A Arnold; Mr S Field; Mr W Finch; Mr J Finch; Mr F Finch; Mr T Rogers; Mr W Martin; Mr T Blackwell.
The names in cricket teams in Victorian times usually had either ‘Esq’ after them, denoting they were ‘Gentlemen’; or just their initials, denoting they were ‘players’. ‘Players’ usually received a fee, particularly if the match had been organized by one of the landed gentry – who wanted to win the game either for financial reasons or prestige – or both. Matches could go on for a considerable time. The 1848 match started at “ten o’clock promptly” with refreshments provided by Richard Best. On other occasions Mr Best provided a sit-down dinner at eight in the evening. So, there was perhaps eight hours of playing time.
By 1848, the kind of bats and, to a lesser extent, balls being used was beginning to be similar to those of today. However, the state of the pitch, particularly the outfield would have been the big difference. With an outfield only scythed a few times a summer, it would have been difficult to hit a four.
We do not have the records which would have shown which team eventually went on to win the match
Last month the list of ‘Gentlemen’ for the Leigh team was given, although none is listed as ‘Esq’ on the poster, although four of the Meopham club players are. Although various sources have been searched, other than the Duke brothers, they are not easily identifiable. In the 1841 and 1851 censuses there are several men with the same surname and initials in the area that appear in the team list, but some names are not found at all.
However, from the earliest part of the 19th century the Duke family played an important part in the Leigh cricketing team. They had a cricket ball factory, first at Redleaf and then in Chiddingstone Causeway. Timothy was the leading Duke player in the 1800-1830 period but by the 1848 match his two sons, William and John, had succeeded him in the team. William would have been twenty-one at this time and John a year younger.
We can probably identify S. Field from the censuses – a Stephen Field was working as a farm bailiff in Chelsfield in 1851 (aged 27) but was born and living in Leigh in 1841: his parents were farmers and as a farm bailiff he might be classified as a gentleman – particularly if he was good with the bat and/or the ball – but not on the Leigh poster. He may have come back to Leigh for the match or perhaps in 1848 he had not yet moved away.
One would assume that the three Finches are connected. However, the Finch surname is common in the area – in Tonbridge, Speldhurst, Sevenoaks and Sundridge, but it is not possible to place all three together. A William Finch is mentioned in Bagshaws Directory 1847 as a veterinary surgeon but cannot be linked into the 1841 or 1851 censuses. So perhaps Leigh imported a number of quality players from outside? We do not know.
Of the other names – there are three possible J Moons living in the ‘greater Leigh’ area. There is a G Wigzell aged 39, born Sevenoaks, and living at Sevenoaks, he is a brewer. He has a wife and young family. He is the only person with this name and initial living in Kent found in 1851 census. The Bartholomew name appears in our area, but we are unable to find any with initial A in the 1851 census. In 1841 census at Sevenoaks there is an Amos Bartholomew who is aged ‘15’, but we cannot seem to find him in the 1851 census in Sevenoaks or Kent, although he appears in later censuses at Sevenoaks. There are Fosters living in Leigh, but not with the initial ‘H’, but there is a Henry Foster living a Poundsbridge in the 1851 census, aged 25 and a farmer. In 1841 there is a Thomas Rogers (aged 15) living with his parents and by 1851, aged 28, he is a railway labourer at Hastings, but there is also a Thomas Rogers, aged 25, living at Sevenoaks in 1841 and by 1851 he is 36, married and a grocer. In the 1851 census there is a William Martin, a labourer born Penshurst and living in Penshurst, who is aged 39, and married.
A Lockyer, R Dean, A Arnold, T Blackwell are not found in the 1841 or 1851 census for the area.
Chris Rowley/Joyce Field (Parish Mag articles June/July 2021)
Sources: Cricket in Leigh by Nigel Shaw; Lawrence Biddle “Leigh in Kent 1550-1900” and various family history research sites on-line.