A HISTORY OF HERTFORDSHIRE 



27, 28, 1825, participating on the side of 

 Harrow against Winchester. He was noted 

 as a hard hitter, especially on the leg side. 

 He played at Lord's for the Gentlemen of 

 England against the Players of England in 

 1836 and 1839. Three of his brothers, the 

 Hon. E. H., Hon. F. S. and Hon. R. Grim- 

 ston were likewise capital cricketers. 



Mr. Robert Allan Fitzgerald was for many 

 years honorary secretary of the M.C.C. He 

 first appeared at Lord's on the side of Har- 

 row v. Winchester, July 28, 29, 30, 1852. 

 He was a very powerful hitter, and on one 

 occasion at Lord's he hit a ball over the 

 tennis court right out of the ground. He 

 was exceedingly popular. He was the author 

 of Jerks in from Short Leg and Wickets in the 

 West, and went with the first English team 

 to America. 



In May, 1876, a keenly contested match 

 between East Hertfordshire and West Hert- 

 fordshire was played at Hitchin, East Hert- 

 fordshire winning by the narrow margin of 

 i wicket. For East Herts the veteran John 

 Hughes bowled splendidly, while W. Hearn 

 in the second innings of East Herts played a 

 capital innings of 88. In the return fixture 

 on Hartland Common in June of the same 

 year there was again a most evenly contested 

 match. Each innings of the two sides 

 amounted to 160 and odd runs, the totals 

 being West Herts, 1st innings, 166 ; 2nd 

 innings, 166 ; East Herts, ist innings, 165 ; 

 2nd innings, 161 ; West Herts proving 

 victorious by 6 runs. 



For West Herts T. Pearce played a not 

 out ist innings of 80, while on the side of 

 East Herts the brothers Messrs. C. Pigg and 

 H. Pigg were seen to advantage. A few 

 facts anent three veteran Hertfordshire pro- 

 fessionals may here be appended. 



Edwin Goodyear was a noted local cele- 

 brity. He was born at Markyate Street, near 

 Dunstable, October 18, 1836. He was a 

 capital all round exponent, a good round arm 

 bowler, bat and wicket keeper. In a match 

 played on Boxmoor in August, 1871, between 

 Hemel Hempstead and the St. Mary's Club 

 he scored in his only innings 235 runs. 



John Hughes, the famous Hertford 'old 

 pipe maker,' was one of the pioneers of Herts 

 cricket. He was born at Hertford in 1825. 

 In the ' fifties ' he was the best slow bowler 

 in the county. Possibly one of his best bowl- 

 ing performances was in the United South of 

 England v. Twenty-two of St. Albans, Sep- 

 tember 4, 1865. In the 2nd innings of 

 the United South he actually, with the first 

 three balls delivered, dismissed Tom Hum- 

 phrey, E. Pooley and Harry Jupp. Hughes 



was presented with a public testimonial at the 

 Dunstable Arms, at Hertford, September 29, 

 1865, consisting of a silver watch and gold 

 chain and a purse of sixty-three sovereigns. 

 The watch bears the following inscription 

 ' Presented, with a purse of money raised 

 by subscription, to John Hughes in recog- 

 nition of his services in promoting the 

 game of cricket in Herts, and as a mark 

 of the subscribers' esteem, September 27, 

 1865.' 



On June 7, 1890, a match was played for 

 his benefit at Bishop Stortford, when an 

 Eleven of England contended against Four- 

 teen of Hertfordshire. 



Thomas Albert Pearce was a cricketer of 

 repute. He was born at Essendon in Herts, 

 May ii, 1847. He played frequently for 

 Herts in the 'sixties.' In 1874 in a local 

 fixture between Hitchin and St. Albans he 

 was credited with an innings of 200 not out, 

 while in 1882 at St. Albans against a strong 

 touring club he hit an innings of 215. A 

 match was played for his benefit at Hertford, 

 August 21, 1889, between Hertfordshire and 

 Norfolk. In 1881 Pearce scored an innings 

 of 101 for Herts v. Essex. 



Frank Silcock in the ' sixties ' too was a 

 crack Hertfordshire player. He was born at 

 Sawbridgeworth, October 2, 1838. Sub- 

 sequently he became identified with Essex 

 cricket. His cousin, Joseph Silcock, was also 

 a capital player in local cricket, especially in 

 the Stortford district. In 1865 the members 

 of the Bishop Stortford Club presented him 

 with a silver cup of the value of twenty 

 guineas and a purse of twenty-five sovereigns. 

 The brothers Joseph and W. Westell also 

 assisted Herts in matches of note in the early 

 days, while another brother, W. T. Westell, 

 for Herts v. Essex in 1883, played a grand 

 innings of 188. 



Subsequently V. A. Titchmarsh and W. 

 Hearn did a great deal to improve Herts 

 cricket. 



V. A. Titchmarsh commenced cricket as 

 an amateur, but in 1880 appeared as a pro- 

 fessional. In the Hertfordshire v. Essex 

 match at Hitchin, June 27, 1877, he obtained 

 15 wickets including all ten in the first inn- 

 ings. He accepted an engagement on the 

 ground staff at Lord's in 1885, and in 1901 

 was one of the M.C.C. official umpires. 



William Hearn of late years has been 

 better known as a famous umpire. He was 

 a native of Hertfordshire, and played his first 

 match at Lord's for Herts v. M.C.C. in 

 May, 1870. He was born at Essendon near 

 Hatfield in 1849. In local matches he fre- 

 quently scored heavily. For the county in 



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