A HISTORY OF SURREY 



and a cheery old soul to the last, John Bowyer 

 has been immortalized by a loving biographer, 

 the late Mr. F. Gale (the 'Old Buffer'). 

 In iSiohe represented the Bs against England, 

 and until 1836 he was one of the bright 

 particular stars of Mitcham cricket. About 

 the middle of the last century Mitcham was 

 again well represented by a trio of excellent 

 aU-round cricketers in John Bayley and the 

 two Sewells, William and Tom. There 

 was a fourth, of hardly less ability, in Hay- 

 ward, grandfather of Thomas Hayward, the 

 celebrated player of to-day, a Mitcham man 

 bom and bred. The Mitcham Club just 

 at that period had a liberal and keen sup- 

 porter in Mr. Charles Hoare, the treasurer 

 of the Surrey County Cricket Club for 

 several years. His era brought to light 

 useful cricketers of the stamp of Tom Sher- 

 man, who is still alive, and Fred Harwood, 

 one of the main stays of the village team for 

 some fifteen years. Another generation saw 

 T. SeweU, junior, Tom Humphrey and J. 

 Heartfield worthily representing Mitcham 

 in the higher world of cricket. Richard 

 Humphrey, who belonged to the early seven- 

 ties, and G. Jones, were two players who did 

 the county good service, trained on Mitcham 

 Green when Mr. F. Gale was the moving 

 spirit of the village club. On 18 June 1870, 

 a match was played against the Civil Service 

 for the benefit of John Bowyer, who attained 

 his eightieth birthday that day. John 

 Bowyer had played on Mitcham Green six 

 months before the Battle of Trafalgar, Nelson 

 and Lady Hamilton being present. With 

 the commencement of the eighties Mr. Gale 

 handed over the management to Mr. W. W. 

 Thompson, and another race of Mitcham 

 cricketers arose to do good service for the 

 county. Among them was Tom Richardson, 

 the greatest fast bowler beyond doubt of the 

 end of the century ; players of useful calibre 

 like Mr. A. F. Clarke, who kept wicket for 

 Surrey for a time ; Mr. T. P. Harvey, an 

 excellent player, who would have made a 

 name had he been able to play first-class 

 cricket regularly ; and Strudwick, whom the 

 county considers the best wicket-keeper in 

 England. Particularly fortunate in the pos- 

 session of a succession of enthusiasts like 

 Messrs. C. H. Hoare, F. Gale, and W. W. 

 Thompson, the management of Mitcham 

 Club since Mr. Thompson's retirement in 

 the middle of the nineties has been a difficult 

 office for others to fill. On the other hand, 

 the * old order ' of cricket has been changing 

 during the last few years, and village cricket 

 has suffered as much as, if not more than, 

 any other type. Still, Mitcham vnU always 



stand out as one of the brightest and most 

 interesting stars in the Surrey cricket con- 

 stellation. 



One of the oldest clubs still playing an 

 important part in Surrey cricket, the Reicate 

 Priory celebrated its jubilee in 1902, having 

 been founded in November, 1852. It has 

 done its part as a nursery for county players. 

 William Caffyn often played for it, in its early 

 days. It was for this club that another 

 world-renowned county cricketer, Mr. W. 

 W. Read, when quite a boy, played his fint 

 match, that against Tunbridge Wells. James 

 Nightingale, who represented the county 

 once or twice, and his brothers, were from 

 the . commencement among the members, 

 active in its administration as well as on the 

 field, and it is not too much to say that the 

 success of the club in the early part of its 

 career was in a great measure due to the 

 Nightingale family. Of other Surrey 

 cricketers who learned the game on the 

 Reigate Priory ground were Mr. W. Kellick 

 Cumberlege and Mr. E. C. Hanbury, both 

 of whom assisted Surrey on a few occasions. 

 Some years ago a cricket week was held 

 annually under the auspices of the club, in 

 which several of the best players of the day 

 took part. In the week of 1892 Mr. G. 

 Brann of Sussex, playing for sixteen of 

 Reigate against Mr. W. W. Read's XI, did 

 a remarkable piece of hitting, scoring 58 in 

 3 overs. After this the week was discontinued, 

 but it has been revived, and 1902 saw the 

 first of what it is hoped may prove a pro- 

 longed series. 



Horsham, Tunbridge Wells, M.C.C. and 

 G., Surrey C. and G., Eastbourne, Petworth, 

 Brighton, Wimbledon, Croydon, Dorking 

 and several other of the leading clubs of 

 Surrey, Kent and Sussex have at different 

 times been numbered amongst the oppo- 

 nents of Reigate Priory. The club has been 

 fortunate in having had the same ground 

 throughout its career. The Priory Ground, 

 which is held on lease from Lady Somerset, 

 is in the very heart of Reigate, and though 

 on the small side has a high reputation for 

 the excellence of its wicket. 



The present Richmond Club only came 

 into existence in 1861. Its first pitch was 

 on the Green, and we can recall cricket and 

 football there played by the Richmond Club 

 about that time. The Green before long 

 was abandoned, by cricketers at all events, 

 and the next scene shows the club in occupa- 

 tion of a part of the older Deer Park, close 

 to the Richmond Green entrance. There 

 it stayed for a short time preparatory to its 

 last move, which was to its present quarters 



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