A HISTORY OF SURREY 



creased, and for many years Tooting has been 

 able to put a good all-round eleven into the 

 field. Some few years it was able to include 

 in its programme matches against the Free 

 Foresters, Uppingham Rovers, and several 

 of the public schools, e.g. Rugby, Clifton, 

 Marlborough, Cheltenham, and Haileybury. 

 Circumstances have latterly prevented the 

 schools continuing their Metropolitan fix- 

 tures, but the card is still of an attractive 

 character, containing matches against the 

 principal London Clubs, Streatham, Becken- 

 ham, Kensington Park, Surbiton, Wimbledon, 

 with the Blue Mantles, and others. In the 

 course of its history Upper Tooting has 

 reckoned among its members many cricketers 

 who have played for their Universities or 

 counties. The chief names that occur in 

 this connection will be T. W. Weeding, who, 

 in the sixties, represented Surrey on a few 

 occasions ; W. E. Roller, one of the best 

 all-round players Surrey has ever had, came 

 direct into the county eleven from the club ; 

 F. Lee of Cambridge University eleven, 

 who played a few matches for Surrey in the 

 sixties ; W. H. Lipscombe of the Oxford 

 eleven, who captained the club for some 

 years ; H. C. L. Tindall, the holder of the 

 quarter-mile record, who has played for 

 Sussex ; and of recent years D. H. Butcher, 

 an occasional player for Surrey, and L. V. 

 Harper, a son of the present President, 

 Sydney Harper of the Cambridge Uni- 

 versity eleven of 1901, and a cricketer likely 

 to be of great use to the county. 



The Wimbledon Cricket Club has 

 attained its jubilee. It was founded 

 on 20 May 1854, principally through the 

 exertions of Messrs. Devas, the first Presi- 

 dent, P. Hathaway, E. D. Holroyd, and J. 

 S. Oliphant, and numbered at the outset 

 fifty-six members. Particularly fortunate 

 in its early oflicers, under the energetic 

 direction of Mr. J. S. Oliphant, who occupied 

 the position of Hon. Secretary till 1859, 

 and subsequently of Mr. F. W. Oliver, holder 

 of the double office of Captain and Hon. 

 Secretary for many years, the Wimbledon 

 C.C. in a few years became quite one of the 

 most popular clubs round London. Its 

 first ground was on Wimbledon Common, 

 an excellent pitch, which answered every 

 purpose for thirty-five years. Under the 

 captaincy of Mr. F. W. Oliver, Wimbledon 

 prospered greatly ; indeed, the value of his 

 services cannot possibly be over-estimated. 

 As an all-round player he was much above 

 the average; as Captain he understood every 

 turn of the game, and as Secretary his loving 

 interest was best illustrated by his con- 



tributions to cricket history in the shape of 

 the volume he published in 1871, giving the 

 full scores of the club matches from 1854 

 to 1870. The Wimbledon Club retained 

 its original pitch on the Common until the 

 end of 1889, when opportunity occurred of 

 acquiring the present ground in Wimbledon 

 Park. The disadvantages of an unenclosed 

 match ground had been for some time much 

 in evidence, and the Park site was indeed 

 immediately secured. So satisfied were the 

 executive wdth their new abiding place that 

 the freehold was purchased in 1899. Of 

 the earlier members the best-known players 

 were Messrs. F. W. Oliver and W. J. Collyer, 

 two of the original committee, and G. P. 

 Greenfield, aU of whom played for Surrey; 

 T. A. Rayne of Sussex, F. C. Greenfield of 

 the Free Foresters, and for four years Hon. 

 Secretary of the Wisps, another of the first 

 committee. Later on came the old Harrovian 

 S. W. Gore, and the old Brightonian, 

 Rev. A. T. Scott, who played for Cam- 

 bridge University in 1870 and 1871, W. 

 E. Martyn, C. W. Aston Key, W. Holland, 

 E. W. Reeves, D. Forde and B. Hay Cooper. 

 All of these were regular players in their 

 respective generations. As a proof of the 

 camaraderie which prevailed, it may be stated 

 that when the club moved from the Common 

 to its present quarters in 1899 four of the 

 original members of 1854 still belonged 

 to the club. Another interesting fact 

 worthy of mention, is that the club pos- 

 sessed a member who played for thirty- 

 three years consecutively and was not out at 

 the finish. 



It would hardly be possible to find any- 

 where in the neighbourhood a prettier 

 situation than the home of the Wimbledon 

 Club. The ground, which has two pavilions 

 and a cottage for the caretaker, has also 

 several lawn tennis courts and a bowling 

 green ; it is one of the best as a cricket pitch. 

 The programme generally includes matches 

 with Marylebone Club and Ground, Surrey 

 Club and Ground, Esher, Oatlands Park, 

 Leatherhead, Surbiton, Streatham, Upper 

 Tooting and EweU among others. In suc- 

 cession to Mr. F. W. Oliver, E. Oliver, E. 

 W. Reeve, Sid. Christopherson, W. E. 

 Martyn, H. Lomas, and Bernard Hay Cooper, 

 the last of whom holds the position at the 

 commencement of the century, have acted 

 as Honorary Secretaries. 



SCHOOLS 



Cranleigh School was founded in 1865, 

 and cricket has been part and parcel of the 



542 



