On September 2nd 1782 the Sussex Weekly Advertiser published a brief report reading as follows:

"On Friday sennight, a game of cricket which had been depending for three days, between eleven gentlemen of Tunbridge Wells and eleven gentlemen of Groombridge, ended in favour of the latter, who won the game by four notches only".

It is this match which is now being celebrated by the Groombridge Cricket Club two hundred years later. A typewritten note from an unidentified source states that it was played in Groombridge on 21, 22 and 23 August, 1782, but the names of the players are long lost and forgotten. The word 'depending' in the original newspaper report might at first sight suggest a delay of three days before play began, perhaps due to bad weather or because the teams were not ready, but its use in this context probably indicates a match which went on for three days. The word 'sennight', literally meaning seven nights, confirms the fact that it took place late in August. In 1782, scoring was still being done by cutting 'notches' on tally-sticks, but the earliest known score-cards had already been printed in 1776 by Pratt, scorer to the Sevenoaks Vine Club.

It is a fair assumption that the match in 1782 had a strong financial, as well as sporting interest, for those who took part in it. The late l8th century was an age of heavy gambling, when wealthy patrons of cricket picked their own teams and challenged others for high stakes. In July 1782 shortly before the Groombridge match, a side representing Kent was raised by the third Duke of Dorset, John Frederick Sackvile of Knole and matched by him against an All England team for a stake of a thousand guineas, a large sum in those days. The game was played at Sevenoaks Vine and the Duke won his wager. This example may well have inspired the gentleman of Groombridge and Tunbridge Wells to arrange their own contest which shows that cricket must already have been well established in both places.

These challenge matches remind us that sponsorship is no novelty in cricket, although the private patron has since been wiped out by taxation and replaced by commercial backers. Just as the rich prizes offered by modern sponsorship have had some bad effects on the spirit in which the game is played, so did the betting on matches in the old days often leading to public brawls and even lawsuits. The lack of any generally accepted rules caused much of the trouble.

Changes of Cricket

The game itself has, of course, seen many changes since those earlier times. The gentlemen players in 1782 would have been dressed in three-cornered hats, sometimes trimmed with gold or silver lace, nankeen or cotton breeches, frilly shirts, silk stockings and silver buckled shoes, but the teams may well have included estate workers and other village cricketers who were more poorly clad. The pitches were still rough and uneven, lacking the mechanical means of improving them which have since evolved.

The first recorded laws of cricket were made in 1744 but their application showed many regional variations. They were revised in 1774 by a committee which met in London and produced new laws which have since remained the basic framework for the game. Up to that year it was still the common practice to have only two stumps at each end with a single bail across them. A hole was cut between the stumps and used to decide whether a batsman was run out. If a wicket keeper or bowler could get the ball into the hole before the bat was grounded in it, the batsman was out. Both these features had serious drawbacks which provoked much discontent and ill-feeling as the popularity of cricket increased. The gap between the stumps was wide enough to allow a good straight ball to go clean through without upsetting the ball, and this happened often enough to make bowlers foam at the mouth and utter many strange oaths, while the crowds cheered or booed. Secondly the batsman's efforts to ground his bat in the hole before the wicketkeeper or bowler could put the ball into it caused many injuries and no doubt elicited some equally picturesque language. No proper pads or gloves were introduced until about 1836, although primitive leg guards made of wood had previously appeared.

Under the new laws of 1774, the hole between wickets was abolished and replaced by a popping-crease cut into the turf, but no whitewash marking was used until 1860 even at Lord's. In 1775, the number of stumps was increased from two to three, which gave batsmen more reason to block the ball than let it go past them but the old bats shaped like hockey sticks with curved ends were too clumsy for that purpose. This encouraged the change to a more modern pattern. The old bats weighed about four pounds and cane handles only appeared in about 1853, followed by rubber grips in 1880. In 1900 the Groombridge Club was still buying left-hand as well as right-hand bats. In 1782 there were no set boundaries and batsmen were allowed to hit the ball as far as they could and go on running until it was returned to the wicket, which might take even longer if a shrewd blow deposited it in a bed of nettles or a heap of manure. Long-stop was the most important position on the field for saving runs and two of them were often posted.

In 1782, the bowling was still under-arm but bowlers were no longer restricted to the old 'daisy cutters' skimming the ground and could bowl to a length in the air. When some bowlers started using round-arm delivery, it was at first condemned as 'throwing' and foul play, often no-balled by umpires and even causing public riots. In 1828, however, the M.C.C. allowed bowlers to raise their hands level (with the elbow, adding a condition in 1835 that the hand was not to be above the shoulder. This did not stop the rise in the bowler's arm, despite much opposition and 'over-arm' bowling was finally legalised in 1864. The first rudimentary LEW rule was introduced in the laws of 1774 but umpires seem to have found it as difficult to interpret, and as unpopular, as they do with more modern versions. The first recorded dismissal by this means did not occur until 1795.

Groombridge Cricket Club

The date when the Club was started is not known and there is a similar lack of information about its early years. The oldest surviving minute book only begins in 1891 (although the Club was certainly in existence many years earlier) and probably kept records which have since been lost or destroyed. There is a brief note of a match against Speldhurst in 1875 which describes it as 'a poor game' without further comment. In those bygone days many village cricketers must have lacked the time, the inclination or the education to make written accounts of their doings for future historians and were content to pass on their memories by word of mouth over a pint of ale. One 'oldest inhabitant' of Groombridge remembered playing for the Club in 1884 and was convinced that it had already been active for a long time, but exactly how long none can tell.

It is certainly true to say that in Groombridge, as in many other villages, the formation of cricket clubs must have been greatly encouraged by the support of local gentry, parsons and school masters who themselves took a strong personal interest in the game. The foundation of the Lewes Priory Club in 1831 had its earlier roots in a match played in 1763 between the Gentlemen of Lewes and those of Uckfield and Ifield. Similarly, the Gentlemen of Groombridge who played against Tunbridge Wells in 1782, and their successors, must have supported the creation of a club in their own village. It may have taken some time before this was achieved and one can only hazard a guess at a date somewhere between 1800 and 1830.

Grounds

Information about the grounds used for cricket in Groombridge is more solidly based. It is an established fact that in 1891, when the existing Club minutes begin, the home matches were already being played on Quarter-Mile Field, Groombridge Place, by permission of the Misses Elizabeth and Lousia Saint. They were the unmarried daughters of the Reverend John James Saint, Rector of Speldhurst, and inherited the estate after his death in 1889. It seems likely that he had already allowed the Club to use his field for a number of years during his own lifetime, but the course of village cricket, like that of true love, never runs smooth. In February 1891, the Misses Saint declined a request from the Cricket Club to rent Quarter-Mile Field, though they allowed it to be used for matches in 1892 and were thanked for providing tea. They also offered to reserve the ground entirely for Club use and agreed that the Boys Club should only be allowed to play there with the Club's consent.

Also in 1891, the Club asked the Misses Saint for permission to use the top part of Chapel Field for practice and the Club minutes for that year show a payment of £1 to the practice grounds man. The fact remains that the negotiations for renting Quarter-Mile Field broke down, probably owing to difficulties on both sides. The Club was looking for the security of an assured long-term tenure, while the Misses Saint were not prepared to accept a rental agreement, perhaps because they did not want to be tied down or feared that it might encourage trespassing and disorderly conduct on their land.

With the loss of Quarter-Mile Field, the Club embarked on a nomadic existence. In February 1891 Mr Tompsett received a vote of thanks for letting his field be used for practice and in May 1892 Mr Luxford offered the use of a practice ground free of charge but as a substitute for paying his Club subscription! The Club gave him a shilling for returning a cricket ball found in his field by one of his workmen. In 1893 three matches were played on 'Mr Betchley's field from the end of the orchard to across the river'. A condition was added a year later stipulating that matches must be played either in June or after the outfield grass had been cut. The Club also made a rule that any member entering the cricket field by other means than the gate would be suspended for seven days. In 1895, by which time Caleb Russell had taken over the field from Betchley, he let it to the Club for a rent of £3 and a committee was appointed to carry out improvements which included draining and filling up a ditch, fencing off the cricket ground from the rest of the field and putting wire netting along the side of the river.

There was trouble in 1898 when Caleb Russell wanted the grass for his horses and asked the Club to fence in the pitch. The expense was too much, coming on top of the field improvement costs, but the Club agreed to increase the rent to £5 on condition that Russell prevented his horses from damaging the pitch "more than necessary", a weak phrase suggesting that Russell had the whip-hand. In 1896 the Club paid £6 for the use of the whole ground and the exclusion of Russell's horses and in 1897 his sheep were allowed to graze there for a payment of ten shillings. In May that year, Russell let the field for a celebration of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee without asking for the Cricket Club's agreement or taking into account the damage which might be done to the ground. Nor were tempers improved when, in 1899, Caleb Russell let his horses loose in the field after it had been prepared for a match and members of the Cricket Club made angry protests. This must have been the last straw for the Club, which then rented Mill Field until 1903, when it was again driven out by damage to the ground from horses, this time belonging to the miller.

One can easily imagine the frustrations and loss of morale suffered by the Club members in their search for a new ground, coupled with the hard work and expense of improving it, only to lose it after a few years because the owner wanted to graze his animals on it or use the grass for hay. By 1904 the Club was facing a serious threat to its survival. The disheartened members had lost hope to such an extent that only seven attended the Annual General Meeting that year and it was decided to suspend activities till further notice. Then they were resumed only two years later in 1906. It was largely due to the untiring efforts of Owen Russell, the Groombridge schoolmaster, who continued to render great services to the Cricket Club in the dual capacity of Captain and Secretary from 1906 to 1925. He i& reputed to have stood no nonsense in the classroom and to have used the cane, when necessary, with vigour which would shock modern parents who spoil their children at home and then complain if and when they are punished for bad behaviour at school. He was also active in many local causes and much respected as a man always ready to give help when needed.

Under his leadership the search for another ground was energetically pursued despite new setbacks. Mr Killick could not let the Mill Field because he needed it for his bullocks. The Misses Saint had no ground available for cricket, having chosen to let their fields for other purposes. Mr Fisher could offer no field except one which was full of molehills. In 1906 a field in Sluts Green was rented from Mr Perkins of Corseley Farm for an annual payment of two pounds ten shillings. The Club also paid five shillings to put up a stile. Mrs Milburn was afraid of cricket balls being hit into her garden and the Club agreed to reserve the ground for members only and to situate the pitch as far away as possible from the lady's roses. After all that the Sluts Green field proved too rough and dry for matches and could only be used for practice. In 1906 and 1907 matches were played on Messrs Neves Nursery Field for a rent of two guineas and "after the hay had been carted".

In 1908 Mr Goodwin's Tanyard Field in Sherlock's Farm was rented, and in that year the Club membership numbered fifty-one, no mean figure for a comparatively small village and one which showed a striking recovery from the low point of 1904. But in 1910 Mr Goodwin's farm was taken over by Mr Southwood, who wanted to keep the Tanyard Field for hay. The Club protested, naturally enough in view of the work and expense incurred in preparing the field for cricket and Southwood accepted a compromise whereby the Club undertook to maintain the square in good condition but could not play matches until the outfield hay had been gathered. The Club also had to pay Southwood an extra £1 for the hay that he would have had from the pitch.

In 1914, on the eve of the First World War, the Groombridge Club enjoyed what was described as a record season, winning 12 matches, drawing 2 and setting up a record first-wicket stand of 144 between Owen Russell and F.D. Heath on the Neville Ground in Tunbridge Wells. For Russell in particular, this must have come as a fitting reward for his many years of service to the Club.

The war stopped cricket in Groombridge from 1915-18, and when it ended the Club again faced a critical situation. It had no ground and only 28½d cash in hand. The Tanyard field was required by Mr Southwood for hay, as was the Mill field used by the Cricket Club from 1899 to 1903 and subsequently taken over by Mr Watson. Two players had been killed in action and several wounded. One player had won a Military Cross while another a Military Medal with bar. The task of post-war recovery was tackled with the same determination and will to survive which had inspired the Club's earlier revival in 1906. The main objective was clearly the acquisition of a new ground which would serve as a long-term home, avoiding the costly chopping and changing of earlier years. In 1919 all matches were played away but in that same year the Club asked the new owner of Groombridge Place, Mr Henry Saint, who had inherited it in 1918 after the death of his aunt, Miss Elizabeth Saint, for permission to use a field adjoining the railway station. Mr Saint was willing to accept this proposal and also to allow £16 for clearing the ground, sowing it and repairing the fence. The ground had suffered much damage from its wartime occupation by Canadian army loggers. Mr Saint could not guarantee the security of tenure which the Club desired, for reasons which were soon apparent. He lived in Australia and served with the Australian forces during the 1914-18 war. He now decided to return to Australia and sold Groombridge Place to Mr H.S. Mountain. Fortunately for the Cricket Club, the new owner appreciated its difficulties and in January 1921, he granted it a long-term tenure of the field by the railway station at a nominal rent and on condition that it was reserved exclusively for use by the Club and there would be no trespassing in the Park by the general public. The Club undertook to prepare the ground for cricket by filling in two ditches, removing trees and re-seeding, levelling and laying the turf. It was agreed that "Mr Mountain's carter would pull the roller up with a horse then the workers could return it downhill". The horse is long gone, but the slope remains.

The task of renovation made such rapid progress that the new ground was opened in July 1921, with a match against Withyham which Groombridge won by eighteen runs. Their opening batsmen, very appropriately, were Mr S.W. Mountain, whose father had so generously presented the ground, and the evergreen Owen Russell. By a happy chance, Mr Mountain scored the first run and also took the first wicket. During the Second World War from 1939-45, play was suspended and the ground was used as an artillery park, thus again suffering extensive damage. The Club faced this familiar problem with its usual determination, enabling play to be resumed in 1946 after the square had been re-laid and improvements made to the drainage. By 1966, however, the drainage was again in poor condition and a campaign was organised to raise funds for ground improvement and the building of a new pavilion. The Groombridge Cricket Club had no pavilion until 1920 and previously used a tent put up and taken down by a worker who was paid thirty shillings a season. The appeal for money to pay the costs of ground improvements raised a sum of £2,000, mainly from village contributions which included fifty pence from the part time earnings of a young schoolboy and were supplemented by a grant of £75 from the Sussex Branch of the National Playing Fields Association.

The success of the fund raising campaign was largely due to the work of an Appeal Committee consisting of the Club President, Mr R.W. Card, Mr Frank Manktelow and Mr Gwyn Bartlett, landlord of the Crown Inn. Mr Bartlett was Vice-President of the Groombridge Cricket Club for many years and also he took a keen interest in Glamorgan County Cricket. He was also a Vice-President of the London Welsh Rugby Football Club. His death in 1977 was a sad loss for Groombridge cricket and indeed for the whole village. As a tribute to his memory a new score box was added to the front -of the new pavilion and opened at a match against Cowden in June 1978.

By that time, thanks to the money raised by the Appeal Fund, the whole ground had been professionally re-drained, the outfield ploughed, levelled and re-seeded and a new pavilion erected. On 5 June 1971 a Jubilee match of twelve-a-side was played there between a Groombridge team and one raised by the Club President, Mr R.W. Card, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the inaugural match in 1921 and the opening of the new pavilion. Mr S.W. Mountain unfortunately could not attend owing to illness, but the President's side included George Philcox then aged 67, who in his youth played for Withyham in the match against Groombridge which opened the new ground in 1921, and Frank Manktelow, whose father played for Groombridge on that earlier occasion. The Present's side won the Jubilee match by fifty-five runs. Although the Cricket Club is now well established in its field next to the railway station, it has had to cope with some new problems peculiar to modern times. In 1949 rates were levied on it for the first time including a demand for two years arrears. This was strongly resisted, but finally accepted under duress in 1953 after the assessment had been reduced by half. Land Tax also became payable in 1949 until its abolition in such cases. In 1953, the Club was threatened with a County Court action for the cost of repairing gang mowers hired for use on the ground, but this was settled out of court for £75. The money was raised by a jumble sale, a dance and contributions from the Club's Vice-presidents and other supporters, leaving a balance of £25 which was used to buy an old Fordson tractor to haul the gang mowers. The driver received a standing order for two pints of beer at the Junction Hotel. Bert Reed cut the outfield with gang-mowers from 1949 to 1956.

Fixtures

The fixture list was long decided by challenges issued to, or received from other local clubs and approved at the Annual General Meeting. In 1891, for example challenges were sent to Rotherfield, Forest Row, Edenbridge Town and Speldhurst and received from Fordcombe and Mayfield. Edenbridge failed to appear for their game at Groombridge that year and were asked to pay for their share of lunch at the Junction Hotel, which then cost two shillings and sixpence a head. History does not relate whether they paid up or not! The price certainly seems modest compared with modern charges, but it was still a considerable expense for a village cricket club which was often hard pushed to make both ends meet. Another unfortunate incident occurred in 1910, when Groombridge played Cowden and some adverse comments on the Groombridge umpire were quoted in a local paper. The Cowden club made an apology which was no doubt accepted in the same spirit and friendly relations were restored thereafter.

Before the motoring era the choice of away matches were largely confined to places within easy travelling distance and the teams went by horse-drawn transport and later by train when the railway came in. The old fixture lists show a remarkably large number of local cricket clubs in a small area. They included in different years Crowborough, Langton, Withyham, Hartfield, Fordcombe, Blackham, Ashurst, Maresfield, Eridge, Rusthall, Tunbridge Wells 11, Weekes Store in Tunbridge Wells, Cowden and Tunbridge Wells Butchers. The Groombridge Club started presenting prizes in 1895 for the best batting and bowling averages, and a trophy for the best fielding performance is also awarded each season. Since 1948, the Club has fielded a Sunday XI as we.1.1 as the Saturday team. In 1968, a junior team was organised by Mr W.D. Leckonby and has since played matches when there were enough boys wanting to take part. Other local clubs joined in.

Since 1962, an annual knock-out competition has been held at Hartfield between eight local village teams, including Groombridge. This is a one-day marathon contest usually ending in twilight and the competition therefore takes place on the Sunday nearest the longest summer day. The tournament is a splendid example of the robust but sporting spirit in which village cricket is still played between old rivals, in contrast with some less admirable displays at higher levels. It attracts an enthusiastic crowd of supporters both from neighbouring villages and from farther a field. Groombridge have won the tournament twice and been runners up in four other years.

One or two other matches may be singled out here for special mention. On August Bank Holiday in 1947, Groombridge played Horley at home and the visitors, batting first, scored 153. In reply, Groombridge had made only 54 for 9 and faced a crushing defeat when G. Robson and E. Austen added 96 for the last wicket and came within 4 runs of a dramatic victory before Robson was bowled for 53. Still closer was a match against Ashurst in the early 1960s, also played at Groombridge when the home side were all out for 24. Batting for Ashurst, Don Tester junior hit 10 off 2 overs and it looked all over, but some remarkable bowling and fielding enabled Groombridge to dismiss Ashurst for 23.

It is even recorded that Groombridge once played a match against the M.C.C. and won by an innings, but sadly these famous initials did not stand for the illustrious headquarters of the game, but denoted the Mercantile Credit Company. It must still have been a memorable occasion. While Groombridge were batting, a collection was taken from the spectators and during the half hour in which the box went round, John Walters scored a century and finished with 126, a performance worthy of comparison with Ian Botham in more recent times.

Distinguished Services

No village cricket club, nor indeed any other kind of voluntary association, can long survive without a hard core of devoted members who give up their spare time to undertake the essential tasks of administration, ground maintenance, fund raising, fixture lists and management in general. The Groombridge Club has been fortunate in attracting many such loyal helpers over the years, but within this limited space it is only possible to mention a few by name. The fact that the existing Club Minutes only began in 1891 makes it even harder to do justice to those who served in earlier times. Some of those who helped the Club to overcome critical periods in more distant days have already been mentioned, but there are others who call for special mention such as Dr. Wallis, for example, who was Honorary Treasurer from 1878 to 1924. Bert Comper, who began his association with the Club in 1900, served on the Committee and was a much respected umpire until his retirement in 1954. P.R. Bennett, President from 1948-58, took a leading part in restoring the cricket ground in 1946 after its wartime damage and gave both practical advice and financial help.

Much of the hard work needed to renovate the ground was done by Dicky Flawn, Darkle Austin, Ginger Hudson and Bert Ashdown, helped by Mr Couchman and his two sons. The mowing was done by William Jenner Senior and Walter Holman, a committee member from 1907 to 1946. Noel Burr, Honorary Secretary from 1957-64 also rendered great services as Honorary grounds man and kept the field in immaculate condition, especially after the re-seeding and re-turfing carried out in 1969. He was an artful batsman who scored many of his runs by 'nudging' and 'glancing' the fast bowlers. George Howell was a very capable fast bowler and a popular character whose premature death in 1966 was a sad loss both to Groombridge cricket and to his many friends in the village. The late Jack Litchfield, Honorary Treasurer from 1949-1968, took a leading part in the Club's activities. A special tribute is due to Frank Manktelow for his outstanding services to the Club since 1951 both as a captain and as the chairman from 1963 to 1981.

Let us also salute the cheerful and unfailing support given by the wives, daughters and sisters of members, whose help does not always receive the attention it merits. They have maintained the reputation of Groombridge cricket off the field by providing teas of an excellence admired and envied in many parts of Sussex.

It is this loyal band of helpers, past and present, whose efforts have sustained the Cricket Club through all seasons. Their names may fade into the mists of time, but their work has created its own lasting memorial and one which should serve as an example and an inspiration in the years to come.

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank those have assisted him in collecting material for this pamphlet. He is especially indebted to Mr W.D. Leckonby for his Co-operation and to Mr B.G. Brocklehurst for giving him access to books describing the history and development of cricket.