1766 English cricket season
Encyclopedia
The 1766 English cricket season is a season about which little is known.

On Thurs 6 February, Robert Bartholomew
Robert Bartholomew (cricketer)
Robert Bartholomew was an English cricketer in the mid-18th century. He played for Surrey in the 1750s and may well have been related to the Bartholomews who played for Chertsey Cricket Club in the 1770s....

 died . He had played for Surrey
Surrey county cricket teams
Surrey county cricket teams have been traced back to the 17th century but the county's involvement in cricket goes back much further than that. The first definite mention of cricket anywhere in the world is dated c.1550 in Guildford.-17th century:...

 in the 1750s and may have been related to the Bartholomews who played for Chertsey
Chertsey Cricket Club
Chertsey Cricket Club in Surrey is one of the oldest in England. Its own website dates its founding as 1737 but in fact matches involving a Chertsey team date from 1736....

 in the 1770s. He was the master of the Angel Inn at Islington
Islington
Islington is a neighbourhood in Greater London, England and forms the central district of the London Borough of Islington. It is a district of Inner London, spanning from Islington High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the area around the busy Upper Street...

 and also of White Conduit House.

Perhaps another nail in the coffin of the Artillery Ground
Artillery Ground
The Artillery Ground in Finsbury is one of London's most centrally located cricket grounds, situated just off the City Road immediately north of the City of London...

 when its latest keeper Mr Read died on Thurs 25 September . Like George Smith
George Smith (cricketer)
George Smith was an English cricketer and also the "keeper" of the Artillery Ground, which was cricket's main venue in London during the mid-Georgian period....

 before him, he was also the landlord of the Pyed Horse Inn.

Matches

Date Match Title Venue Result
c.19 June (Th) Sussex v Hampshire
Hampshire county cricket teams
Hampshire county cricket teams have been traced back to the 18th century but the county's involvement in cricket goes back much further than that...

 
venue unknown Hampshire won

This is the earliest reference to Hampshire as an individual county team. Whether the Hambledon Club
Hambledon Club
The Hambledon Club was a social club that is famous for its organisation of 18th century cricket matches. By the late 1770s it was the foremost cricket club in England.-Foundation:...

 was involved is unrecorded but presumably it was. Some historians believe it was at about this time that the club, as distinct from a parish organisation, was founded. After the first innings the odds were 40 to 1 against Hampshire.

Another source has recorded Tues 17 June as the date and has surmised that Goodwood
Goodwood Cricket Club
Goodwood Cricket Club is a Sunday village cricket team that play during the summer in the grounds of Goodwood Park, near Chichester. The ground overlooks Goodwood House and is owned by the Duke of Richmond and Gordon....

 was the venue but all that can be said for certain is that the Hampshire team won .
29 September (M) Bourne v Dartford
Dartford Cricket Club
Dartford Cricket Club is one of the oldest in England and its origins go back to the early 18th century, perhaps earlier.See also: Dartford Brent...

 
Bishopsbourne Paddock
Bishopsbourne Paddock
Bishopsbourne Paddock was a cricket ground at Bourne House, seat of Sir Horatio Mann, near Canterbury in Kent. It was a popular venue for first-class matches from 1766 to 1790.-Matches:...

result unknown

No details are known of the game apart from a mention in the Kentish Weekly Post.
8 October (W) Chertsey
Chertsey Cricket Club
Chertsey Cricket Club in Surrey is one of the oldest in England. Its own website dates its founding as 1737 but in fact matches involving a Chertsey team date from 1736....

 v Hambledon
Hambledon Club
The Hambledon Club was a social club that is famous for its organisation of 18th century cricket matches. By the late 1770s it was the foremost cricket club in England.-Foundation:...

 
Dartford Brent
Dartford Brent
Dartford Brent was an extensive area of common land on the outskirts of Dartford in Kent. In history, it was the scene of a confrontation between King Henry VI and Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York in 1452; and in 1555 thousands of spectators were to witness the burning to death at the stake of...

result unknown

The choice of Dartford Brent
Dartford Brent
Dartford Brent was an extensive area of common land on the outskirts of Dartford in Kent. In history, it was the scene of a confrontation between King Henry VI and Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York in 1452; and in 1555 thousands of spectators were to witness the burning to death at the stake of...

 as the venue for the Chertsey v Hambledon match seems strange as it was neutral.

External sources


Further reading

  • H S Altham
    Harry Altham
    Harry Surtees Altham, CBE, DSO, MC was an English cricketer who became an important figure in the game as an administrator, historian and coach. His Wisden obituary described him as "among the best known personalities in the world of cricket"...

    , A History of Cricket, Volume 1 (to 1914), George Allen & Unwin, 1962
  • Derek Birley
    Derek Birley
    Sir Derek Birley was an English educator and writer who had a strong interest in sport, especially cricket.He was educated at grammar school in Hemsworth, West Yorkshire, and at Queens' College, Cambridge University....

    , A Social History of English Cricket, Aurum, 1999
  • Rowland Bowen
    Rowland Bowen
    Major Rowland Francis Bowen was a cricket researcher, historian and writer....

    , Cricket: A History of its Growth and Development, Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1970
  • Ashley Mote
    Ashley Mote
    Ashley Mote was a non-inscrit Member of the European Parliament for South East England. An outspoken critic of fraud in the European Institutions, he himself was convicted of benefit fraud in 2007 for which he served a nine-month prison sentence and was described by the trial judge as "a truly...

    , The Glory Days of Cricket, Robson, 1997
  • David Underdown
    David Underdown
    David E. Underdown was a historian of 17th-century English politics and culture and Professor Emeritus at Yale University. Born at Wells, Somerset, Underdown was educated at the Blue School and Exeter College, Oxford...

    , Start of Play, Allen Lane, 2000
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