THE HISTORY OF BISHOPS WALTHAM CRICKET CLUB

Research in earnest has only just begun into the origins of the Club. However the earliest initial record found is of a fixture between New Alresford and the Club at Stephens Castle Green - now known as Down - on the 28th August, 1775. According to the Hampshire Observer New Alresford beat Bishop's Waltham with two given men by nine wickets. This was the first match lost by the Waltham cricketers in two years. At the time Alresford were considered to be the second best in Hampshire cricket to Hambledon who were accepted as second to none in England. Between 1772 and 1796 Hambledon had met All England sixty-six times and won thirty-eight of them. Organised and highly skilful cricket had been played much earlier in Kent, London, Sussex and Surrey by noblemen and country gentry with paid professionals. So a Club start date before 1772 is distinctly possible.

The Hampshire Advertiser reported on the 29th September 1838 a return cricket match between the Club and Titchfield on Curdridge Common which the Club won by 61 runs. A single-handed match was also played between Thomas Earwaker of Hill Pound and James Stoneage, junior of Bishop's Waltham. Stoneage won by one innings with 34 runs to spare.

A later report in the Hampshire Observer dated October 1843 revealed a series of games with Bramdean & Hinton both home and away. Described as a trial of superiority between the eleven of Bishop's Waltham and a like number of the Bramdean and Hinton clubs the games commenced on the 14th September, when the former gained the match by 49 runs, single innings. The return was played at Bramdean the Wednesday following, when the latter party won by 95 runs. This, of course, caused a toss for ground for the decider, when the Bramdean gentlemen had again to come to Waltham on the next Wednesday, where, after one innings on each side, the score was produced: Bramdean 77; Waltham 74. After dinner, two wickets being lowered by the Waltham bowlers (Stoneage and Emmett) in the second innings of the Bramdean party, on account of a little rain, they declined proceeding with the match.

The Bishop's Waltham parish was made up originally of four Hoes - North, East, South and West. In those early days the Club played its fixtures on available common land. Each match had no fixed boundaries. Clubs also relied on local patronage in the form of noblemen and country gentry. There are two existing nineteenth century annual reports which reveal that membership was restricted to those living or working within the Parish boundary. The earliest possible patronage prior to the 1st World War was by Mr. B.P. Shearer, a great sportsman who owned Swanmore Park House and Estate. He permitted the Club to use his grounds for cricket and at the Club's expense a pavilion was built there. Traces remained until the 60s. Perhaps the best known patronage was by the Gunner family. The family owed the private bank operating in the village. They lived at Ridgemede House - now Ridgemede Housing Estate - and allowed the Club to use its grounds. The Gunner family were known to have been involved in playing and running the Club as far back as the earliest of those previously mentioned annual reports and continued way after 1948. In actual fact two of the Gunner family played first-class for Hampshire. Charles Richards Gunner played in 1878 and his son John Hugh in 1906 and 1907. John was captain of Marlborough College in 1902 and played for Trinity College, Oxford. As a captain in the Yeomanry attached to the Hampshire Regiment he sadly died of wounds at Kemmel, Belgium on the 9th August, 1918 aged 34. The Annual General Meeting in the 1950s reported W.R. Gunner as Chairman and Major F.H. Gunner the Hon. Treasurer.

When the Gunners closed the Bank and sold-up after the war the Club became groundless once again and existed as a wanderer's side for quite a number of years. Bishop's Waltham Parish Council then gave them the OK to use The Triangle at Waltham Chase. It was a small ground with drainage difficulties but it meant the Club could end being a wanderer's side although they retained some of those fixtures. The Club then failed to obtain planning permission for a permanent pavilion at The Triangle so sought the Parish Council's help again. Fortunately fields at Hoe Road had been left in a legacy for parishioners' recreation and the Club moved there in the late 1950s. This move heralded the upsurge in the Club's fortunes which continues to-day following its move to a larger site at Albany Road. So the current spell in the Club's existence since 1948 looks set to continue for some while to come subject to player goodwill.

Pre Second World War the Club probably ran only one side which played on various days of the week. It won a knock-up cup three years in succession in the late 1930s thus retaining outright. This was kept by Gunners Bank but no trace has been made despite the efforts of Ken Askew to locate it. In 1918 after the 1st World War it was reported that a Bishop's Waltham Ladies Xl had played one from Alresford. Further reports of the Club's Ladies Xl are to be found in the 1930s. The latter information was discovered by Dave Williams and Ken Askew at an event held in the Jubilee Hall and this prompted the formation of a Ladies Xl. The Xl played a Club Veterans Xl in 1989 and lost by 110 runs. For the Veterans Fred Wiltshire scored 43 and Tom Wilkie 27 whilst Alison Farrell notched 26 for the Ladies. The Southern Evening Echo photographer, Tony Mardell recorded the occasion which shows Pete Strugnell keeping wicket whilst Rob Helsen's Joss is about to cover-drive in perhaps better style than her husband might. Since 1948 the Club has on many seasons had more than one team operating. Sometimes it was a second eleven to the Saturday team whilst other times a Sunday eleven. Since joining the Hampshire League in 1973 and then later the Winchester & District Cricket Clubs' Association's evening competitions the Club developed a colt's policy inspired by Ken Askew with senior members' backing. This led to sustaining two Saturday elevens, a Sunday eleven and mid-week eleven in addition to the various Colts ones. With the introduction of Veterans and Ladies elevens it became abundantly clear that Hoe Road could not support such use so the Police Cadet College at the Priory provided extra pitches but only on a match to match basis. This proved unsatisfactory so a long term solution was necessary and this led to the Club moving to Albany Road which in itself is another story!

DCW August 2003.