Archives and local studies

Cricket featured strongly in the interests of many of the Blighs. The 4th Earl and his brother played for the Kent XI, the 5th Earl laid out the cricket ground in the Park and Henry Bligh restored this ground and initiated Hall versus Village matches at Cobham.

Ivo Bligh, who became the 8th Earl of Darnley, was captain of the English cricket team during their tour of Australia in 1882. It was in Australia that he met his future wife, Florence Morphy, who was one of three ladies who presented him with the Ashes urn which he took home and kept on the mantelpiece in the library at Cobham Hall. Florence gave the urn to the MCC after Ivo's death.

Hunting, shooting and fishing were also popular pursuits of the Bligh family. Several family members down the generations were interested in natural history and Florence, 8th Countess of Darnley, was a keen gardener and avid collector of pressed flowers.

These images are from the Darnley Archive and Local Studies collections. To see the originals, please contact Medway Archives and Local Studies Centre.

Select an image for a larger version

Cricket match in Cobham Park. Unidentified players. 20th century [U565_E646].

Left. Extract from Cobham Cricketer's Handbook. 1854 [U565_C054]. Right. Score card for the cricket match which led to a mock obituary in the Sporting Times. The first Australian victory on English soil was seen as a national calamity. The Hon. Ivo Bligh vowed to bring home the ashes of English cricket. 1882 [U565_C054].

Left. Extract from the Picnic Book, Cobham Hall. 1880 [U565_E97]. Right. Extract from the Beaters Book. December 1921 [U565_E642].

Left. Syndicate shoot. Early 20th century [U565_E650]. Right. Tennis in Cobham Park. Early 20th century [U565_E843].

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