Archives and local studies

Extracts from A Yeoman of Kent: an account of Richard Hayes (1725 – 1790) and of the village of Cobham in which he lived and farmed by Ralph Arnold. Published by Constable, 1949. [Local Studies K. COB]

The first recorded mention of Cobham cricket occurs under the date 26 June 1776, when the diarist watched a match against the neighbouring village of Addington. In the summer of 1792, Kent played Hampshire in Cobham park, losing by seven wickets. From that date until 1850, although there is no record of a club, a good deal of cricket seems to have been played in the village under the aegis of various members of the Bligh family.

The 4th Earl of Darnley and his brother, General the Hon. Edward Bligh, both played for the Kent XI and the ill-fated 5th Earl, though less eminent as a cricketer, laid out the celebrated ground on the south ridge of the park. The aristocratic flavour with which the game was tinged is nicely represented in a surviving account of a match played in 1800:

“The unparalleled urbanity of Lord Darnley, on that occasion, who played in the match, was scarce to be equalled but cannot be exceeded. His Lordship, in the intervals of playing, invited the gentlemen of the [opposing] club to see his Hall, and with the greatest condescension personally attended them, pointing out everything worthy of observation in that most eligible mansion which afforded them the highest gratification possible.”

Having tired out the opposition bowlers with sight-seeing, his Lordship presumably went on to make a great many runs.

The celebrated Cobham Cricket Club dates from the year 1850, when the Hon. Henry Bligh, brother of the 6th Earl, restored the ground laid out by his father and inaugurated the long series of Hall versus Village matches which were such a feature of Cobham cricket until the end of the century.

The Cobham Club had some peculiar features. It had no rules and there were no subscriptions. The “players” were employees of Cobham Hall and the “gentlemen” were such Cobham residents and such members of families living in the neighbourhood as received invitations to play. Lord Darnley paid all the expenses connected with the upkeep of the ground, selected the team for the annual fixture against the Royal Engineers, provided luncheon on certain match days, watched practically every game from start to finish (a day’s cricket began punctually at 10.30am and ended as late as 8pm) and inaugurated a number of customs that had to be meticulously observed. If, for example, an ingoing Cobham batsman failed to pass the outcoming batsman at the entrance to the players’ tent, he would be dropped from the side for the rest of the season.

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