Cricket in the Dengie Hundred
Records show that cricket has been played
in this area since the late 1700's although it is believed that it
was played much earlier.
One of the earliest records
was of a match on 27 June 1761 when the Gentlemen of Bradwell and Tillingham played the Gentlemen of the Dengie 100.
The game was mainly a
preserve of the wealthier residents with club professionals being
employed later in the 1800's to supplement the efforts of the
gentleman players.
The dress code for players
was a straw hat and white jacket, trousers, shoes and socks. Clubs
then often added coloured braiding to the jacket.
Cricket was normally played
at a country house venue where the owner had sufficient land to be
prepared for sole use of Cricket while the house was able to be used
for the pre and after match entertainments.
After a while the
entertainment became nearly as important as the cricket.
Down
Hall
The early teams were Purleigh
who played at Woodham Mortimer Place the home of the Oxley Parkers
and Dengie 100, Tillingham and Bradwell who played at Down Hall,
Bradwell the home of the Page Family.
Robert and Joseph Page were
unusual in that not only did they provide the venue but they
actually played cricket for the local Dengie 100 sides as well as
teams of their own selection.
In the early years bowling
was normally underarm with overarm bowling being introduced on the
mid 1850's.
In August 1786 the Gentlemen
of Purleigh played the Gentlemen of Maldon with Purleigh winning by
26 runs.
In July 1787 the same
teams played again. Maldon scored 49 in their first innings and 40
in their second innings whilst Purleigh also scored 49 in their
first innings but managed 94 in their second innings to win by 55
runs.
In September 1790 the
Gentlemen of Southminster played the Gentlemen of Maldon at
Southminster.
In two innings Southminster
made 153 runs with Maldon beating them by just 2 runs with a total
of 155 with 3 wickets left.
In the mid 1800'several
villages such as Tillingham and Southminster were able to prepare
cricket pitches on village greens allowing them to play matches
making the game more accessible to local people.
By 1869 The Essex Almanac
listed 49 Cricket Clubs in Essex including
Burnham on Crouch - Secretary
Mr E Kemp
Southminster - Secretary W A
Hurrell
Tillingham- Secretary Mr E H
S Escott
By the 1900's Cricket became
a game played although the gentlemen/player distinctions remained on
the country house circuit.
These changes brought more
cricket pitches including those run by employers such as the Mildmay
Ironworks Team who played on a ground next to their factory at
Burnham on Crouch and from this move onwards cricket became a game
of the people being played in villages across the district.
By 1937 Cricket teams were
well established to the extent that Burnham on Crouch ( Secretary
Gordon Ambrose) and the Dengie 100 based at Southminster ( Secretary
W A Bishop) were listed in Kelly's Directory.
