In its first few seasons, the Beverley quickly established itself as a team of more than merely local importance. Indeed in 1836 the Kent Herald described it as "the Canterbury Club, and Gentlemen players for several miles around". ^[1] Boughton Aluph, Chilston, Dover and Minster (or 'Isle of Thanet') provided regular opposition – Minster even being played on three occasions in both 1836 and 1838 – while there were also games with Ash, Faversham, Ickham and Preston. The Club was modestly successful to judge by the results recorded in the local newspapers: some ten victories and ten defeats are mentioned in the years 1835 to 1839. Minster, however, clearly had the edge over the Beverley, with five victories in this period. "The precision with which the ball was given by young White of Monkton" was the main reason for Minster's success in 1836, and two years later he was at it again, when "the peculiar bowling of Mr James White, of the Minster Club, had its usual fatal effect". ^[2]

The most regular players at this time appear to have been Frederick Morrison, a wicketkeeper of some experience, Frederick Fagge, John Marriott, a Cambridge undergraduate, John Hatton and the young William Baker. Scores were low – typically between forty and seventy in an innings – reflecting, presumably, the poor standard of the pitches, though occasionally the total did pass a hundred. (It has been pointed out that scores were in any case generally lower in the age of round-arm bowling – roughly the 1830s to the 1850s – than in the preceding and succeeding periods. ^[3] Nonetheless, the scores in these early days of the Beverley are still significantly lower than in the 1840s and 1850s.) Fagge's 77 out of 159 in the second innings against Ickham in June 1839 seems to have been the highest individual score, followed by Hatton's 50 not out against Dover two months later. ^[4]

It is already clear, however, that the success of the Club was to be measured as much by social activities off the field as by sporting achievements on it. At the second Minster match of 1836, "the clubs (joined by several officers belonging to the Foot and Cavalry regiments stationed in this city) afterwards sat down to a well served dinner at the Beverley Arms, when the utmost conviviality prevailed until a late hour". ^[5] A few weeks later, after the match at Chilston Park,

"Mr. Douglas, with some of the gentlemen in the neighbourhood, dined with the cricketers at the Chequers Inn, during which time the merry peals of the Lenham church bells were rung on the occasion. In consequence of the activity of two of the players of the Beverley eleven, as well as the self-same disposition and confidence in their play, they were facetiously styled the Siamese Twins, which gave rise to much witticism and amusement during the evening." ^[6]

Even the end of season meeting of 1839, held "to pass the accounts and wind up the affairs of the year", was not a wholly serious occasion.

"There was a numerous party, and after the business of the meeting was concluded, the song and glass went merrily round. Success to next year's campaign was the burden of all conversation, and the prospects of a successful season gave life to the jovial assembly." ^[7]

From the beginning, too, the games commanded a considerable following. In 1836, for example, the second match with Minster, played at St. Stephen's, "attracted the notice of numerous visitors from the neighbourhood. A spacious booth was erected for the accommodation of spectators, independent of one exclusively used by the players" – which was just as well, because, as the Kent Herald so elegantly put it, "the clouds, which during the morning portended rain, discharged their burthen copiously towards the afternoon". ^[8] The third, deciding, match a fortnight later was equally popular: "from the great interest excited, a very large concourse of people had assembled to witness the game". ^[9] By 1839, the Chilston fixture, admittedly a special occasion, was attracting "between three and four thousand spectators (many of them elegantly dressed ladies)". ^[10] Cricket matches could thus draw large crowds, but with the advantage, compared to race meetings – the only major alternative – that the game was rapidly acquiring an air of respectability. As gambling became less common – or, at least, less ostentatious – so the presence of ladies, frequently noticed in the press reports, became more acceptable.

During these early years of cricketing and socializing, one fixture above all enabled the Beverley to turn itself into a Club with a county-wide reputation. This was the match with Chilston, a side established by James Stoddard Douglas of Chilston Park. It was first played on Monday, August 15th., 1836, at Canterbury, and it ended in a heavy defeat for the Beverley. (Beverley 20 and 41; Chilston 71.) "From the short time Mr. Douglas, of Chilston, has formed this club, and the superiority of their play, there is but little doubt of their becoming one of the first eleven in West Kent", commented the Kentish Gazette. ^[11] A return match was played a fortnight later, and it proved equally successful – "the excellent play of both clubs was much admired, and excited great interest in the immense crowd of spectators" – and the Beverley put up an improved performance. (Chilston 92 and 35; Beverley 98.) ^[12]

There is no record of the match being played in 1837, possibly because the general election interfered with the cricket – or with the reporting in the newspapers. In 1838, however, two matches were again arranged, and despite interruptions by rain they proved to be of considerable interest. In the first encounter, at Chilston Park, Beverley made 102 and Chilston were 36 for 3 when rain stopped play. "The play on both sides was scientific; and amongst the spectators we observed Alfred Mynn, Esq., and others of cricketing notoriety. The batting of Frederick Fagg Esq. and Mr. Chummie Mitcham was particularly admired, and called forth repeated applause." ^[13] The return, on September 19th., attracted even more attention.

"The match between the Beverly (East Kent) and the Chilston (West Kent) clubs, came off on Wednesday in the field near the Beverly Arms, St. Stephen's. It having been announced that the famous players, Mynn and Wenman, would be here, a great concourse of persons assembled, but in this respect they were disappointed. The wickets were pitched about ten o'clock. The play was considered by all parties to be very decent, and the combatants were upon good terms with each other. The bowling of F. Fagg, Esq. was admired by all. Mr. Bishop, in the early part of the second innings of the East Kent, was obliged to give in, in consequence of a severe blow on his hand from the ball. The rain was a source of much inconvenience. The following score will show the state of the game when the dark shades of evening compelled the gentlemen to leave it unfinished." (Beverley 44 and 56 for 8; Chilston 52.) ^[14]

By 1839, posters were produced to advertise the fixture, and the Kentish Gazette provided appropriately full coverage of "one of the most interesting and exciting matches witnessed in the neighbourhood of this city for many years past".

	The poster for the Beverley-Chilston match, 1839.

Thousands turned out to watch, "several booths were erected, and the whole neighbourhood leading from the city presented the appearance of a fair". Alfred Mynn, the great all-rounder, was the main attraction, and this time he did not disappoint his supporters, taking five wickets in Beverley's first innings and being top scorer, with 21, for Chilston. More interestingly, the Beverley had acquired the services of two other players of distinction, William Clifford, the wicket-keeper, who played for the Gentlemen as well as for Kent, and Nicholas Felix, the brilliant left-handed batsman, also of the Gentlemen and Kent. ^[15] When play finished at eight o'clock, the match was undecided (Beverley 82 and 85 for 6; Chilston 108) but the visitors declined an invitation to stay and complete it on the following day – "although ample accommodation all night was offered them by Mr. Baker, of St. Stephen's, and other gentlemen". ^[16]

The return match at Chilston Park proved to be even more "interesting and exciting", but for a very different reason. After referring to the bowling of Felix for the Beverley and the batting of Hind for Chilston, the Kentish Gazette's amazed report continued:

"we can scarcely account for the manner in which the game terminated. A full half hour before sunset, the Chilston umpire, without any directions from the players, took up the stumps and closed the contest. We conceive such conduct was decidedly contrary to all the fair rules for regulating this manly game. The Chilston were falling like grass before the scythe, and would probably have been beaten in one innings, but for this mode of retreat." (Chilston 92 and 15 for 7; Beverley 120.) ^[17]

The incident was clarified by Bell's Life:

"Coppins... being a little too anxious to get runs, drew half way for the other wicket, and was put down by Felix, who was bowling. The umpire for the Chilston side not having seen this done before, was not aware that the Marylebone Club give a man out under these circumstances, and was so surprised at the intelligence that he ran off wickets in hand: thus, at a quarter before eight o'clock, putting an end to the business." ^[18]

Unsurprisingly, the matter did not rest there. The Secretary of the Chilston Club, George Baily, wrote to Bell's Life issuing a challenge to the Beverley: "I am authorized by the Chilston Club to say, the same eleven shall play them for £50 a side, home and away, provided umpires are chosen from Lord's." ^[19] This latter stipulation implies something of a concession on the part of Chilston, and since the fixture continued – and Felix again played – in 1840, the incident did not permanently damage relations between the clubs. Indeed, the controversy probably added spice to the encounter, and undoubtedly contributed to the wider publicity for the Beverley's activities.

For the first match in 1840, at Chilston Park, two days were allocated, and it was advertised well in advance in the newspapers as a 'Grand Cricket Match' between "eight gentlemen of the Chilston Club, with 3 players, and nine gentlemen of Beverley, with 2 players". ^[20] The quality of the cricketers on display was now very high. As well as Alfred Mynn, Chilston included Edward Wenman, the well-known wicket-keeper, and Fuller Pilch – "the best batsman that has ever yet appeared". ^[21] Beverley, for their part, had acquired the services of Walter Mynn, Alfred's capable brother, William Hillyer, the renowned bowler, and Charles Taylor, perhaps the most famous amateur batsman of the day, to join Felix and Clifford. "Seldom has there been a more admirable display than on this occasion", exulted the Gazette, with Beverley winning by six wickets. (Chilston 99 and 107; Beverley 179 and 29 for 4.) ^[22] This was, of course, the golden age of Kent cricket, when the county was a match for the rest of England. In the words of W.J.Prowse's famous poem:

"And with five such mighty cricketers, 'twas but natural to win,
As Felix, Wenman, Hillyer, Fuller Pilch and Alfred Mynn."

It is perhaps worth pointing out that all these five played in the Beverley-Chilston matches in 1840, and that the first four all played for the Beverley at some time in the 1840s.

The return fixture, on the Beverley's new ground next to the Cavalry Barracks, was the most successful cricketing occasion thus far in the history of the Club, even though the match ended in defeat.

Play was spread over three days – Thursday, Friday and Saturday, July 23rd. to 25th., – and attracted crowds of 1,500 and 2,000, "many of whom came from a considerable distance to witness the play", on the first two days, though "the attendance was not nearly so numerous on the Saturday". Several more famous cricketers were added to those from the first match, including Lillywhite for Chilston and Redgate and Hawkins for the Beverley – thus bringing to Canterbury most of the leading players of the age. Care was also taken to provide entertainment off the field, as a band played and there were refreshments "served up in first-rate style by Mr. Edward Bennett, of the Beverley club-house, the Globe Tavern, St. George's-street". ^[23]

In 1841, therefore, the Club was ready to take the next step in its remarkable rise to fame. The spirit of the Chilston match was continued in two fixtures with Dover. The first, at the Maison-Dieu field at Dover, was announced as "the 'crack' one of the season... Twelve of the most celebrated players in England will take part". ^[24] As a contest, this turned out to be a disappointment. Beverley scored 83 "in about three hours", to which Dover replied with 58. In the second innings, Beverley made 54, and Dover had just reached 81 for 5 and victory when rain ended the game at noon on the second day. The teams were virtually invitation XIs, with Guy, Hawkins, Hillyer, Wenman and Lillywhite appearing for Beverley, and Pilch, Mynn, Box, Clifford and Cobbett for Dover. ^[25] The return match at Canterbury, with similar sides, was more successful. "A large party of fashionables honored the field with their company... The playing was considered exceedingly good, and gave the highest satisfaction to the numerous spectators." And the Beverley won the match comfortably. (Dover 103 and 60; Beverley 125 and 39 for 4.) ^[26]

All this was by way of a prelude to the highlight of the season. On August 10th., 11th. and 12th., the Beverley staged a match between Kent and England on its own ground in Canterbury. Interest in the fixture had been intensified in the preceding weeks when Kent defeated the national side first at Lord's and then again, in a friendly game, at Town Malling a few days later. The local newspapers understandably gave considerable space to the preparations, pointing out that "to East Kent it is a most attractive novelty, nothing of the kind having taken place in that division of the county for upwards of fifty years". ^[27]

The occasion itself was in no respect an anticlimax, even though England won the match and William Baker bagged a 'pair'. "About 4,000 persons assembled on the beautiful ground of the Beverley cricketers, which was in as fine order as attention could make it." ^[28] Many of the leading figures in the world of cricket, such as Lord Frederick Beauclerk and Benjamin Aislabie, Secretary of the M.C.C., were present and suitably impressed by the arrangements, so that it was agreed to repeat the fixture in the following year. The one thing lacking to complete the sense of occasion seemed to be some evening entertainment. John Baker therefore arranged that for the following year Frederick Ponsonby, of the England team, and his amateur actor friends from Cambridge should put on performances at the Canterbury Theatre. ^[29]

When the programme for the 1842 season was published, the pattern of 'Canterbury Cricket Week' was clearly established.

"The two grand matches on the 1st and 4th of August [Kent v England, and Gentlemen of Kent v Gentlemen of England] will probably occupy the whole week, and will be the most attractive matches in the country during the season. In the Evenings of the week, Amateur Performances will take place at the Theatre, Canterbury, with the assistance of Mrs. Nisbett, Mrs. Glover, and Miss Mordaunt. There will be a County Fancy Ball on the Wednesday, and a City Ball on the Thursday, at Barnes's Rooms." ^[30]

The Week was based, at least in part, on the social activities associated with Canterbury Races. What was new was that the allegiance of the East Kent gentry was shifting to cricket. The reasons for this are complicated, but they included a move in the direction of 'respectability'. Both the cricketers and the 'Old Stagers' seemed to epitomize those 'amateur' and 'gentlemanly' qualities that were now increasingly admired. ^[31]

The Week itself was a tremendous success, both on the field and off, as the full reports in the local and national press make abundantly clear. That in the Kentish Observer is typical:

"Canterbury, during the last three days, has exhibited a scene of bustle and activity, quite unusual in this quiet region. Each day the Beverley Cricket Field has been crowded with spectators. At the theatre, the amateur performers, aided by the professional talents of Mrs. Nisbett and Miss Jane Mordaunt, attracted fashionable and crowded audiences. Othello Travestie, with its broad humor, provoked peals of laughter from boxes, pit, and gallery. Last night, there was to be a fancy dress ball at Barnes' Assembly Rooms, where, it was expected, several splendid tableaux would be formed, not, perhaps, equalling those at her Majesty's ball, but full of taste and elegance, no doubt. At the Palace Gardens, exhibitions of fireworks have taken place: so that, altogether, what with the 'Cricket Week', and the 'Race Week', which is to follow, Canterbury will have a fortnight of gaiety, worthy of her best days" ^[32]

While all these developments were taking place, the Beverley's local fixtures – "the customary parish matches" – continued as before. ^[33] Ickham provided regular opposition – Frederick Fagge scoring 94 not out against them in June 1840 – and games were also played with Alkham, Boughton Aluph, the Isle of Thanet (or Ramsgate), Adisham, Sittingbourne and Sandwich. In general, the Club was very successful at this level, although Alkham secured a comfortable victory in 1842, dismissing the Beverley for 46 and 21, and scoring 160 themselves. ^[34] Players such as John Hatton, Frederick Morrison, Thomas Boorman and the Baldocks, as well as Fagge and William Baker, appeared frequently in these matches.

At the same time, fixtures were also arranged against clubs from further afield who had notable Kent cricketers playing for them. In 1843, for example, the Beverley played twice against the Isle of Oxney and against Leeds, both of whom included Alfred Mynn. For these games, the Beverley side was also strengthened – Fuller Pilch, William Martingell and other county players being used. The first two encounters were not completed, but the return matches provided more interesting games. Against the Isle of Oxney, the Beverley could only manage 88 and 10 for 6 in reply to their opponents' 152, with Alfred Mynn and his brother Walter sharing the wickets. ^[35] Against Leeds, however, a fine innings of 89 not out by Fuller Pilch enabled Beverley to score 223, while Leeds could only muster 44 and 80. ^[36]

As the nature of the Club was changing, so its organization had to become more professional. Running a cricket week and also, in effect, a county cricket team, was a serious business. Essential to the success of this enterprise was, firstly, a proper ground. In 1840, therefore, a new field in the Sturry Road, next to the Cavalry Barracks, had been rented from John Sneller, a Northgate farmer. ^[37] At first there were no permanent buildings on the site, so "marquees, tents, benches and accommodation of all kinds" were set up temporarily for the major matches. ^[38] In 1843, however, it was announced that "premises adjoining the ground have been obtained as dressing rooms, and arrangements made for enclosing the ground on all match days of public interest, and admission tickets free issued only to the members and subscribers". ^[39] Refreshments were organized through a local landlord, usually at this time Edward Bennett of the Globe Tavern, which was also used as the club house.

A ground also needed permanent attention, and it was for this reason, among others, that Fuller Pilch was brought to Canterbury in 1842 as groundsman and professional. He continued to play for Kent and England, but he also strengthened the Beverley in some of their local matches. Over the next dozen years or so, he played several notable innings for the Club, including 52 not out against Dover in 1853, and 54 against Folkestone in 1855, as well as the 89 not out against Leeds already mentioned. ^[40] More curiously, he was sometimes lent to the opposition. In 1844, for instance, he played for Ickham, and his batting was largely responsible for their victory (Beverley 44 and 40; Ickham 73 (Pilch 44 not out) and 12 for 1); and in 1845 it was announced that "Fuller Pilch will play with the Sandown; and if the odds prove greatly in favour of the Sandown, the Lion will be transferred to the ranks of the Beverley in the return match". ^[41]

Pilch's other main duty was to provide practice for Club members during the week. This was announced for "Mondays and Thursdays at two o'clock" in 1842, and for Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays in 1844, but it seems to have been expected that members could avail themselves of the facilities at the ground at any time. ^[42] As he was, unusually for a professional, primarily a batsman, Pilch was assisted from 1843 by William Martingell, a fellow Kent and England player, "engaged as a resident bowler at Canterbury who, with Pilch, will attend on the Beverley ground daily, to afford the members an opportunity of practice". ^[43] Martingell, too, then played for the Club on a number of occasions over the next few years. Finally, to assist him further as a coach, Pilch even acquired a 'catapulta' – a primitive bowling machine – which was on the ground in 1844 "for the amusement and use of the players". ^[44]

In every respect, therefore, the Beverley Cricket Club was now equipped to take a leading position in the world of cricket. Its fixture list was published regularly in Bell's Life, and reports appeared there even of its local matches. "The Beverley Club has acquired great celebrity under the judicious management of Mr. Baker," the Kentish Gazette had pronounced in August 1841, "and the first-rate clubs of the kingdom are all aspiring to 'knock down a wicket' with the 'nulli secundus' of Kent". ^[45] Exactly how and why this should have happened is not entirely clear. Certainly the game itself was rapidly becoming more popular, and with players, patrons and public in the early railway age looking for more cricket, the Beverley was able to provide matches of quality, accompanied by other diversions, on a ground that was both attractive and easily accessible. It may also be that the social connections of the Bakers and of Frederick Fagge enabled them to secure support from the right quarters – the local gentry and their university educated sons who were particularly keen on the game. At all events, it was John Baker and Fagge whose "exertions in promoting this noble game" were recognized in 1841 by the presentation of, respectively, "an elegantly chased silver snuff box" and "a silver cigar case". ^[46]

By 1843, the Club that had started as a holiday recreation for a trio of young men had been totally transformed into an organization arranging matches for a wide public as well as providing games for enthusiastic (and mainly gentlemanly) amateurs. The committee elected in that year illustrated this change, as well as the predominant role of the leading patrons of cricket among the country gentry. Sir John Bayley of Updown, 2nd. baronet, was elected President – he was to become President of the M.C.C. in the following year – while William Deedes of Sandling Park, a Past President of the M.C.C., Emilius Bayley, Old Etonian and son of Sir John, and William Augustus Munn of Throwley House were also elected, alongside the Rev. John Baker, who was the Treasurer. The fixture list also reflected the new emphasis. There were to be four 'grand matches': in addition to Kent v England and Gentlemen of Kent v Gentlemen of England in Canterbury Week, these were Kent v Sussex, and Gentlemen of Kent v Eton College. Matches against Leeds and Penenden Heath were described as 'Club and ground' fixtures. This left only two games – with Sandwich and the East Kent Yeomanry Cavalry – listed as 'Club' matches, though it was announced that "there will be matches nearly every week with the neighbouring clubs", and that "challenges have been sent to various other clubs". Finally, this whole programme was published under the title of the 'East Kent Cricket Club'. ^[47] The Beverley thus appeared to be losing its name, along with its identity, before it was ten years old.

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^[1] K.H. 28.7.36.

^[2] K.H. 28.7.36; K.G. 14.8.38; cf Bell's Life, 22.8.41 on White's "underhand slow bowling" which, once more, "rather astonished the Beverley gents".

^[3] Bowen, Cricket, ch. 7.

^[4] K.G. 18.6.39 and 27.8.39.

^[5] K.H. 28.7.36.

^[6] K.H. 1.9.36.

^[7] K.G. 19.11.39; cf. Bell's Life 13.9.40 and K.G. 15.9.40; Stapleton's Directory (1838), p.97, noted that "the Beverley Cricket Club meet every Monday and Friday evenings, at the Beverley Arms".

^[8] K.H. 28.7.36.

^[9] K.G. 9.8.36.

^[10] K.G. 16.7.39.

^[11] K.G. 23.8.36.

^[12] K.H. 1.9.36.

^[13] K.G. 19.6.38; Bell's Life 24.6.38.

^[14] K.G. 25.9.38.

^[15] The presence of these players may have been one reason for "a dispute which arose from a misunderstanding on the part of the secretaries as to the introduction of some who were not included in the original list". This problem was, however, "amicably arranged". See Bell's Life 21.7.39; cf. Bell's Life 22.8.41 for a similar dispute in a match with Isle of Thanet. It is not clear why Felix should have played for the Beverley. Possibly the connection was through William de Chair Baker, then at Blackheath Proprietary School. The pupils there are known to have played cricket regularly with their neighbours at Alfred House, where Felix, under his real name, Nicholas Wanostrocht, was headmaster. See Bell's Life 27.5.38.

^[16] K.G. 16.7.39; S. and B., Vol. II, p. 513; Bell's Life 21.7.39.

^[17] K.G. 6.8.39; but cf. S. and B., Vol. II, p. 525.

^[18] Bell's Life 11.8.39; cf. K.G. 13.8.39. An interesting footnote to the incident is provided by one of the illustrations in Felix on the Bat, published in 1845: 'Another of those things which you ought not to do' shows a batsman being run out while backing up!

^[19] Bell's Life 18.8.39; K.G. 20.8.39.

^[20] K.G. 30.6.40.

^[21] S. and B., Vol. I, p. 434; cf. Denison, Sketches of the Players, pp. 64-9.

^[22] K.G. 21.7.40; S. and B., Vol. II, p. 571, which lists the teams as "Beverley, with Hillyer, Felix, Taylor, Esq. and Clifford" and "Chilston, with Pilch, Mynn, Wenman and Stearman"; Bell's Life 26.7.40, which notes that Beverley scored their 179 runs in 103 overs.

^[23] K.G. 28.7.40; S. and B., Vol. II, p. 574; Bell's Life 2.8.40.

^[24] K.G. 1.6.41.

^[25] K.G. 13.7.41 and 20.7.41; S. and B., Vol. III, p. 29; Bell's Life 18.7.41.

^[26] K.G. 20.7.41; S. and B., Vol. III, p. 32; Bell's Life 25.7.41, which reported that there were "about 1,600 or 1,700 people on the ground" on the second day.

^[27] K.G. 3.8.41.

^[28] K.G. 17.8.41; Bell's Life 15.8.41.

^[29] Canterbury Cricket Week, pp. 1-5.

^[30] K.G. 8.3.42; cf. K.G. 25.1.42 and 26.4.42, and Bell's Life 8.5.42. For an influential, but inaccurate, account of the origins of the Cricket Week, see Harris, A Few Short Runs, pp. 254-5.

^[31] On Race Week, see K.H. 27.8.35; Brown, Canterbury 1838.

^[32] K.O. 4.8.42. For other reports on the first Cricket Week, see: K.G. 2.8.42, 9.8.42; K.H. 4.8.42, 11.8.42; K.O.11.8.42; Bell's Life 7.8.42, 14.8.42; The Times 3.8.42, 4.8.42; Illustrated London News 6.8.42; etc. The Week has generated a small literature of its own, including: Canterbury Cricket Week (1865); E.Milton Small, The Canterbury Cricket Week: its Origins, Career, and Jubilee (1891); Kent County Cricket Club Year Book 1948: Centenary of the Canterbury Week (1948); H.W.Warner, The Story of Canterbury Cricket Week (1960); C.H.Taylor, The Story of Canterbury Cricket Week: 150 Years, 1842 - 1992 (1991).

^[33] K.G. 14.5.44.

^[34] K.G. 16.6.40; K.G. 7.6.42.

^[35] K.G. 27.6.43; S. and B., Vol. III, p.144.

^[36] K.G. 1.8.43: "Pilch, the Kentish hero, defied all the efforts of that excellent bowler, W.Mynn, esq., [sic] and carried out his bat, amid tremendous plaudits"; S. and B., Vol. III, p. 174: Haygarth noted that Leeds scored their 44 off 200 balls and 80 off 272 balls; the Beverley innings lasted 676 balls; cf. Bell's Life 30.7.43.

^[37] K.G. 5.5.40; Bell's Life 17.5.40. Curiously, it was in the following year, 1841, that the War Office ordered the establishment of a cricket ground next to every barracks in the country: see Bowen, Cricket, p. 87. Cf. Goulstone, 'Some Cricket Grounds and Clubs in Kent', Cantium, Vol. 2, No. 2 (1970), for several references to grounds near the Barracks in the early nineteenth century. The Canterbury Amateur Club, for example, played on "the Barrack Field" in 1833 and 1834.

^[38] K.G. 2.8.42.

^[39] K.G. 9.5.43.

^[40] K.G. 21.6.53; K.H. 2.8.55.

^[41] K.G. 18.6.44; K.G. 17.6.45.

^[42] K.G. 10.5.42; 21.5.44; cf. Gale, The Game of Cricket, p.12, on Pilch: "I can see him now on the Canterbury cricket-ground giving me a lesson in batting, in 1845".

^[43] K.G. 9.5.43.

^[44] K.G. 21.5.44; the machine was described and illustrated in Felix on the Bat.

^[45] K.G. 24.8.41.

^[46] K.G. 19.10.41; the growth in popularity of cricket is confirmed by the increasing coverage in the Kentish Gazette, in Bell's Life, and in Scores and Biographies; cf. Bell's Life 19.5.44: "the game of cricket has, within the last few years, made an astonishing progress in public favour... It is indeed a pastime for all – peer, patriot or peasant! For the first, it has the inducements, elegance, grace and dexterity; for the next, it is one of the few legacies of our forefathers still free and untaxed; and for the last, it possesses all the charms that rustic emulation and hilarity can desire..."; this letter was reprinted in K.G. 21.5.44.

^[47] K.G. 11.4.43 and 9.5.43. There had been an East Kent Cricket Club c. 1815-21. See Goulstone, Cricket in Kent, pp. 12-18, 'The East Kent Cricket Club'. William Deedes had played for the Club and had also been its President.