Charles Edmund de Trafford (21 May 1864 – 11 November 1951) was an English

aristocrat The aristocracy is historically associated with "hereditary" or "ruling" social class. In many states, the aristocracy included the upper class of people (aristocrats) with hereditary rank and titles. In some, such as ancient Greece, ancient Ro ...

and a

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

er.

Early life

Charles de Trafford was born at Trafford Hall,

Trafford Park Trafford Park is an area of the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, opposite Salford Quays on the southern side of the Manchester Ship Canal, southwest of Manchester city centre and north of Stretford. Until the la ...

Stretford Stretford is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. It is situated on flat ground between the River Mersey and the Manchester Ship Canal, south of Manchester city centre, south of Salford and north-east of Altrincham. Str ...

, the second son of Sir

Humphrey de Trafford Sir Humphrey de Trafford, 2nd Baronet (1 May 1808 – 4 May 1886) was a prominent English Catholic. Born at Croston Hall near Chorley, Lancashire on 1 May 1808, he was the fourth child and the eldest son of Sir Thomas de Trafford. Early lif ...

, 2nd Baronet and his wife Lady Annette Talbot. His father owned

Old Trafford Cricket Ground Old Trafford is a cricket ground in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. It opened in 1857 as the home of Manchester Cricket Club and has been the home of Lancashire County Cricket Club since 1864. From 2013 onwards it has been known as ...

. Charles was educated at

Beaumont College Beaumont College was between 1861 and 1967 a public school in Old Windsor in Berkshire. Founded and run by the Society of Jesus, it offered a Roman Catholic public school education in rural surroundings, while lying, like the neighbouring Eton ...

Cricket

In 1884, at age 20, de Trafford joined the

Lancashire County Cricket Club Lancashire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Lancashire in English cricket. The club has held first-class status since it was founded in 1864. Lancashire's home is Old Trafford Cricket Ground, although the team also play ...

. He soon became known as a skilled cricketer and in 1885 joined

Marylebone Cricket Club Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influence ...

(MCC). In 1894 he moved to

Leicestershire County Cricket Club Leicestershire County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Leicestershire. It has also been representative of the count ...

as captain, a position in which he remained for 13 seasons. He is largely credited with making Leicestershire into a first-class club. A man of great physical strength, de Trafford was an opening batsman and a big hitter who liked to attack from the first ball. He never wore batting gloves. For Leicestershire against the Australians in 1905, he made all the first 56 runs of the innings himself, and was out for 63 after a first-wicket partnership of 69, when his partner was 2 not out. He captained MCC on the tour of New Zealand in 1906-07 after the original captain,

Teddy Wynyard Edward George Wynyard (1 April 1861 – 30 October 1936) was a British Army officer and an English cricketer who played in three Tests from 1896 to 1906. He captained Hampshire County Cricket Club between 1896 and 1899. Wynyard was also a s ...

, returned home injured after the second match. He made his highest first-class score in 1913 for Leicestershire against

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

when he was 49 years old. After Leicestershire had been 11 for four on the first morning, he hit 137 in 120 minutes, and Leicestershire made 351 off 71 overs and went on to win by an innings on the second day.

Personal life

In 1881, his father, Sir

purchased the

Hothorpe Hall Hothorpe Hall, in Northamptonshire, is a Georgian manor house near Market Harborough. It lies in the parish of Marston Trussell in Northamptonshire but is close to Theddingworth in Leicestershire. The hall is currently used as a conference centr ...

Estate in

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

(though near Theddingworth,

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

), from the Cook family and presented it to Charles. During his time at Hothorpe, Charles de Trafford extended the Georgian Manor House and in 1892 built a Catholic Chapel there in memory of his brother Gilbert who had died in 1890. On 15 October 1892, he married Lady Agnes Feilding, the daughter of

Rudolph Feilding, 8th Earl of Denbigh Rudolph (Rollo) William Basil Feilding, 8th Earl of Denbigh, 7th Earl of Desmond (9 April 1823 – 10 March 1892) was a British peer, succeeding to his titles on the death in 1865 of his father, the 7th Earl of Denbigh. He was noted as a Rom ...

. Their son Edmund Hubert de Trafford served with distinction in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, married the Hon. Cecilia Strickland and later emigrated to

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. Edmund and Cecilia's daughter Elizabeth returned to England and married Admiral

Arthur Francis Turner Admiral Sir (Arthur) Francis Turner (23 June 1912 – 26 October 1991) was a British naval officer. He was the son of Rear Admiral AWJ Turner and his wife Mrs AM Turner (née Lochrane). Naval career He entered the navy in 1931, completing a fo ...

. In 1893, de Trafford served as

High Sheriff of Leicestershire This is a list of Sheriffs and High Sheriffs of Leicestershire, United Kingdom. The Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most ...

and also as a Justice of the Peace. Lady Agnes died in 1921, and Charles continue to live at Hothorpe until 1928, when he moved to

Sibbertoft Sibbertoft is a village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire in England. At the time of the 2001 census, the parish's population (including Sulby) was 343 people, increasing to 462 at the 2011 Census. The village's name means 'curtilage o ...

. He died at

Rothley Rothley ( ) is a village and civil parish within the Borough of Charnwood in Leicestershire, England. Situated around west of the River Soar and north of Leicester, it had a population of 3,612 inhabitants . The population measured at the 201 ...

on 11 November 1951, aged 87.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Detrafford, Charles De Trafford, Charles De Trafford, Charles De Trafford, Charles De Trafford, Charles De Trafford, Charles De Trafford, Charles People from Rothley Cricketers from Leicestershire People from Stretford Cricketers from Greater Manchester Sportspeople from Trafford (district) High Sheriffs of Leicestershire English cricketers of 1864 to 1889 English cricketers of 1890 to 1918 Free Foresters cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers London County cricketers North v South cricketers Gentlemen cricketers Gentlemen of England cricketers People from West Northamptonshire District

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

Younger sons of baronets Lord Hawke's XI cricketers C. I. Thornton's XI cricketers Wembley Park cricketers A. J. Webbe's XI cricketers