Reverend
The Reverend is an style (manner of address), honorific style most often placed before the names of Christian clergy and Minister of religion, ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and c ...
Charles Francis Willis (15 April 1827 – 19 November 1895) was an English clergyman and amateur
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
Willis was born at Hawkhurst in Kent in 1827, the younger son of Charles Willis and his wife Mary. He was educated at Tonbridge School before going up to
Brasenose College, Oxford
Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the mi ...
in 1844 at the age of 17.Carlaw D (2020) ''Kent County Cricketers A to Z. Part One: 1806–1914'' (revised edition), pp. 581–582. Available online at the Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians. Retrieved 2020-12-21.)Steed HE (1911) ''The Register of Tonbridge School'', p. 44. London: Rivington's. Available online at The Internet Archive. Retrieved 2023-10-21.)Foster J (1888) ''Alumni Oxonienses'', Later Series, S–Z, p. 1576. Oxford: Parker and Co. Available online at The Internet Archive. Retrieved 2023-10-21.) He moved to Corpus Christi College where he was resident between 1845 and 1853, graduating in 1849 and gaining his MA in 1851. He was a Fellow of the college between 1853 and 1857.
op. cit.
''Op. cit.'' is an abbreviation of the Latin phrase ' or ''opere citato'', meaning "the work cited" or ''in the cited work'', respectively.
Overview
The abbreviation is used in an endnote or footnote to refer the reader to a cited work, standing ...
'', p. 581. He played in three first-class matches for the Gentlemen of Kent, one in 1847 and two in 1850, and made a single appearance for
Kent County Cricket Club
Kent County Cricket Club is one of the eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Kent. A club representing the county was first founded in 1842 but Ke ...
in the later season, a fixture against an All England side played at
School Field, Cranbrook
School Field Ground is a sports ground owned by Cranbrook School located in the town of Cranbrook, Kent. It is known by the school as Big Side Playing Field.MCC at
Lord's
Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and ...
in 1848 and seven in an innings in the same season's University Match.Charles Willis
CricInfo
ESPN cricinfo (formerly known as Cricinfo or CricInfo) is a sports news website exclusively for the game of cricket. The site features news, articles, live coverage of cricket matches (including liveblogs and scorecards), and ''StatsGuru'', a d ...
. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
Professional career
Willis was ordained in the Church of England in 1853, taking up the position of
curate
A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...
rector
Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to:
Style or title
*Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations
*Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...
Berkshire
Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...
between 1857 and 1876 before moving to occupy the same position at
Church Brampton
Church Brampton is a village in West Northamptonshire in England. Together with nearby Chapel Brampton the two villages are known as '' The Bramptons''. At the time of the 2001 census, the parish's population was 251 people. At the 2011 census ...
in Northamptonshire until 1879. Willis' final ecclesiasticial position was as rector of
Bassingham
__NOTOC__
Bassingham is a village and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 1,425. The village is situated approximately south-west from the city and c ...
in Lincolnshire where he served from 1879 until his death in 1895 at the age of 68.
In 1847 Willis married Rose Cleather at Hungerford in Berkshire. The couple had six children, four daughters and two sons. His elder brother, William Macbean Willis, also matriculated at Brasenose and was ordained in 1851. He served as curate at
Hythe
Hythe, from Anglo-Saxon ''hȳð'', may refer to a landing-place, port or haven, either as an element in a toponym, such as Rotherhithe in London, or to:
Places Australia
* Hythe, Tasmania
Canada
*Hythe, Alberta, a village in Canada
England
* T ...
and
Horsmonden
Horsmonden ( ) is a village in the borough of Tunbridge Wells in Kent, England. The village is located in the Weald of Kent. It is situated on a road leading from Maidstone to Lamberhurst, three miles north of the latter place. The nearest railwa ...
in Kent before being killed in a railway accident in 1854.