The 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 ...

Lord Frederick de Vere Beauclerk (8 May 1773 – 22 April 1850), a 19th-century

Anglican priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particul ...

, was an outstanding but controversial

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

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, the leading "amateur" player of the

Napoleonic period The Napoleonic era is a period in the history of France and Europe. It is generally classified as including the fourth and final stage of the French Revolution, the first being the National Assembly, the second being the Legislative ...

. Lord Frederick played for 35 years from 1791 to 1825, and served as

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

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) for 1826–27.

Early life and ecclesiastical career

Beauclerk was born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

on 8 May 1773, the fourth son of Aubrey, 5th Duke of St Albans and his wife, the former Lady Catherine Ponsonby, daughter of William, 2nd Earl of Bessborough by his wife Lady Caroline Cavendish. After

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

, Beauclerk went up to

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

, being admitted in 1790 aged 17, graduating

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

1792, receiving

D.D. A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ra ...

1824. Like other younger sons of the

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the realm with many e ...

, Beauclerk entered holy orders, being ordained

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

in 1795 and

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

in 1797. He was appointed

Vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...

of Kimpton (1797–1827), being presented in 1827 to the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

Redbourn Redbourn is a village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England, lying on Watling Street, from Harpenden, from St Albans and from Hemel Hempstead. The civil parish had a population of 5,113 according to the 2011 Census. The three tiers of ...

and then

St Michael's Church, St Albans St Michael's Church is a Church of England parish church in St Albans, Hertfordshire, England. Much of the building is late 10th or early 11th century, making it the most significant surviving Anglo-Saxon building in the county. It is located ...

(1828–1850). However, he "never allowed his clerical duties to interfere materially with the claims of cricket" and "his sermons were legendary for their dullness".CricInfo – ''Cricket's original sin''
Retrieved on 25 May 2010.

Ecclesiastical ministry

During his

ministry Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian ...

in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

, Beauclerk held the following ecclesiastical appointments: *Vicar of Kimpton (1797–1827) *Vicar of

(1827–1850) *Vicar of

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...

(1828–1850).

Cricket career

Beauclerk was a right-handed

batsman In cricket, batting is the act or skill of hitting the ball with a bat to score runs and prevent the loss of one's wicket. Any player who is currently batting is, since September 2021, officially referred to as a batter (historically, the ...

and right-arm slow

underarm The axilla (also, armpit, underarm or oxter) is the area on the human body directly under the shoulder joint. It includes the axillary space, an anatomical space within the shoulder girdle between the arm and the thoracic cage, bounded superiorl ...

bowler, a recognised

all-rounder An all-rounder is a cricketer who regularly performs well at both batting and bowling. Although all bowlers must bat and quite a handful of batsmen do bowl occasionally, most players are skilled in only one of the two disciplines and are consi ...

. He generally fielded at

slip Slip or SLIP may refer to: Science and technology Biology * Slip (fish), also known as Black Sole * Slip (horticulture), a small cutting of a plant as a specimen or for grafting * Muscle slip, a branching of a muscle, in anatomy Computing and ...

. His career spanned the 1791 to 1825

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

s. In his prime, his height was and he weighed between . Lord Frederick's cricketing talent as an accurate slow bowler was spotted at

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

by the George, 9th Earl of Winchilsea, who invited him to play for MCC.Birley, p.49. Beauclerk's first-class debut was for MCC v Gentlemen of Kent at

Lord's Old Ground Lord's Old Ground was a cricket venue in London that was established by Thomas Lord in 1787. It was used mainly by Marylebone Cricket Club for major matches until 1810, after which a dispute about rent caused Lord to relocate. Matches The first ...

on 2 & 3 June 1791. Beauclerk was "now but 18 years of age". He played two first-class matches in the 1791 season then being unavailable until the 1795 season when he completed his Divinity studies; he then developed as a regular and prolific

cricket player 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 ...

. Having started as a bowler, he honed his batting skills becoming better known as a hard-hitting batsman, but Beauclerk always remained a genuine all-rounder. Beauclerk played for the Gentlemen in the inaugural and second

Gentlemen v Players Gentlemen v Players was a long-running series of English first-class cricket matches. Two matches were played in 1806, but the fixture was not played again until 1819. It became an annual event, usually played at least twice each season, exc ...

match A match is a tool for starting a fire. Typically, matches are made of small wooden sticks or stiff paper. One end is coated with a material that can be ignited by friction generated by striking the match against a suitable surface. Wooden matc ...

es in 1806. Beauclerk scored 170 playing for

Homerton Homerton ( ) is an area in London, England, in the London Borough of Hackney. It is bordered to the west by Hackney Central, to the north by Lower Clapton, in the east by Hackney Wick, Leyton and by South Hackney to the south. In 2019, it had ...

against Montpelier in 1807, a match not widely recognised as first-class. This score set a

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

for the highest individual innings in all forms of cricket that lasted until 1820 when it was beaten by

Viscount Bangor Viscount Bangor, of Castle Ward, in County Down, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. History The title was created in January 1781 for Bernard Ward, 1st Baron Bangor, who had previously represented Down in the Irish House of Commons. He ha ...

's kinsman, William Ward, who scored 278.CricInfo – From Minshull to Collins
Retrieved on 26 July 2009. In 1810, Beauclerk and Thomas Howard, cousin of the

Earl of Carlisle Earl of Carlisle is a title that has been created three times in the Peerage of England. History The first creation came in 1322, when Andrew Harclay, 1st Baron Harclay, was made Earl of Carlisle. He had already been summoned to Parliame ...

, were due to play

George Osbaldeston George Osbaldeston (26 December 1786 – 1 August 1866), best known as Squire Osbaldeston, was an English politician who served as a Member of Parliament but who had his greatest impact as a sportsman and first-class cricketer. Early life He wa ...

and William Lambert in a lucrative

single wicket Single wicket cricket is a form of cricket played between two individuals, who take turns to bat and bowl against each other. The one bowling is assisted by a team of fielders, who remain as fielders at the change of innings. The winner is the one w ...

. Osbaldeston was taken ill just before the match and Beauclerk flatly refused to postpone it, saying: "Play or Pay"! Lambert had to play on his own but he was a canny

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

who was well aware of Beauclerk's weakness: his uncontrollable temper. By deliberately bowling wide, Lambert caused Beauclerk to lose both his temper and his wicket with the result that Lambert won the match by 15 runs.Altham, p.56. The humiliated and vindictive Beauclerk would have his revenge on Osbaldeston and Lambert in years to come but first he used his influence at MCC to secure a change in the

Laws of Cricket The ''Laws of Cricket'' is a code which specifies the rules of the game of cricket worldwide. The earliest known code was drafted in 1744 and, since 1788, it has been owned and maintained by its custodian, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in Lond ...

so that wide balls were for the first time banned in 1811.Birley, p.57. In 1817, Beauclerk played in a highly controversial match at Nottingham where he

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

ed an All-England team while Osbaldeston and Lambert were

given men A given is a statement or a condition assumed to be true or known, often to explain or give an example of something; for related topics, see: * Presumption (in law) * Axiom (in formal logic) * Givenness (in discourse) * Conditional probability, u ...

for

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

.Bowen, p.82. Accusations of match-fixing were made by both sides and Beauclerk was able to produce witnesses who implicated Lambert. As a result, MCC banned Lambert from ever playing again at

Lord's Cricket Ground 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 ...

.Birley, p.61. Osbaldeston's turn came in 1818 after he too lost his temper when beaten at single wicket by

George Brown George Brown may refer to: Arts and entertainment * George Loring Brown (1814–1889), American landscape painter * George Douglas Brown (1869–1902), Scottish novelist * George Williams Brown (1894–1963), Canadian historian and editor * G ...

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

. Osbaldeston was so angry that he resigned his MCC membership. Later, he repented and asked to be reinstated but Beauclerk refused his application. Beauclerk persuaded MCC to call a meeting to ban

roundarm bowling In cricket, roundarm bowling is a bowling style that was introduced in the first quarter of the 19th century and largely superseded underarm bowling by the 1830s. Using a roundarm action, the bowlers extend their arm about 90 degrees from their ...

in 1822 even though he had been known to claim

wager Wager can refer to: Gambling * Wager, the amount of a valuable staked when gambling on an event with an uncertain outcome, with the primary intent of winning money or material goods * Legal wager, required by both parties at the preliminary hearin ...

s when playing alongside the early roundarmers like John Willes. According to

Lord Harris Colonel George Robert Canning Harris, 4th Baron Harris, (3 February 1851 – 24 March 1932), generally known as Lord Harris, was a British colonial administrator and Governor of Bombay. He was also an English amateur cricketer, mainly active f ...

: "When he illesplayed on the side of Lord Frederick his bowling was fair, when against him, the contrary".Birley, p.64. Beauclerk was the second President of MCC in 1826, playing for its team in minor matches while in office. Thereafter, he was a regular attendee 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 ...

to watch matches, from time to time lending his

patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

age by standing sponsor.Birley, p.76. A "persistent symbol of insensitive autocracy long after his retirement", he was invariably accompanied by a "nasty, yapping dog" whereas the rule for everyone else was: "No dogs allowed".Birley, p.87.

Style and technique

Beauclerk was one of the best

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who is ...

s of the 19th century. His batting style was "rather scientific, in the more orthodox manner of the professionals", while his under-arm bowling was very slow, but extremely accurate and he could get the ball to rise abruptly off a length.CricInfo – profile
Retrieved on 26 July 2009. Although his batting style was described as scientific, Beauclerk was also impulsive as "he sometimes lost his wicket by trying to cut straight balls". He was a hard-hitting batsman with fine strokeplay, "especially to the off". He improved his batsmanship by modelling himself on

William Beldham William "Silver Billy" Beldham (5 February 1766 – 26 February 1862) was an English professional cricketer who played for numerous teams between 1782 and 1821. He was born at Wrecclesham, near Farnham in Surrey, and died at Tilford, Surrey. ...

, but he lacked the latter's natural flair.Birley, p.51. Beauclerk was also an astute tactician and it has been recorded that he carefully studied opposing batsmen and had the ability to quickly understand their strengths and weaknesses so that he could set his

field Field may refer to: Expanses of open ground * Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes * Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport * Battlefield * Lawn, an area of mowed grass * Meadow, a grass ...

accordingly. Beauclerk wore a white

beaver hat A beaver hat is a hat made from felted beaver fur. They were fashionable across much of Europe during the period 1550–1850 because the soft yet resilient material could be easily combed to make a variety of hat shapes (including the familiar to ...

when playing, the remainder of his outfit being a white shirt, nankeen breeches, a scarlet sash and white stockings.Altham, p.54. He once threw his hat down on the pitch in frustration at his inability to dismiss the obdurate batsman Tom Walker, known as "Old Everlasting". Beauclerk called Walker a "confounded old beast" but, when Walker was asked about it afterwards, he shrugged and said: "I don't care what he says".

Personality

Beauclerk became renowned as one of the most controversial figures in

cricket history The sport of cricket has a known history beginning in the late 16th century. Having originated in south-east England, it became an established sport in the country in the 18th century and developed globally in the 19th and 20th centuries. Inte ...

. His competitive approach to the game was well summarised in a

verse Verse may refer to: Poetry * Verse, an occasional synonym for poetry * Verse, a metrical structure, a stanza * Blank verse, a type of poetry having regular meter but no rhyme * Free verse, a type of poetry written without the use of strict me ...

written by a contemporary:

''My Lord he comes next, and will make you all stare
With his little tricks, a long way from fair''.

Much that is

hagiography A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian hagiographies migh ...

exists about cricketers but "an unqualified eulogy of Beauclerk has never been seen and that is significant". Although he was a cleric and ostensibly against gambling, he estimated that he made up to £600 a year from playing cricket, which at the time was funded mostly by gambling. But Beauclerk as a vicar was "completely devoid of Christian charity". In this vein, Rowland Bowen likened him to Talleyrand as "a cleric without, it would seem, the faintest interest in being a clergyman or any kind of Christian".Bowen, p.81. Beauclerk has been described as "an unmitigated scoundrel". Among the quotations about him is one that he was a "foul-mouthed, dishonest man who was one of the most hated figures in society ... he bought and sold matches as though they were lots at an auction". Another described him as "cruel, unforgiving, cantankerous and bitter". In an early example of gamesmanship, he is said to have occasionally suspended an expensive gold watch from the middle stump whilst batting, the inference being that his batting was sound enough, or the bowling bad enough, for it to remain unscathed.Nell Gwynn: Mistress to a King, p.378. Sadly, there is no record of how many watches he lost in this fashion. When Lord Frederick died in 1850, his unpopularity was such that '' The Times'' did not publish his

obituary An obituary ( obit for short) is an article about a recently deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on positive aspects of the subject's life, this is not always the case. Ac ...

Family and personal life

The fourth son and fifth child of the 5th Duke of St Albans, Beauclerk descended from Charles II and

Nell Gwyn Eleanor Gwyn (2 February 1650 – 14 November 1687; also spelled ''Gwynn'', ''Gwynne'') was a celebrity figure of the Restoration period. Praised by Samuel Pepys for her comic performances as one of the first actresses on the English stage ...

.Altham, p.54. He married

the Hon. ''The Honourable'' (British English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific style that is used as a prefix before the names or titles of certain ...

Charlotte Dillon-Lee, daughter of Charles, 12th Viscount Dillon, on 3 July 1813. They had four children: * Caroline Henrietta Frederica Beauclerk (1815–1878), married Charles-Eugène Leloup (d. 1878) *

Charles William Beauclerk Charles William Beauclerk (7 May 1816 – 23 May 1863) was an English first-class cricketer active 1835–37 who played for Oxford University and Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). The son of Lord Frederick Beauclerk, he was born in Kimpton, He ...

(1816–1863), married Penelope Hulkes (d. 1890) * Aubrey Frederick James Beauclerk (1817–1853), late

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Scots Guards * Henrietta Mary Beauclerk (1818–1887), married Sir Edward Rokewode Gage, 9th and last Bt. His sons, Charles and Aubrey Beauclerk, also being in remainder to the dukedom, played

as did his nephew, William, 9th Duke of St Albans.CricketArchive – profile
Retrieved on 26 July 2009. Beauclerk was lord of the manor and patron of the advowson of Winchfield, Hampshire, as well as owning a

town house at 68 Grosvenor Street,

Mayfair Mayfair is an affluent area in the West End of London towards the eastern edge of Hyde Park, in the City of Westminster, between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane. It is one of the most expensive districts in the world. ...

, where he died aged 76 on 22 April 1850. Buried at St Mary's Church, Winchfield, a

tablet Tablet may refer to: Medicine * Tablet (pharmacy), a mixture of pharmacological substances pressed into a small cake or bar, colloquially called a "pill" Computing * Tablet computer, a mobile computer that is primarily operated by touching the s ...

in memory of "his many virtues" was erected in the navewww.stmaryswinchfield.org.uk
/ref> by his widow, Lady Frederick Beauclerk.Haygarth, p.113.

References

Bibliography

* H. S. Altham, ''A History of Cricket, Volume 1 (to 1914)'', George Allen & Unwin, 1962 * Derek Birley, ''A Social History of English Cricket'', Aurum, 1999 * Rowland Bowen, ''Cricket: A History of its Growth and Development'', Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1970 * Charles Burford, ''Nell Gwyn: Mistress to a King'', Atlantic Monthly Press, 2005 * Arthur Haygarth, ''Scores & Biographies, Volume 1 (1744–1826)'', Lillywhite, 1862 * Ashley Mallett, ''The Black Lords of Summer'', Univ. of Queensland Press, 2002 * Mike Thompson, ''The Lord of Lord's: The Life & Times of Lord Frederick Beauclerk'', Christopher Saunders Publishing, 2017.

External links

www.lords.org
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Beauclerk, Frederick 1773 births 1850 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge 19th-century English Anglican priests Cambridge University cricketers Presidents of the Marylebone Cricket Club English cricketers English cricketers of 1787 to 1825 Gentlemen cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Younger sons of dukes F Hampshire cricketers Surrey cricketers Middlesex cricketers Kent cricketers Epsom cricketers The Bs cricketers Colonel C. Lennox's XI cricketers Gentlemen of England cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club and Homerton cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club First 8 with 3 Others cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club Second 9 with 3 Others cricketers