Harry Gillespie Topham (17 February 1862 – 28 February 1925) was an English clergyman and

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 ...

er who played for

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 ...

during the 1881 season and for

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 ...

in 1883 and 1884. Topham was born in

Ladbroke, Warwickshire Ladbroke is a village and civil parish about south of Southam in Warwickshire. The population of the civil parish at the 2001 Census was 273, reducing to 268 at the 2011 Census. Manor The earliest known record of Ladbroke is from 998, when ...

the son of Rev. Edward Charles Topham, rector of Hauxwell, Yorkshire and his wife Grace Gillespie. He was educated at

Repton School Repton School is a 13–18 Mixed-sex education, co-educational, Independent school (United Kingdom), independent, Day school, day and boarding school in the English Public school (United Kingdom), public school tradition, in Repton, Derbyshire, ...

, and became a member of their cricketing eleven between 1878 and 1881. He made his debut in First Class cricket for Derbyshire in 1881 in August against

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

, when he took a wicket in each innings, while

William Mycroft William Mycroft (1 February 1841 – 19 June 1894) was an English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Derbyshire and MCC between 1873 and 1886. He was a left-arm fast bowler with a great deal of spin and a dangerous yorker that was ofte ...

did most of the damage. He went to

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes fr ...

, and played fifteen games for

. In 1883, he took 5 wickets for 48 against

Gentlemen of England Cricket, and hence English amateur cricket, probably began in England during the medieval period but the earliest known reference concerns the game being played c.1550 by children on a plot of land at the Royal Grammar School, Guildford, Surrey ...

and was in the winning

Varsity match A varsity match is a fixture (especially of a sporting event or team) between two university teams, particularly Oxford and Cambridge. The Scottish Varsity rugby match between the University of St Andrews and the University of Edinburgh at Murray ...

but took no wickets. In 1884 he took 5 for 73 against

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, 5 for 74 against the Australians and 7 for 62 in a ten wicket match against Gentlemen of England. He was on the losing side in the 1884 Varsity match. Topham was left-arm slow bowler and took 60 first-class wickets with an average of 18.66 and a best performance of 7-62, achieving four five wicket innings and one ten-wicket match during his first-class career. He was a left-handed batsman and played 28 innings in 16 matches with an average of 5.93 and a top score of 12.Harry Topham at Cricket Archive
/ref> Middleham, The Collegiate Church St Mary and St Alkeda

Middleham, The Collegiate Church St Mary and St Alkeda

Topham was ordained deacon (Rochester) in 1886 and priest in 1887. He was curate of Holy Trinity, Greenwich from 1886 to 1887 and of St Paul's,

Newington, London Newington is a district of South London, just south of the River Thames, and part of the London Borough of Southwark. It was an ancient parish and the site of the early administration of the county of Surrey. It was the location of the County ...

from 1887 to 1892. He turned out for a Gentlemen of Kent side in 1888. In 1892 he became vicar of

Milton, Portsmouth Milton is a residential area of the English city of Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, on the south eastern side of Portsea Island. Milton is bordered on the eastern coast of Portsea Island by Langstone Harbour, with Eastney to the south-east, Sout ...

, but lost his first wife in 1893 and became curate of

Farnham, Surrey Farnham ( /ˈfɑːnəm/) is a market town and civil parish in Surrey, England, around southwest of London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, close to the county border with Hampshire. The town is on the north branch of the River Wey, a tribu ...

in 1894. He then became curate of

Badshot Lea Badshot Lea is a small village in Surrey, England, and close to Aldershot. Badshot Lea has access in either direction to the A31 and A331 and is connected to railway stations in the nearby towns with regular bus services. The village is part o ...

in 1900. In 1903 he became rector of

Middleham Middleham is an English market town and civil parish in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire. It lies in Wensleydale in the Yorkshire Dales, on the south side of the valley, upstream from the junction of the River Ure and River Cover. ...

, Yorkshire, remaining in post until his death at the age of 63. Topham married Emily Catherine Peyton Wilson on 1 September 1892 but she died a year later. Topham married Edith Coore on 2 July 1907 and had two daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Topham, Harry 1862 births 1925 deaths People educated at Repton School Cambridge University cricketers Derbyshire cricketers English cricketers Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge 19th-century English Anglican priests 20th-century English Anglican priests People from Stratford-on-Avon District Cricketers from Warwickshire