Sir Thomas Moncreiffe, 7th Baronet (9 January 1822 – 16 August 1879) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

first-class

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

er and

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

officer. The son of Sir David Moncreiffe and his wife, Helen Mackay, he was born at Moncreiffe House in

Perthshire Perthshire (Scottish English, locally: ; ), officially the County of Perth, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore, Angus and Perth & Kinross, Strathmore ...

in January 1822. His father died in November 1830, with Moncreiffe succeeding him as the 7th Baronet of the Moncreiffe baronets. He was educated at

Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (school founder), John Lyon, a local landowner an ...

, after which he joined the

Scots Guards The Scots Guards (SG) is one of the five Foot guards#United Kingdom, Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. Its origins are as the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland. Its lineage can be traced back to 1642 in the Ki ...

. He made his debut in

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 of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adju ...

for the

Marylebone Cricket Club The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's, Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London, England. The club was the governing body of cricket from 1788 to 1989 and retain ...

(MCC) against

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

Lord's Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket List of Test cricket grounds, venue in St John's Wood, Westminster. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex C ...

in 1841. He later transferred to the

Grenadier Guards The Grenadier Guards (GREN GDS) is the most senior infantry regiment of the British Army, being at the top of the Infantry Order of Precedence. It can trace its lineage back to 1656 when Lord Wentworth's Regiment was raised in Bruges to protect ...

and by January 1846, he had been promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel, while serving in the Royal Perthshire Militia. In 1848, he appeared twice for the MCC in two first-class matches played against

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

and the Surrey Club. Four years later, he made three final appearances in first-class cricket, playing twice for the MCC and once for the Gentlemen of the North against the

Gentlemen of the South ''Gentleman'' (Old French: ''gentilz hom'', gentle + man; abbreviated ''gent.'') is a term for a chivalrous, courteous, or honorable man. Originally, ''gentleman'' was the lowest rank of the landed gentry of England, ranking below an esquire a ...

. He was appointed as the honorary

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

of the Royal Perthshire Rifle Militia in October 1855. He was appointed to be the Vice Lord Lieutenant of Perthshire in May 1878. Moncreiffe was a member of the

Royal Company of Archers The Royal Company of Archers, The King's Bodyguard for Scotland, is a ceremonial unit that serves as the Sovereign's bodyguard in Scotland—a role it has performed since 1822 during the reign of King George IV when the company provided a pers ...

, having been admitted in 1837, and a captain of

The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews is one of the oldest golf clubs in the world. It is a private members-only club based in St Andrews in Scotland. It was previously known colloquially as "The R&A", but in 2004, a new organisation kn ...

. He died at Moncreiffe House in August 1879. He was succeeded in the baronetcy by his son, Robert Moncreiffe, one of sixteen children he had with his wife, Lady Louisa Hay-Drummond, whom he had married in 1843. His grandson, Gerald Ward, later also played first-class cricket. A former president of the

Perthshire Society of Natural Science Perthshire Society of Natural Science (PSNS) is one of the oldest scientific societies in Scotland, having been established in 1867. Under its parent body, it has four sections covering botany, ornithology, archaeology and history and photography ...

, the building's museum, formerly at

62–72 Tay Street 62–72 Tay Street (also known as the County Buildings) is an historic row of buildings in Perth, Scotland. Designed by local architect J. & G. Young, John Young, the building is Category B listed building, listed, dating to 1881. Standing on Tay ...

in Perth, was built in his memory.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Moncreiffe, Thomas 1822 births 1879 deaths Nobility from Perth and Kinross Cricketers from Perth and Kinross Baronets in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia People educated at Harrow School Scottish cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Scots Guards officers Grenadier Guards officers Gentlemen of the North cricketers Deputy lieutenants of Perthshire