White Conduit Club
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The White Conduit Club (WCC) was a
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 ...
club based on the northern fringes of London that existed from c.1782 until 1788. Although short-lived, it had considerable significance in the history of the game, as its members created the first
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 ...
venue and reorganised themselves as the new
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). The WCC took its name from
White Conduit Fields White Conduit Fields in Islington was an early venue for cricket and several major matches are known to have been played there in the 18th century. It was the original home of the White Conduit Club, forerunner of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). ...
in
Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...
, where it was based until 1787. It was essentially a gentlemen's club for those with amateur status but it employed professional cricketers who provided coaching for the members and sometimes played in the club's matches; one of these was the bowler
Thomas Lord Thomas Lord (23 November 1755 – 13 January 1832) was an English professional cricketer who played first-class cricket from 1787 to 1802. He made a brief comeback, playing in one further match in 1815. Overall, Lord made 90 known appearances ...
, after whom Lord's is named. The most significant members were
Charles Lennox, 4th Duke of Richmond General Charles Lennox, 4th Duke of Richmond, 4th Duke of Lennox, 4th Duke of Aubigny, (9 December 176428 August 1819) was a Scottish peer, soldier, politician, and Governor-general of British North America. Background Richmond was born to Ge ...
and
George Finch, 9th Earl of Winchilsea George Finch, 9th Earl of Winchilsea (4 November 1752 – 2 August 1826), was an important figure in the history of cricket. His main contributions to the game were patronage and organisation but Winchilsea, an amateur, was also a very keen pla ...
who employed Lord to find a new, private venue for the club after complaints that White Conduit Fields was too open to the public. Famous players who represented WCC include the professionals John Small,
Lumpy Stevens Edward "Lumpy" Stevens (1735 – 7 September 1819) was an English professional cricketer who played first-class cricket in the 18th century. He was an outstanding bowler who is generally regarded as the first great bowler in the game's his ...
,
Tom Taylor Tom Taylor (19 October 1817 – 12 July 1880) was an English dramatist, critic, biographer, public servant, and editor of ''Punch'' magazine. Taylor had a brief academic career, holding the professorship of English literature and language a ...
and Tom Walker. Records of many WCC matches are known to have been lost when the
Lord's Pavilion The Lord's Pavilion is a cricket pavilion at Lord's Cricket Ground in London, England. Designed by Thomas Verity and built in 1889–1890, the pavilion has achieved Grade II* listed heritage designation. Like the rest of Lord's, the pavilion is o ...
burned down in 1825 and only 13 matches between 1784 and 1788 are known today. The club's matches were generally top-class, depending on the quality of their opponents.


History

The club was one of the most significant in the history of cricket, as it bridged the gulf between the rural and rustic Hambledon era and the new, modern and metropolitan era of
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 ...
and
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 ...
, the two entities that it spawned. It is not known for certain when the WCC was founded but it seems to have been after 1780 and certainly by 1785. According to
Pelham Warner Sir Pelham Francis Warner, (2 October 1873 – 30 January 1963), affectionately and better known as Plum Warner or "the Grand Old Man" of English cricket, was a Test cricketer and cricket administrator. He was knighted for services to sport in ...
, it was formed in 1782 as an offshoot from a West End convivial club called the ''Je-ne-sais-quoi'', some of whose members frequented the
White Conduit House The White Conduit House was a building in Islington, London. From the late 17th century, it was a leisure resort away from the city centre; it was demolished in 1849. History There were springs and conduit-heads in the area in the medieval period. ...
in
Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...
and played matches on the neighbouring
White Conduit Fields White Conduit Fields in Islington was an early venue for cricket and several major matches are known to have been played there in the 18th century. It was the original home of the White Conduit Club, forerunner of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). ...
.Warner, p. 17. The famous batsman Billy Beldham was hired while still a young professional by the WCC in 1785 and he told
James Pycroft James Pycroft (1813 – 10 March 1895) is chiefly known for writing ''The Cricket Field'', one of the earliest books about cricket, published in 1851. Pycroft mythologised cricket as a noble, manly and essentially British activity ("Cricket is e ...
, author of ''The Cricket Field'' (1851) that his farming employer concluded a deal with
George Finch, 9th Earl of Winchilsea George Finch, 9th Earl of Winchilsea (4 November 1752 – 2 August 1826), was an important figure in the history of cricket. His main contributions to the game were patronage and organisation but Winchilsea, an amateur, was also a very keen pla ...
to allow Beldham time off his agricultural duties to go to the "new cricket ground" at White Conduit Fields and play for Hampshire (or more accurately, the Hambledon Club) against All-England. The score of this match has evidently been lost because there is no trace of an All-England v Hampshire game at White Conduit Fields in or about 1785. Beldham's first match in ''Scores & Biographies'' was for All-England v WCC 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 1787; but he was previously recorded as playing for Berkshire against Essex in 1785 (this match was recorded by
H. T. Waghorn Henry Thomas Waghorn (11 April 1842 – 30 January 1930), was a cricket statistician and historian. He is best known for his two classic researches into cricket's early history: ''The Dawn of Cricket'' and Cricket Scores, Notes, etc. (1730 - 1773 ...
in his ''Dawn of Cricket''). Although his match cannot be traced, it is interesting that Beldham described the ground at White Conduit Fields as "new" because it was not a new venue, although perhaps a new area of it had been designated for use by the WCC. What was "new" was the club, not the venue. The WCC had its origin in much earlier gentlemen's clubs. By the 1720s, cricket was already well-established in southern counties such as Kent, Surrey and Sussex. It was also being played and watched, often by large crowds of spectators, in London, where many of its leading advocates and players were members of the aristocracy. One of the earliest recognised London cricket clubs was the "Je-ne-sais-quoi", later known as the "Star and Garter", which had a meeting place on Pall Mall and actually drew up a set of Laws there in 1774. In the 1730s and 1740s, the Star and Garter Club had
Frederick, Prince of Wales Frederick, Prince of Wales, (Frederick Louis, ; 31 January 170731 March 1751), was the eldest son and heir apparent of King George II of Great Britain. He grew estranged from his parents, King George and Queen Caroline. Frederick was the fath ...
as its chairman. From that club there grew the WCC, so-called because it played on White Conduit Fields. Its leading lights were
George Finch, 9th Earl of Winchilsea George Finch, 9th Earl of Winchilsea (4 November 1752 – 2 August 1826), was an important figure in the history of cricket. His main contributions to the game were patronage and organisation but Winchilsea, an amateur, was also a very keen pla ...
(1752–1826) and the Hon. Colonel Charles Lennox (1764–1819), who later became the 4th Duke of Richmond. The WCC was nominally an exclusive club that only "gentlemen" might play for, but the club did employ professionals and one of these was the bowler
Thomas Lord Thomas Lord (23 November 1755 – 13 January 1832) was an English professional cricketer who played first-class cricket from 1787 to 1802. He made a brief comeback, playing in one further match in 1815. Overall, Lord made 90 known appearances ...
, a man who was recognised for his business acumen as well as his bowling ability. It might have continued except that White Conduit Fields was an open area allowing members of the public, including the rowdier elements, to watch the matches and to voice their opinions on the play and the players. The White Conduit gentlemen were not amused by such interruptions and decided to look for a more private venue of their own. Thomas Lord ultimately used his business abilities to become a successful wine and provisions merchant, but he is remembered for his cricket grounds (there were three in all). Winchilsea and Lennox asked Lord to find a new ground and offered him a guarantee against any losses he may suffer in the venture. So Lord took a lease from the Portman Estate on some land at Dorset Fields where Dorset Square is now sited; and the ground was prepared and opened in 1787. It was named Lord's cricket ground and, since it was in Marylebone, the WCC on relocating there decided to call themselves Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). The White Conduit Club disappeared in the aftermath of MCC's founding and White Conduit Fields also disappeared under increasing urbanisation as London expanded and absorbed the village of Islington. The White Conduit Club is known to have played at least eleven matches between 1785 and 1788. The last was on 27 June 1788 against MCC at Lord's (Dorset Square). It is recorded in ''Scores & Biographies'' on page 83 but its status as a senior match is questionable because the WCC team contained ten unknown players. MCC won by 83 runs and WCC played no more.


Matches


Players

A total of 49 players are known to have appeared in senior matches for White Conduit. The most was seven by Winchilsea. Sir Peter Burrell and John Dampier played in six; Gilbert East in five; Richard Newman, George Talbot, G. Drummond of Surrey and J. Wyatt of Essex all played in four.


References


Bibliography

* * * * {{cite book , last=Warner , first=Pelham , authorlink=Pelham Warner , title=Lord's 1787–1945 , year=1946 , publisher=Harrap


External links


From Lads to Lord's – White Conduit Club


* Sports clubs established in the 1780s Former senior cricket clubs English cricket teams in the 18th century 1780s establishments in England