Rev. Henry Holmes Stewart (8 November 1847 – 20 March 1937) was a Scottish clergyman who was a member of the Wanderers team which won the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

in 1873. He also played for the Scottish team in 1872 in the last of the series of representative football matches against England.

Family and education

Stewart was born in Cairnsmuir, near

Newton Stewart Newton Stewart ( Gd: ''Baile Ùr nan Stiùbhartach'') is a former burgh town in the historical county of Wigtownshire in Dumfries and Galloway, southwest Scotland. The town is on the River Cree with most of the town to the west of the river, and ...

, Kirkcudbrightshire, the son of James Stewart and Elizabeth MacLeod. His brothers included James (1840–1938) and Ravenscroft (1845–1921), both of whom also attended Trinity College. He attended

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 Loretto College, Edinburgh before going 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 ...

in 1867. He graduated in 1871 with a BA and was awarded his MA in 1874. On 28 July 1874, he married Lady Beatrice Diana Cecilia Carnegie, daughter of

James Carnegie, 9th Earl of Southesk James Carnegie, 9th Earl of Southesk, KT, DL (16 November 1827 – 21 February 1905) was a Scottish nobleman, explorer and poet. Early life Born in Edinburgh, on 16 November 1827, Southesk was the son of Sir James Carnegie, 5th Baronet and Cha ...

and Lady Catherine Hamilton Noel.

Cricket career

At Repton School, he was an outstanding

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 and was in the school team from 1865 to 1867; in his final season, he was the school's best batsman. He also played cricket 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 ...

although he did not play any first class matches. He also played for MCC and

I Zingari I Zingari (from dialectalized Italian , meaning "the Gypsies"; corresponding to standard Italian ') are English and Australian amateur cricket clubs, founded in 1845 and 1888 respectively. It is the oldest and perhaps the most famous of the 'wa ...

. Following his move to

Glamorgan , HQ = Cardiff , Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974) , Origin= , Code = GLA , CodeName = Chapman code , Replace = * West Glamorgan * Mid Glamorgan * South Glamorgan , Motto ...

, he played village cricket, continuing well into the twentieth century.

Football career

After leaving university, he joined the Wanderers club. He made his debut for them on 4 March 1872 at

Kennington Oval The Oval, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club since it ...

in the semi-final of the

against the Scottish team, Queens Park; this was the first time that a Scottish side had visited London and the Scots' travelling expenses were met by public subscription in Glasgow. The match ended in a 0–0 draw; as Queens Park were unable to raise the cost of a second trip to London, they withdrew from the competition, leaving Wanderers to go through to the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

. Two weeks before the FA Cup semi-final, Stewart was a member of the Scottish team that played England in what was to be the last of the series of representative matches between the two countries. The match ended with a 1–0 victory for the English. In a match report, Stewart was praised for his "untiring forward play throughout". In the next season, Stewart played frequently for the Wanderers making eight appearances. He was variously described as "keeps well on the ball and never flags" and "sticks close to the ball and follows up hard; a very useful forward". As holders, Wanderers were given a "bye" to the Cup Final in which Stewart was selected as one of the eight forwards. The final, played against

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

Lillie Bridge The Lillie Bridge Grounds was a sports ground on the Fulham side of West Brompton, London. It opened in 1866, coinciding with the opening of West Brompton station. It was named after the local landowner, Sir John Scott Lillie (1790–1868) and ...

on 29 March 1873 ended in a 2–0 victory for the Wanderers. Stewart played three more matches for the Wanderers in 1873–74 before his clerical career took him away from London.

Clerical career

Stewart was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

as a

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 London in 1872 and as a priest in 1873. He was

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 ...

at St. John's,

Holborn Holborn ( or ) is a district in central London, which covers the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Camden and a part ( St Andrew Holborn Below the Bars) of the Ward of Farringdon Without in the City of London. The area has its roots ...

from 1872 to 1874 and then

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 ...

East Witton East Witton is a village and civil parish in Wensleydale in North Yorkshire, England. It lies south of Leyburn, in the Richmondshire district. Richard Whiteley is buried there; he and his partner, Kathryn Apanowicz, lived in the village. Th ...

, North Riding of Yorkshire from 1874 to 1878. He was then

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 ...

Brington, Northamptonshire Brington is a civil parish in West Northamptonshire in England. At the time of the 2001 census, the parish population was 482 people, increasing to 496 at the 2011 census. It contains three villages: *Great Brington * Little Brington *Nobottle ...

(1878–1898), vicar at Porthkerry with Barry, Glamorgan (1898–1914), vicar at St. Lythan's, Glamorgan (1914–1925) and, finally, rector at

Michaelston-le-Pit Michaelston-le-Pit ( cy, Llanfihangel-y-pwll) is a village in the Vale of Glamorgan, just to the west of the city of Cardiff, Wales. It is part of the Michaelston-le-Pit and Leckwith community. The community population taken at the 2011 censu ...

, Glamorgan from 1925 to 1935. He died on 20 March 1937, aged 89 years, at his home at

Dinas Powys Dinas Powys (; also spelt "Dinas Powis" in English) is a small town and community (Wales), community in the Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales. Its name means "fort of the provincial place" and refers to the Dinas Powys hillfort, Iron Age hillfort wh ...

, Glamorgan.

References

External links

Cricket career details on Cricket Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Henry Holmes 1847 births 1937 deaths 19th-century Scottish clergy 20th-century Scottish clergy Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Association football forwards England v Scotland representative footballers (1870–1872) FA Cup Final players People educated at Loretto School, Musselburgh People educated at Repton School People from Newton Stewart Scottish footballers Wanderers F.C. players