Thomas Assheton Smith (the younger) (2 August 1776 – 9 September 1858) was an English landowner and all-round sportsman who was notable for being one of the outstanding amateur
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 ...
ers of the early 19th century. He was a
Tory
A Tory () is an individual who supports a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalist conservatism which upholds the established social order as it has evolved through the history of Great Britain. The To ...
politician who sat in the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
from 1821 to 1837. He was also known for his pioneering work on the design of
steam yacht
A steam yacht is a class of luxury or commercial yacht with primary or secondary steam propulsion in addition to the sails usually carried by yachts.
Origin of the name
The English steamboat entrepreneur George Dodd (1783–1827) used the term ...
s in conjunction with the Scottish marine engineer Robert Napier.
Early life
Smith was born in Queen Anne Street, Cavendish Square,
Westminster
Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...
, London. He was the second son of Elizabeth ( Wynn) Smith and
Thomas Assheton Smith I
Thomas may refer to:
People
* List of people with given name Thomas
* Thomas (name)
* Thomas (surname)
* Saint Thomas (disambiguation)
* Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church
* Thomas the A ...
(1752–1828), who made his fortune in the Welsh slate industry and was a noted patron of cricket in the early years of
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) from the
1787 English cricket season. He had five sisters and an elder brother, John, who was expelled from the family after marrying a servant, paving the way for Thomas to become his father's heir. His younger brother, William, saw action at
Trafalgar Trafalgar most often refers to:
* The Battle of Trafalgar (1805), fought near Cape Trafalgar, Spain
* Trafalgar Square, a public space and tourist attraction in London, England
Trafalgar may also refer to:
Places
* Cape Trafalgar, a headland in ...
on but drowned in 1806.
Smith was educated at
Eton between 1783 and 1794, eventually playing for the school's cricket team. He went on to
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...
where he joined the
Bullingdon Club
The Bullingdon Club is a private all-male dining club for Oxford University students. It is known for its wealthy members, grand banquets, and bad behaviour, including vandalism of restaurants and students' rooms. The club selects its members ...
and was a prominent member of its team in 1796.
Career
Smith was elected
Member of Parliament representing
Andover
Andover may refer to:
Places Australia
*Andover, Tasmania
Canada
* Andover Parish, New Brunswick
* Perth-Andover, New Brunswick
United Kingdom
* Andover, Hampshire, England
** RAF Andover, a former Royal Air Force station
United States
* Andov ...
in 1821 and held the seat until 1831; at the
1832 general election he was elected MP for
Caernarvonshire
Caernarfonshire (; , ), previously spelled Caernarvonshire or Carnarvonshire, was one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was located in the north-west of Wales.
Geography
The county ...
and held the seat until 1837.
He was
High Sheriff of Wiltshire
This is a list of the sheriffs and (after 1 April 1974) high sheriffs of Wiltshire.
Until the 14th century, the shrievalty was held ''ex officio'' by the castellans of Old Sarum Castle.
On 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the Local Go ...
in 1838.
Cricket career
Smith was a hard hitting right-handed batsman and made 45 known appearances in
first-class matches up to the
1820 season. His career spanned the
Napoleonic Wars
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Napoleonic Wars
, partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars
, image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg
, caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...
which had a detrimental effect on the game and so reduced his opportunities for playing.
Smith played for the Gentlemen in the inaugural and second
Gentlemen v Players
Gentlemen v Players was a long-running series of cricket matches that began in July 1806 and was abolished in January 1963. It was a match between a team consisting of amateurs (the Gentlemen) and a team consisting of professionals (the Players ...
matches in 1806.
According to ''Scores & Biographies'' (S&B), Smith "being a good hard hitter was pretty successful". He was also, says S&B, a "crack" shot and a "mighty hunter" who acquired the name of the "British Nimrod". In the contemporary scorecards, he is generally shown as "T A Smith, Esq." whereas his father was usually recorded as "A Smith, Esq."
Foxhunting
From 1806 to 1816, Smith was Master of the
Quorn Hunt
The Quorn Hunt, usually called the Quorn, established in 1696, is one of the world's oldest fox hunting packs and claims to be the United Kingdom's most famous hunt. Its country is mostly in Leicestershire, together with some smaller areas of ...
in
Leicestershire
Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...
, then from 1816 to 1824 of the Burton hounds in
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...
. He established his pack at
Penton, near
Andover
Andover may refer to:
Places Australia
*Andover, Tasmania
Canada
* Andover Parish, New Brunswick
* Perth-Andover, New Brunswick
United Kingdom
* Andover, Hampshire, England
** RAF Andover, a former Royal Air Force station
United States
* Andov ...
, Hampshire, in 1826. In 1834 he bought many of Sir Thomas Burghley's hounds and in 1842 the whole pack of the
Duke of Grafton
Duke of Grafton is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1675 by Charles II of England for Henry FitzRoy, his second illegitimate son by the Duchess of Cleveland. The most notable duke of Grafton was Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke o ...
. He hunted his hounds four days a week and sometimes had two packs out on the same day. In 1830, after the death of his father, he moved his stable and kennels to
Tedworth House
Tedworth House, also known as South Tidworth House, is a 19th-century country house in Tidworth, Wiltshire, England. It is a Grade II* listed building.
The house and its grounds were in Hampshire until 1991, when the county boundary was redrawn ...
, also in Hampshire.
Yachting
Assheton Smith spent summers at his
Vaynol Park estate in North Wales, on the shore of the
Menai Strait
The Menai Strait () is a strait which separates the island of Anglesey from Gwynedd, on the mainland of Wales. It is situated between Caernarfon Bay in the south-west and Conwy Bay in the north-east, which are both inlets of the Irish Sea. The s ...
and close to the family's slate quarries at
Dinorwic. He had several sailing yachts built, then in 1829 engaged Scottish engineer and shipbuilder
Robert Napier to build the first of what would become eight
steam yacht
A steam yacht is a class of luxury or commercial yacht with primary or secondary steam propulsion in addition to the sails usually carried by yachts.
Origin of the name
The English steamboat entrepreneur George Dodd (1783–1827) used the term ...
s, which were among the first vessels of their kind. Assheton Smith contributed to their design, in particular seeking an efficient hull design to maximise speed.
Personal life
On 29 October 1827, Smith married Matilda Webber (d. 1859) of Berkshire. They had no children. During his ownership of the Tedworth estate, the house was rebuilt in ornate classical style.
Smith died at
Vaynol Park, Bangor, Caernarvonshire on 9 September 1858 and was buried at Tedworth, where he lived in his later years. His widow died the following year on 18 May 1859.
References
Bibliography
*
Arthur Haygarth, ''Scores & Biographies, Volume 1 (1744–1826)'', Lillywhite, 1862.
*
External links
*
CricketArchive profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Thomas Assheton II
1776 births
1858 deaths
People educated at Eton College
English cricketers of 1787 to 1825
19th-century English landowners
Gentlemen cricketers
Hampshire cricketers
High sheriffs of Wiltshire
Masters of foxhounds in England
Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies
UK MPs 1820–1826
UK MPs 1826–1830
UK MPs 1830–1831
Conservative Party (UK) MPs for Welsh constituencies
UK MPs 1832–1835
UK MPs 1835–1837
Tory MPs (pre-1834)
Bullingdon Club members