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Those who came before: A look at Somerset’s First Class players – Part Four
When Josh Thomas walked out to bat on his full Somerset debut against Essex, he became the 698th player to represent the Club in First Class Cricket.
With this in mind, we thought we would take a look back at those who have come before.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be taking a look back at some of the previous 697 players who have worn the Wyvern (or donned the Dragon) in red ball cricket.
#34 – Joe Ambler
Born in Huddersfield in 1860, Ambler played against an All England XI for the Twenty Two of Wakefield at the age of 14. He opened the bowling, claimed three wickets and was the only member of his team to reach double figures with the bat.
Whilst waiting to qualify for Somerset, he was the pro at Yatton and made occasional appearances for Taunton and Bedminster.
His four First Class matches for Somerset brought him 129 runs with a best of 76. He also claimed seven wickets with a best of four for 54.
He later returned North to his native Yorkshire, for whom he also played four First Class matches.
He died of pneumonia at the age of 38 in February 1899.
#35 – Edward William Bastard
Edward was born in February 1862 in Wilton.
He was educated at Sherborne before attending Baliol College, Oxford where he gained a blue. After performing well for Oxford University and Dorset he was called upon by Somerset.
Described as the ‘mainstay of the Somerset bowling when the County was in the second class’, he featured in 15 First Class matches for the Club, claiming 57 wickets at an average of 20.77 with a best of eight for 54.
Sadly, it is believed that he slowly descended into depression and alcoholism. He passed away at the age of just 39 following an accidental fall in 1901.
#36 – James John Alexander Parfitt
Born in Brecon in 1857, Parfitt was the son of a lawyer from Bruton.
He attended Prior Park Roman Catholic School near Bath before heading to University of London where he gained a BA in 1884.
Initially a teacher in Edgbaston, he was called to the bar in 1887.
His First Class debut came for Surrey against Yorkshire in 1881 and he claimed a wicket with his first delivery. He featured in seven further First Class matches for Surrey before joining Somerset where he played six times between 1883 and 1885 during university and school summer breaks. He scored 111 runs and took 13 wickets for the Taunton-based county.
He died at the age of 68 in 1926.
#37 – George Godfrey Lillington
Lillington was born in Bedminster in October 1843. His father was a tobacco spinner who made and sold cigars and snuff.
George worked for HM Customs for the majority of his life and although he was a regular for Bedminster CC, he didn’t make his Somerset debut until he was 39 years old.
His two First Class appearances for Somerset saw the wicketkeeper make three stumpings and take three catches.
In addition to cricket, Lillington was a member of the Redcliff Rowing Club.
He died in Brislington in 1914 at the age of 70.
#38 – William John Jewell
Jewell was born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne at some point between April 1855 and May 1856. The exact date is unknown as the birth was never registered.
By 1861 the family had moved to Exeter before relocating to Taunton.
He became the chief clerk to the probate registry in Taunton and lived in Hammett Street before becoming a registrar.
An all rounder, he played for Taunton and also represented Somerset before the Club achieved First Class status. His one First Class match came in 1884. He scored 10 runs and although his bowling claimed no wickets, he conceded just 14 runs from his 48 deliveries.
He was also a talented member of Taunton Bowling Club.
He passed away at home after a short illness in 1927 at the age of 71.
#39 – Frederick Aitken Leeston-Smith
Born in London in 1854, Leeston-Smith moved to Great Malvern with his family and attended Malvern College before transferring to Christ College in Brecon in 1869.
He spent some time in Scotland after leaving school, appearing for Carlton CC in Edinburgh. He studied medicine at Marischal College where he played rugby and featured for Aberdeenshire CC. He left the college without graduating after two years.
He relocated to Weston-super-Mare, where his family were now residing, and went on to captain the town’s cricket team.
Leeston-Smith appeared for Somerset before the team was granted First Class status and between 1884 and 1885 he featured in three First Class matches for the County, scoring 130 runs.
He died of flu at the age of 39 in Dorset in 1894.
#40 John Arundell Winter
One of his ancestors was one of Queen Elizabeth’s admirals at the Spanish Amada. Another was second-in-command on Sir Francis Drake’s voyage around the world.
He was born in Ash Priors in July 1851 and educated for a time at Uffculme Grammar School in Devon before attending the Royal Military College.
He inherited Watts House in Bishops Lydeard (now Cedar Falls) in 1873 following the death of his father.
A more than able cricketer for Taunton CC he received a sliver cup in 1878 for the best batting average. He featured a number of times for Somerset in the team’s early years but his only First Class appearance came in 1884. He scored four runs.
Although his on field exploits for the Club were unremarkable, it was because of his involvement as a player for Taunton CC that Somerset CCC acquired what would eventually become the Cooper Associates County Ground.
After it was discovered that the farmer who owned the land that Somerset had been playing on at Musgrove Farm was about to renege on their deal, the team needed a new home. Enter Winter who owned the Rack Field that was leased by Taunton Athletics Club, an organisation which had been created to act for all the major sports clubs in the town. The Athletics Club folded in 1886 leading to Somerset taking over the ground and the lease.
In the mid-1890s, Winter agreed to rescind the lease and sell Somerset the freehold for £2000.
He moved his family to London and passed away in 1914 at the age of 62.
#41 – John Bonamy Challen
Born in Denbighshire in 1863, Challen was educated at Honiton Grammar School before making his way to Marlborough College via The Philberds preparatory school in Maidenhead.
In his absence, the family moved to Warminster before his father became the rector of Nunney near Frome.
After leaving Marlborough, he went into teaching which limited his availability to the summer holidays.
He moved to Devon in 1892 to become the headmaster at Crediton Grammar School before taking a similar role at Devon County School in West Buckland. In 1900 he founded the North Devon School in Barnstaple.
His First Class career for Somerset spanned two spells. Between 1884 and 1885 he played in nine matches with a further 43 appearances coming between 1891 and 1899.
His 52 First Class matches for Somerset yielded 1656 runs with a best of 108. He also took 16 wickets with a best of 4 for 43.
He moved to Eastbourne in 1910 and died in the town in 1937 at the age of 74.
#42 – Theodore Robinson
Robinson was born in Beaminster in February 1866. His family became important employers in the Bristol area which is where his wealth came from.
Seemingly a generous man, he donated land for the new Backwell playing fields and helped to fund the construction of tennis courts and a bowling green.
He played ten First Class matches for Somerset between 1884 and 1894, scoring 152 runs with a best of 57. He also claimed two wickets. When not playing for Somerset he turned out for Glamorgan.
A keen sportsman, he also excelled at archery, representing Great Britain at the 1908 London Olympics.
He lived with his sister in Backwell and died at their home at the age of 93 in October 1959.
#43 – Henry George Hamlet Hall
For many years it was believed that Henry played in Somerset’s maiden First Class match at Old Trafford. However, it was his younger brother’s dislike of his first name (‘Horatio’) and a preference to be known as Ernest that led to this confusion.
Henry was born in December 1857 and both he and Ernest became school masters in the region. The pair both played for Bedminster CC and for 25 years Henry was a well respected club cricket umpire in the Bristol area.
His one First Class match for Somerset saw him score two runs but take no wickets.
He passed away at the age of 76 at the Southmead Institution in Bristol.
#44 – Frederic Marks
The son of a Clevedon-based baker and confectioner, Marks was born in June 1868.
At the age of just 12 he played his first club cricket match in a side captained by W.G. Grace.
His only First Class appearance for Somerset yielded two runs, and he claimed 0 for three from eight deliveries.
He represented Wiltshire on a number of occasions as a batter, a bowler and a wicketkeeper. He also scored over 10,000 runs and took 2000 wickets for Clevedon over a long career.
Away from the field he worked as an apprentice in a chemist’s in Clevedon before qualifying as a dispensing chemist. Once qualified, he moved to Barnstaple and opened his first shop. He returned to Clevedon after purchasing a chemist’s in the town in 1903.
He died in Clevedon at the age of 83 in 1952.
The author is indebted to the excellent “Somerset Cricketers 1882 – 1914” by Hill and Phillips.
