From 1982 Centenary Programme
Cheddar Cricket Club - The Early Years
It has often been remarked by cricket historians that village cricket is a microcosm of village life, a mirror in which we can trace the economic and social development of our rural communities down the generations. This quality of becoming living history is a characteristic not of the game itself, of course, but of the players. Cricket, uniquely among games, has always attracted players from the widest spectrum of our society, from dukes to gypsies, and in the case of village cricket at least, from the widest range of athletic ability. Off the cricket field, the players fulfil their various roles in village life, and as it is in the nature of cricketers to live life to the full, we find them in our village annals indulging in their everyday activities with as much enthusiasm, and as little predictability, as they pursue the leather or wield the willow on the field.
Thus it is that we have among the earliest contemporary records, clear evidence that the prominent cricketers in this village, the Paveys, Tyleys and Scourses, were also leading entertainers, singers and bellringers, while a succession of curates devoted so much time to their cricket that it is to be feared that their parochial duties may have suffered. Mention of these names reveals a further characteristic of village life - its continuity. One hundred years on, the names have a familiar ring as the descendants of these early cricketers have flourished and multiplied throughout the village and the district, and indeed some have connections with the Club today. Our Chairman, Bert Gould. for example, bears a name which appears in the annals throughout the history of the Club as successively his forebears performed for the team. Once again performance indicates activity off the field as well as on, and it is through Bert's great-grandfather's accomplishments as a musician and entertainer that the Club's earliest surviving artefact comes down to us. One evening in 1885, following an away match in Langford, the team were returning in a gig. We don't know the result of the game, but win or lose, we may imagine that the team had repaired to the local pub for refreshment and song. Reaching the steep hill which wound round Churchill rocks, disaster struck, and the gig, the horse. and the singing team, led by Grandfather Gould on his concertina, plunged into the gorge. History does not record the full extent of the damage, or indeed of any injuries sustained, but at least enough of the team survived to have a collection to replace the concertina, broken in the fall. The new instrument, suitably inscribed by the team, has been passed down through the family and is now a proud possession of our present Chairman.
Although there is evidence of cricket being played in the Cheddar Valley before the year 1880, and a number of shortlived attempts to organise a Club were made, it is only from 1882 onwards that the Club emerges as a permanent feature of Cheddar's life. The fact that in that year the village voted to close its pubs on Sundays may have had no influence on the formation of the Club - on the other hand, perhaps this move drove the young men of the time to find some more healthy outlet for their energies on the Sabbath. Few games were played that season, and history does not record any great successes, but the game must have been thriving, since in the following season the Club was fielding three teams, and our predecessors had a somewhat bellicose air, with Captain Burnside taking seven wickets in one game, Colonel Hesse wielding his bat with dignity, and Lieutenant Foster RN presiding at the annual dinner. This function was held at the Bath Arms, an establishment which not unnaturally features frequently in the annals of the Club. Most of the references to the hotel are happy ones, redolent of long annual dinners, the air thick with smoke and speeches, a flowing pot, the song and the laughter. Some are more poignant, however, such as the occasion in the earliest days of the Club when one member, celebrating the reading of a will by which he had been left a considerable sum, climbed a wall surrounding the Bath Arms, and falling off, killed himself. He was probably laid to rest by his team-mate, the Reverend Trott, one of the Club's early stalwarts.
By the middle of the 1880s, the Club was well established with a full fixture list, and the first reference is made to a county player performing for the Club - one E C Marsh. In 1887 Mr Cough discovered a new cave, and the cricket scene was interrupted by the celebrations of Queen Victoria's Jubilee, an event in which the Cricket Club were naturally to the fore, as they appear to have formed the Entertainments Committee for the proceedings. Their success may be judged by a contemporary newspaper report which declares that 'there was no drunkenness or quarrelling during the day'! Trouble did break out later in the season, however, when someone set fire to the vice captain's haystack as he was playing against East Harptree.

In 1888 Mr Dunlop invented the pneumatic tyre, and in Cheddar a new Cricket Club, called the Cheddar Valley Bohemians was formed. Relations between the two clubs appear to have been cordial, and several players turned out for both. This amiable arrangement continued until the amalgamation of the two clubs after the turn of the century. Yet another club was formed in 1892, the Cheddar Valley Manufacturing Company Cricket Club, which set out to train young players in the hope that they would eventually graduate to the village side. It is a measure of the Club's standing that by now it boasted a professional, E Jones, but his presence does not appear to have instilled any great consistency in the side's performances. Although Jones took 13 wickets for 41 runs in a day in a two innings game at Rooksbridge (in their second innings Rooksbridge were dismissed for 10!), a few weeks later Cheddar were themselves dismissed for 22 by Weston when set to score 309. Weston must have cheated in this game by obtaining the services of a Cambridge Blue, E J Whitting, who retired after scoring 235, and then took 7 Cheddar wickets. In spite of topping both bowling and batting averages, Jones was not re-engaged, and his name fades from the record.
Other names emerge and recur throughout the annals. The Paveys were a staunch cricketing family, but the season of 1894 brought them mixed fortunes. Gilbert became engaged to be married, and celebrated the forthcoming event so heartily that he missed his wedding, causing it to be postponed. Tom fared even worse. He took his horse to the Oddfellows' fete, where the animal was frightened by a firework and dropped down dead. Gilbert's misfortunes were not over. He, along with a number of fellow cricketers, stood for election to the new Parish Council. Alas, his popularity must have waned, or perhaps the electors thought that the debacle over his wedding did not constitute a good enough track record for a politician, for he came bottom of the poll, with just one vote.
As the century moved towards its close, the Club prospered under the guidance of the Reverend G M Lambrick, a free scoring batsman whose career was peppered with high scores. More illustrious names too appear in the record, as opponents such as Weston and Bridgwater frequently fielded county players against the CIub. The great Sammy Woods in particular seems to have had a soft spot for the village, as he frequently brought teams to Cheddar, and was well known for his singing after the match. In addition to his entry in Wisden as one of the few bowlers to have taken all ten in first-class cricket, Sammy also has the distinction of having represented both England and Australia in test matches.
There is no record of the most illustrious of all cricketers, Dr Grace himself, having played in Cheddar, but it is known that he frequently visited the village with the Clifton Harriers, to pursue his other love, beagling, upon the Mendips. Small boys used to flock to the station when the Master arrived with his pack and he had to brush them off with his crop when they followed him like a cloud on his heels as he strode up the Gorge. We can imagine the wrathful glare under which many an umpire had quailed, being brought to bear upon the importunate youths of Cheddar. This then, is the early history of our Club. It is unremarkable. It is mirrored in thousands of parishes throughout the land. It is eclipsed by many, many more famous clubs, who can boast distinguished and historic figures. But is is important as it forms a tiny particle of the wellsprings of our national game. We who modestly lay down our tools at the end of our week's work, take up bat and ball and walk to the field to dispute matters with our neighbours are following a long and proud tradition. for this simple act epitomises for us our essential freedom. Men live for it; they work for it; and when occasion demands they will go to war to defend it.
JP Trower, 30 April 1982