FIELD OF DREAMS

Book Reveals Days When Knepp Castle Hosted Cricket

Local author David Boorman has written 'A History of Cricket at Knepp Castle’. The book lays out the history of country house cricket at the estate in rich and fascinating detail. Here, David offers a glimpse into the story…

Were anybody on the average Horsham omnibus asked what springs to mind when they think of Knepp Castle, many people might say 'rewilding.' In 2001 the current owner, Sir Charles Burrell and his wife, the award-winning author, travel writer and conservationist Isabella Tree, decided to devote their energies to implementing a pioneering rewilding project on the estate that has won them many friends among the environmental lobby nationally.

It is all Lombard Street to a China orange that nobody would have associated Knepp with cricket. Yet 'house eleven' was played on the gracious front lawn of the castle grounds from the mid-1860s (if not earlier) through to its dissolution following the Great War.

Albeit somewhat tenuous, the first mention of 'cricket' and 'Shipley' in the same sentence dates back as far as 1784 and there are more references to the sport being played locally throughout the first half of the 19th century. These include being bowled out against Horsham for just seven runs (1838), while in August 1859 a match against Southwater 'was steadily watched by a tame magpie'

There was a somewhat peripatetic feel to cricket in the parish in these early days. As often as not, the Shipley cricketers would join forces with their counterparts across the Worthing Road in West Grinstead. Matches were played at various locations including West Grinstead Park, Jolesfield Common and Coolham, but not Knepp Castle. Not, that is, until Wednesday 15 July 1863, when Shipley CC entertained and comfortably defeated West Grinstead. This is the first known reference to a match being played at the castle.

Between 1873 and 1882, the club played under the banner of 'Shipley & West Grinstead United CC'. Matches against Cuckfield, in particular, seem to have had their moments: in July 1871, a close-run game ended in a very unfair and very unfriendly manner, with Cuckfield reportedly drawing stumps five minutes before time, when Knepp required just three runs to win with nine wickets in hand. On a happier note, in a match at Cuckfield in 1875, the Shipley team 'were driven up in grand style by Captain Burrell, on his four-in-hand drag'.

In July 1874, the side made its first appearance at the County Ground in Hove, and a winning one at that. That season saw the combined XI playing home matches at no fewer than four different venues. However, all this was about to change, for in 1875, Knepp Castle Lawn was officially declared as Shipley’s new cricket ground.

Which was all very fine, as far as it went, but in June 1877, Knepp fell to a defeat of quite humiliating proportions against visitors

Henfield when 'the ground was not in the best possible order, the ball frequently being in closer proximity to the batsman's head than to his wickets.' This tendency was again noted in June 1879. In a match against Horsham, 'heavy overnight rain caused the ball to bump considerably'. It was also observed that the Horsham batsmen 'distinguished themselves in a most remarkable manner in the distribution of ducks eggs', which means to be dismissed without scoring.

There was another name change in 1883 when West Grinstead & Shipley CC became Knepp Lawn CC. A further – and final – change came in 1889 when the side assumed is final iteration of

Knepp Castle CC. The season before (1888) the club 'agreed to adopt a uniform dress, colour dark blue'

Part of the charm of researching Knepp Castle CC match reports is that a sense of humour could usually be found bubbling away not too far beneath the surface, albeit often of the gallows type. For much of the period 1890 – 1904, when the fixture (I suspect to everyone's profound relief) was discontinued, Knepp received some unmerciful hidings at the hands of Horsham, who were far too strong for them. After yet another mauling in June 1899, a wry plea was made by the Knepp chronicler that 'on future occasions we should like to see the wicket a little nearer the pavilion, as it was a long way there and back with so short a stay when you got there.'

In 1902, overtures were received from West Grinstead CC to the effect that the two clubs should merge. Knepp were outraged. The question was deemed 'somewhat extraordinary' and was peremptorily declined. In July 1903 at Slinfold, there was disagreement between the umpires and players as to the fitness of the wicket following heavy rain. Taking the bull firmly by the horns, the former 'obtained a shovel and scraped the mud off and covered the pitch with sawdust. The captains then agreed to start playing.'

They may not have known it at the time, but the sands were beginning to run out for Knepp Castle CC and the period between 1910 and 1914 tells of a side in a downward spiral. There was the occasional moment of light relief, such as a match against Leonardslee in June 1911 when 'the ball was hit into a rabbit hole and had to be dug out', but by the time war was declared the club was already struggling for survival.

An eerie and preternatural post-war silence had settled over the land. Without any form of prior intimation, the Shipley parish magazine for September 1920 reported that: 'The affairs of this club were wound up at a General Meeting early this year. It was agreed to sell the club material and to give the proceeds, together with a small balance in hand, to two local hospitals.'

Knepp Castle CC and its lineal predecessors had ploughed a charmingly idiosyncratic furrow across the local cricketing landscape for generations. There is no indication that the Burrell family had withdrawn its benevolently paternalistic interest in the club, but with many of the pre-war side now too old to play, there may have been nobody off the field to keep things afloat. The post-war world was a different place and (sadly) it may simply have been the case that there was no place in it for such an anachronistic entity.

Fielding an eclectic mix of villagers, estate workers, guests staying at the 'Big House' and the occasional 'hired hand' Knepp Castle CC remained throughout their existence the 'house' XI of the Burrell family, who maintained a close, patriarchal interest in their activities, on and off the field. This, coupled with a location to die for, meant they could never have been described as ‘run-ofthe-mill’ opponents.

Like most such sides, Knepp Castle CCs fortunes waxed and waned over the years. They were never at the forefront of cricket in the county, but one England captain played there, along with four Sussex captains and three other England Test players. For many decades, the club played its full part in the social life of its quiet rural community and gave a lot of pleasure to a lot of people along the way.

Further information:

David's book, 'A History of Cricket at Knepp Castle and the Parish of Shipley' is available only from the Sussex County Cricket Club Museum & Educational Trust at the County Cricket Ground, Hove, price £28 (plus £4.50 p&p). It runs to almost 300 pages and was produced as a limited edition of 50 copies. Anybody interested may also contact David directly, at dave.boorman@hotmail.co.uk l