Beschreibung:

An archive of Hambledon Cricket Club ephemera, 19th & 20th century, including 26 printed scoring books with results completed in manuscript, mostly early 20th century but covering from 1869 to 1952, plus sundry correspondence, cricket club rules, receipt books and stubs, a few photographs, sundry printed ephemera and books The Hambledon Club was a social club that is famous for its organisation of 18th-century cricket matches. By the late 1770s it was the foremost cricket club in England. The origin of the club, based near Hambledon in rural Hampshire, is unclear but it had certainly been founded by 1768. From the mid 1760s, Hambledon's stature grew until by the late 1770s it was the foremost cricket club in England. In spite of its relative remoteness, it had developed into a private club of noblemen and country gentry, for whom one of cricket's attractions was the opportunity it offered for betting. Although some of these occasionally played in matches, professional players were mainly employed. It was also the inspiration for the first significant cricket book: 'The Cricketers of My Time' by John Nyren, son of notable cricketer Richard Nyren. Hambledon's great days ended in the 1780s with a shift in focus from the rural counties of Kent, Sussex and Hampshire to metropolitan London where Lord's was established as the home of the new Marylebone Cricket Club in 1787. Membership declined during the 1790s and the last meeting of the club was held in 1796. Hambledon Cricket Club reverted to a village club and is now based at Ridge Meadow, close to the club's original ground. (a large carton)