White Conduit Club

The White Conduit Club, although short-lived, was perhaps the most significant club in cricket history for it bridged the gulf between the rural and rustic Hambledon era and the new, modern and metropolitan era of MCC and Lord's, the two entities that it spawned.

We do not know for certain when the WCC was founded but it seems to have been after 1780 and certainly by 1785. The famous batsman William Beldham was hired while still a young professional by the WCC in 1785 and he told James Pycroft, author of "The Cricket Field" (1851) that his farming employer concluded a deal with George Finch, 9th Earl of Winchilsea to allow Beldham time off his agricultural duties to go to the "new cricket ground" at White Conduit Fields in Islington and play for Hampshire against All-England. The score of the match has evidently been lost because there is no trace of an All-England v Hampshire game at White Conduit Fields in or about 1785. Beldham's first match in "Scores & Biographies" was for All-England v WCC at Lord's in 1787; but he was previously recorded as playing for Berkshire against Essex in 1785 (this match was reported by H T Waghorn in his "Dawn of Cricket").

Although his match cannot be traced, it is interesting that Beldham described the ground at White Conduit Fields as "new" because it was not a new venue, although perhaps a new area of it had been designated for use by the WCC. What was "new" was the club, not the venue.

The WCC had its origin in much earlier gentlemen's clubs. By the 1720s, cricket was already well-established in southern counties such as Kent, Surrey and Sussex. It was also being played and watched, often by large crowds of spectators, in London, where many of its leading advocates and players were members of the aristocracy. One of the earliest recognised London cricket clubs was the "Je-ne-sais-quoi", later known as the "Star and Garter", which had a meeting place on Pall Mall and actually drew up a set of Laws there in 1774. In the 1730s and 1740s, the Star and Garter Club had Frederick, Prince of Wales as its chairman. From that club there grew the WCC, so-called because it played on White Conduit Fields. Its leading lights were George Finch, 9th Earl of Winchilsea (1752-1826) and the Hon. Colonel Charles Lennox (1764-1819), who later became the 4th Duke of Richmond. The WCC was nominally an exclusive club that only "gentlemen" might play for, but the club did employ professionals and one of these was the bowler Thomas Lord, a man who was recognised for his business acumen as well as his bowling ability.

And so it might have continued except that White Conduit Fields was an open area allowing members of the public, including the rowdier elements, to watch the matches and to voice their opinions on the play and the players. The White Conduit gentlemen were not amused by such interruptions and decided to look for a more private venue of their own.

Thomas Lord ultimately used his business abilities to become a successful wine and provisions merchant, but he is remembered for his cricket grounds (there were three in all). Winchilsea and Lennox asked Lord to find a new ground and offered him a guarantee against any losses he may suffer in the venture. So Lord took a lease from the Portman Estate on some land at Dorset Fields where Dorset Square is now sited; and the ground was prepared and opened in 1787. It was named Lord's cricket ground and, since it was in Marylebone, the WCC on relocating there decided to call themselves Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC).

As for White Conduit Club, it disappeared in the aftermath of MCC's founding and White Conduit Fields also disappeared under increasing urbanisation as London grew and swallowed the village of Islington whole.

For the record, White Conduit Club is known to have played at least eleven matches between 1785 and 1788. The last, ironically, was on 27 June 1788 against MCC at Lord's (Dorset Square). It is recorded in "Scores & Biographies" on page 83 but it was not a major match because the WCC team contained ten unknown players. MCC won by 83 runs and WCC played no more.

White Conduit Club Matches

1784

1787

Thomas Lord established his first ground on Dorset Fields in Marylebone. It was on the site of the present Dorset Square. Lord’s backers were members of the nobility led by the Earl of Winchilsea and Colonel Charles Lennox. The first match at Lord’s was on 21 May between the White Conduit Club and Middlesex.

External links

* [http://www.jl.sl.btinternet.co.uk/stampsite/cricket/main.html From Lads to Lord's; The History of Cricket: 1300 – 1787]
* [http://www.cricketarchive.com/Archive/Articles/2/2952.html CricketArchive – Where was the White Conduit?]

References

* "Fresh Light on 18th Century Cricket" by G B Buckley (FL18)
* "The Dawn of Cricket" by H T Waghorn (WDC)
* "Scores & Biographies" by Arthur Haygarth