Cinderford St John's Cricket Club, formed 1880 (General)

by Jefff , West London, Middlesex, Saturday, April 12, 2014, 19:40 (3673 days ago) @ Jefff

I'd hoped to include this extra detail within my post yesterday, but couldn't find my copy of the aforementioned book !. As a fair few of you have already read that post before I can add to it, I'm posting these extra gleanings from the book separately in the hope those early readers will see them to, I hope maybe some local cricketers are out there ?. If anyone would like to obtain copies of the book - I do hope admin are happy for me to mention it ? - please contact me as I know the club still has stock and may be happy to supply a few at minimal cost. Within it's 48 pages complied by Alec Kear is a detailed history of St John's and other old Cinderford clubs, with several team photos from 1914 to the 1990s(even the oldest have full player's names), plus teamsheets, scorecards etc. One of these early Cinderford sides was the White Rose club which is thought to have amalgamated with St John's, they certainly occasionally used the Abbotswood ground, and some of their players were at St Johns's by the 1930s after the White Rose had wilted;
http://www.forest-of-dean.net/gallery/cinderford_2/pages/page_29.html
http://www.forest-of-dean.net/gallery/cinderford_2/pages/page_59.html

The book states the Cinderford St John's Cricket Club was indeed formed in 1880 by St John's choirboys. These included W.D. Meredith# who was connected with the club until WW2 when he'd risen to Club President, he was also President of Gloucestershire Rugby Union and manager of Lightmoor Colliery for 25 years, a Crawshay pit. Other choirboys in those early years included Herbert Cooper, Bert Woodman (later headmaster of St White's School), Tom Chivers (later Cinderford's Postmaster), Fred Morgan, Edwin Morgan, Jim Beach, George Beech, Fred Tingle and William Russell.

Their first home ground was White Hart Green, common land across the main St White's Hill road, opposite the White Hart Inn and up above the Ruspidge road. This land was below W.D.Meredith's home at Forest Lodge, I believe the Lodge still stands on Buckshaft Road, but it's grounds and the common below are now Coombe Drive housing estate. The next house from Forest Lodge along towards Ruspidge was the impressive Abbotswood House, home of Henry Crawshay. The 1:2500 close-scale OS maps from 1879 upto 1960 all show both houses clearly, but by 1991 Abbotswood and it's extensive lands had gone; altho the Abbotswood Gate Lodge below the main House appears to still stand as one of many residences within Abbots View housing estate.
www.old-maps.co.uk
http://www.forest-of-dean.net/gallery/cinderford/mediafiles/l8.jpg
Old photo of Abbotswood House http://way-mark.co.uk/foresthaven/livnhist/photo077.htm#
And in 1975, now demolished, http://way-mark.co.uk/foresthaven/livnhist/slide149.htm#

The Lodge is still here in 2017 http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-61773598.html
Also see prior thread http://forum.forest-of-dean.net/index.php?id=43758

By 1885 the club were playing at Abbotswood House, Henry Crawshay had created a cricket ground there on 1856 for the "Gentlemen" to play on. This idyllic home came to an end in late 1940, like so many open spaces at that worrying time the ground was ploughedup by the Ministry of Agriculture to grow potatoes. The nearly-new wooden pavilion was sold and moved to the adjacent "Farmer's Fields" of East Dean Grammar School, although apparently not necessarily as school changing rooms ?. My mother recalls with NO fondness their long hike, already in PT kit, from the School in Station Street up and over Belle Vue to their windswept playing fields c1945, and the rush to get back to school afterwards to catch the service bus home.
In the 1950s the Club played at the large field below St John's Vicarage, 20 years later we also played cricket there while attending Cub Scouts at their hut nextdoor.

One of many interesting items in the book relates the day in 1908 that the great Gloucestershire and England cricketer Dr W.G. Grace is said to have visited the Abbotswood Ground, presumably from his Bristol home. A few witnesses claim he arrived at Ruspidge (Staple edge) Halt by train, walked to the Rising Sun Inn for refreshment, then pony and trap to the ground. It's not known whether he actually played in a match. Personally I would have expected any such event to be mentioned in Cinderford's DF Mercury newspaper, he was aged 59 then but this was just a few years after he'd retired from First Class Cricket, and still six years before his last London club match. The BNA website doesn't carry old Mercury issues, but I cannot find any mention in the Gloster Citizen etc, so ?... In his earlier years he was the most famous British sportsman by far, a tremendous allround athlete and an absolute SUPERSTAR, so IF he visited, I'd love to know for sure ??.

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# See specific post http://forum.forest-of-dean.net/index.php?id=43764