1850-1891

The old series of one-inch Ordnance Survey Maps of 1822 or thereabouts known as the First Edition shows the present recreation ground and its surroundings from Sladmore Bottom to Cherry Tree Farm (formerly Fry's Farm) as common land forming part of a much larger common area known as Wycombe Heath stretching as far as Holmer Green and Penn Wood.

An enlargement of the one-inch survey map in the Great Kingshill area is shown opposite and gives a rough idea of the shape or the so-called framework of the village at the beginning of the last century. It consisted in the main of a few cottages scattered around the edge of the common and it is clear that Prestwood, Holmer Green and Naphill were of much the same make-up. The Hughenden Parish Title Map of 1844 also shows the land on either side of the main road as Great Kingshill Common before the 1850-55 enclosure awards which resulted in the lay-out of the secondary road system around the present recreation ground. The edge of this old common area can still be traced by the location of some of the older properties in the village which have survived. For instance on its eastern side by Lowlands Cottage, Robin Cottage and the old Stag off Stag Lane, Common View in Common Road, Hoppers Farm and Meadowcroft and Claypit Cottage off Cryers Hill Road. On its western side by Cherry Tree Farm (formerly Frys Farm) and the row of old cottages adjoining, Hatches Farm and the row of old cottages fronting the public footpath at right angles to Hatches Lane, Yew Tree Cottage, Pipers Ash and Pipers Cottage in Piper Lane, Springfields and Apple Tree Cottage in Cryers Hill Road.

The existing road system around the recreation ground took shape after the enclosure awards of 1855 and are clearly shown on the first large scale (25 inches to 1 mile) Ordnance Survey maps published in 1874, an extract from the map covering the main road through Great Kingshill (reduced in scale) being shown overleaf. Of even greater interest to this cricket history, is the fact that the recreation ground is actually designated as a cricket ground. It is a curious fact that very few such designations appear in the Ordnance Survey maps of that time, there being only one other in the whole of South Buckinghamshire located in the grounds of Chenies Manor House at Chenies and that is no longer in existence. It would certainly appear that Kingshill is unique in this respect, at least in Buckinghamshire.

It is highly probable, of course, that Naphill, for instance, had a regular spot somewhere on 'Napple' Common and Prestwood on Prestwood Common where the stumps were pitched on a regular basis around the middle of the last century, but these are not shown on the Ordnance Survey maps of 1874. Wycombe Cricket Ground was not established until 1888, the town club playing. lying somewhere on Wycombe Rye prior to that date. In fact the earliest record of a cricket match in this part of the County took place on Wycombe Rye in 1774. The press notice in the Oxford Journal read as follows:-

'On July 27 at Wycombe Rye, Bucks: Risborough v Bucks for a silver cup value 5 guineas given gratis by the innkeepers of Wycombe: it is the third match between the parties: wickets to be pitched at 10 and the match played out.' 

	Great Kingshill 1892		Great Kingshill Aerial Photo 2005

The innkeepers obviously had an eye to business in those days and quite a lot of money changed hands in the betting stakes. Later that same year, on October 12, Risborough played against Crendon and Milton at The Star in Long Crendon for 20 guineas a side, which was a very tidy sum in those days. One cannot help wondering how the winnings were split up, particularly as eight pints of beer or strong ale would only cost about two shillings at two or possibly three pence a pint.

It will be seen that the 1874 Ordnance Map as shown gives an interesting picture of Great Kingshill in the vicinity of the ground at that time. The building which is now the Red Lion is the only building on the western side of the main road, now known as Missenden Road, the village hall not being built until 1913 and Free's shop circa 1930 to replace the old timber framed shop erected in 1921.

New Road, which some will remember as the White City, was a far-off dream in some enterprising land owner's mind. It will also be of some interest to note that the Royal Oak public house is shown as a Post Office which no doubt accounts for the location of the post box on the electricity pole opposite; it used to be in the front wall of the Royal Oak where, when posting a letter, one came under the discerning gaze of the regulars sitting in the tap-room seat.

It would appear that the buildings we now know as the Red Lion and the Royal Oak were both erected between 1855 and 1870 and are relatively new compared with some of the old brick and flint cottages scattered around the old common area.

The Ordnance Survey Map of 1874 was revised in 1897 and a copy of this revised version (reduced in scale) is also included as the detail is much clearer than the 1874 version. There is in fact hardly any physical change at all in those twenty-three years apart from the conversion of the Post Office to the Royal Oak beer house. The builders yard of George Biggs and Sons, which ran through from the main road to Cockpit Road or Piano Street as it was known and occupied Parcel No. 429 had not yet started in 1897 or, at least there were no workshops or other buildings shown. It is quite remarkable that this thriving business with the substantial house and workshops employing some eighty men in its heyday and responsible for many of the prestigious municipal buildings in High Wycombe came and went in the space of sixty years.

Turning to cricket matters, there are several accounts in the South Bucks Free Press of matches played at Great Kingshill in the 1860's but these are under the team name of Brands Fee. It seems odd that the name of Brands Fee (or to give it its proper title, the Liberty of Brands Fee) which referred to a manor or estate associated with the Abbey of Missenden as far back as the twelfth century, should have been used, although the 1851 census and the enclosure map of Hughenden dated 1855 both refer to it. Whatever the reason, it is clear from the names of the players and the match reports that Brands Fee and Great Kingshill were one and the same as far as cricket was concerned. A typical match report of Brands Fee against Hazlemere in late September 1864 is set out opposite as it appeared in the South Bucks Free Press.

It will be noted that the report specifically refers to the 'cricket ground' at Great Kingshill which gives the impression that a piece of land or common which had been earmarked as a cricket ground was something unusual in those days. Bearing in mind that the bowling in this match would have been under or round-arm, the slow bowling of Montague, or lob bowling as it was called conjures up all sorts of intriguing possibilities and no doubt the pitch played an all-important part in the end result.

Incidentally, it was not until 1864 that the law was changed, after many years of bitter controversy, to allow for the bowling hand to be raised above shoulder height and over-arm bowling as we now know it slowly took over. Even in 1880 W. G. Grace was teaching the art of all three forms of bowling, i.e. under-arm, round-arm and over-arm. The term 'daisy cutter' obviously originates from those days and did not have the same derogatory meaning that many disappointed batsmen give it today. It was a legitimate and much used under-arm delivery bowled at a fast pace.

It is not hard to imagine that the E. Montague in the 1864 match report was probably the father or uncle of Len Montague who played an important part in the side which won the Bucks Rural League Challenge Cup in 1894 and 1895 as described in Part II. Likewise, Free is probably an ancestor of Joe Free also in the 1894 side, but not to be confused with Gerald Free and family who have played such an important part in the club's affairs since the 1930's. There is, however, a possible connection between the 1864 side and the present club in that Joe Free was the grandfather of Don Rodwell, a club stalwart who has rendered good service in the second team and Sunday elevens for many years and later on as an umpire. It is also on the cards that the Biggs in the 1864 side is an ancestor of Ray Biggs, former captain of the second eleven and recent treasurer to the Club.

In those early days matches were mostly confined to neighbouring villages such as Hazlemere, Naphill and Prestwood for the obvious reason that they were within walking distance. There was no motorised transport and bicycles, or rather safety bicycles with triangular frames, brakes etc, were not in general use until the beginning of this century.

Occasionally there were matches against the likes of Booker and Winchmore Hill and it must have been a tiring day walking there and back, unless one was lucky enough to own a horse or maybe hitch a ride in a pony and trap. Nevertheless, these must have been some fierce encounters with the increased use of over-arm bowling coupled with the 'natural' pitches, most matches being two innings affairs for each side. The other intriguing feature of the old match reports was that nearly all the matches were played in late summer, i.e. from August through to the middle of October. The main reason for this presumably was that most of the players were employed in agriculture or in trades related to farming and early summer was a busy time for them. Furthermore, some of the outfields were used for grazing or for producing hay and would be at their best or shortest in late summer. It would have been difficult to hit an under-arm daisy-cutter to the boundary in May or June, or at any other time for that matter, as the famous Chappell brothers clearly demonstrated in Australia many years later. The census taken in 1841 confirms that the main form of employment for the men in Great Kingshill, as with every other village in Bucks, was agriculture, although this pattern was about to change quite dramatically with the introduction of 'new fangled' farm machinery and the ascendancy of the chair-making industry in High Wycombe. The Census also reveals that of the 170 females in Great Kingshill including Cryers Hill and Polecat Lane (Knives Lane), 64 over the age of eleven were engaged in lace-making. It is a fascinating thought that while the men were away playing cricket, probably for a whole day if it was somewhere like Winchmore Hill, the women were at home busy with their lace bobbins to supplement the weekly income. I )due to the limited amount of time available, further research into the archives covering the progress of Brands Fee or Kingshill's cricket in the 1870's and 1880's has not been possible, but no doubt there were some fascinating encounters with the likes of Hazlemere, Winchmore Hill, Prestwood, Naphill, Booker and possibly Downley and Hampden. Fortunately an old Kingshill scorebook of 1891-92 came to light when the barns at Sladmore Farm were converted into so-called well-appointed residences. You can view the original scorebook by clicking here please note that this may take a while to load if you use dial up.

This scorebook covers six matches only, three against Naphill and Booker (twice) in the latter part of 1891, the second match against Booker being played on the 3 October, and three matches against Naphill and Prestwood (twice) in June 1892. For some reason Kingshill played under the name of Kingshill Blue Star and perhaps some local historian may be able to shed some light on this rather odd title. It is just possible that there could be a connection with the old Blue Bonnet beer house along Spurlands End Road, now known as Blue Bonnet cottage, but this seems a remote possibility. In any case it is most likely that the local pub used as a headquarters at that time would have been the Red Lion or possibly the White Lion at Cryers Hill where the families of the Lisleys, Fountains and Evans played a prominent part in Kingshill cricket and football affairs, hence the discovery of the scorebook at Sladmore Farm.

John Lisley of Sladmore Farm, who later went to Abbey Farm in Great Missenden, played in the 1891 and 92 sides and also appeared as J. Leslie in the photograph of the 1907 side which won Division 2 of the Wycombe & District League. He is also prominent in the Kingshill football team photographs of 1895-6 and 1900-1.

Will Fountain who kept the old post office and shop at Cryers Hill, now known as Verneys, next to the pond which sadly is no more, played cricket for Kingshill in the 1890's and appears as captain (presumably) in the 1895-6 and 1900-1 football team photographs. Even in his old age in the 1930's, Will Fountain would suddenly appear at the front gate of his bungalow along the Four Ashes Road to mischievously enquire of some aspiring young cricketer on his way back from a school cricket match whether or not he would be requiring the services of a sitting hen; presumably to hatch out the duck's egg which he had acquired at the match. Some say that those dreaded words 'i wur'nt a sittin' 'en' can still be heard around Cryers Hill on a sultry summers day.

Although this is a cricket history, the Kingshill football team photograph of 1900-1 is so well preserved and of such interest that it is included here with no apologies. The old snake-clasp belts are much in evidence: football studs had yet to be invented and large shin-guards were worn on the outside of the football socks. The faces and names will no doubt stir a few memories.

Incidentally the photograph was taken outside the White Lion at Cryers Hill before the building was covered in rough-cast.

Returning to the 1891-92 scorebook, the well known cricket names of Harold (Laddie) Page and Freddy Wright appeared a few times, but most of the players came from the old Kingshill family names of Janes, Saunders, Biggs, Bristow, Phillips, Lacey etc. Apparently W R Brindley or old Billy Brindley as he was known had not yet arrived on the scene but he figured prominently in the 1894 cricket side and 1895-96 football side.

A typical low scoring match against Prestwood on 20^th June 1892 is set out below as taken from the scorebook.

It is clear from the above score sheet that Len Montague ably assisted by A Bailey, an unfamiliar name, sorted out the old enemy with the ball in no uncertain terms. There is no way of telling who kept wicket for Kingshill in the absence of Freddy Wright, but whoever it was had a bad day as ‘extras’ were equal top score in Prestwoods first innings and nearly half the total in the second. It will be seen that F. Smith had an unusual dismissal which must have caused some argument and amusement both during and after the game. Village cricket in Great Kingshill and neighbouring villages was obviously very much alive in the latter half of the last century and although the matches were not on such an organised basis as today, it played a very important role in village affairs in those days. That it continued to do so in the next sixty years, despite two world wars, is ably described in Part II.