Village History

The history of a village cricket club is as naturally entwined with the history of its village , as father is with son , so it is as well to picture the background from where the club sprang back in 1878.

Hambrook village , within the parish of Winterbourne , has its first traceable mention in the Domesday book of 1085. It states "that Geoffrey Bishop of Countances , in Normandy held hambrok in the reign of William the Conquerer" , as a reward for having served with William at the invasion of 1066.

Current Situation

Nowadays , Hambrook is situated in South Gloucestershire , although to cricketers it will always remain in Glouucestershire , its home before local government reorganisation.

The village is some six miles north east of the centre of Bristol , and sits astride the river Frome which winds itself from Doddington House to its culverted end in the Bristol docks.

From this river the village derives its name in the original form , Ham from the anglo-saxon meaning home , and broc meaning brook. The name has probably arrived in its present form by natural course.

The progess of civilisation has added further landmarks. The main Bristol to London railway line leaves an ever present reminder of Brunel's steam era high on the evening skyline above Pye Corner , whilst the M4 motorway cuts its concrete way from the capital to Wales.

No sleepy village this , as is so often romantically associated with the sound of leather on willow , rather a village caught up in the hustle and bustle of modern times. Evidence of this can be heard from the frequent planes that roar overhead , and the host of cars which travel through the village every day.

All this is not to say that the village has lost its identity. The immediate surroundings still give one the impression of rural England , with its market gardens , rich farmlands and pleasant stone buildings. These buildings are of course the tangible reminders of village history , and the landmarks by which time can be measured and memories of people recalled.

One of these buildings is the chapel. Opened in 1816 with the Reverand Roland Hill as preacher , it is still an active place of worship all these years later.

Since 1878 , the village has boasted four inns , and this is where the club badge derives. The Black Horse and the Star are no more , but the White Horse and the Crown are still going strong. The Crown was first built as a residential property and became a supplier of beer from Bristol United Breweries in 1889 , whilst the White Horse , owned by Georges Brewery Company , was built around 1800 and replaced the former inn of the same name which stood in the grounds of Hambrook grove.

Hambrook Common

Whiteshill common to give the common its full name , was conveyed to its present owners , Winterbourne Parish Council , by the Lords of Westerleigh , the then owners in 1831 , following the Enclosure Act of 1825.

The scene of Hambrook cricket and football , it comprises some five acres of land in the the heart of the village , and is adjoined by the village school. During the years the school has produced many a talented cricketer , and continues to produce keen sportsmen.

In its early days the wicket shared the same turf as the soccer pitch , but thankfully as the common was cleared of its covering of brambles , the square reserved its own haloed spot. Further improvements to the playing area were made in the late forties when some 500 lorry loads of soil were used to raise the west end of the common to its present gently sloping profile.

The pavilion was added in 1962. Complete with bar , skittle alley and dance floor , its opening added much to the facilities offered by both cricket and football clubs.

Playing history

However , things were much more basic for the original club members. The clubs cricket can be traced back to 1878 through the notes of Wilfred Ludwell and the members of the Crossman family. Dr Edward Crossman had three sons , and all four of them played cricket for Hambrook in 1878.

Archives reveal that in the late eighteen hundreds , when an over consisted of four balls instead of six , the common saw fixtures against Iron Acton , Frenchay , Downend , Victoria , Stapleton , Mangotsfield , Oaklands and Kingswood.

In 1890 Hambrook played three fixtures agaist Frenchay. Of these , Hambrook won twice with the third ending in a tie at 70 runs each. It is worth noting that it was not uncommon for 10-a-side matches to be played , as well as 12 or even 13 a-side games.

In the 1890 game versus Mangotsfield , Hambrook won by 8 runs , with Frank Maggs scoring 32 out of a total of 79. Tytherington were another side on the fixture list at this time , and Frank Crossman (30) and W Marriott (42) were the mainstays in Hambrook's innings of 101-8. Tytherington were 47 all out.

Records for the period between the wars are not available , but we do know that Jack Mapstone captained the club for much of this time. These were grim years between the wars and spanning the depression.

Frank Maggs was now chairman and Dr Frank Crossman was club president. The treasure was Edgar Manning , whose mother kept the Star Inn and whose father WG also played for the club. Edgar was made a life member in 1963.

On resumpton of play after the second world war , Alan Maggs took over as captain and continued to play until 1970 when he too was made a life member. Another life member active during this time was Fred lewis. Fred was a keen club member who was chairman for may years.

In 1955 the club had success in the H.E.R. cup final at the county ground. However , it is really since the opening of the pavilion in 1961 that the club made its advance in local cricket.

Bristol & District League cricket gave the impetus and opportunity for the club to gain a place in the top flight of local cricket. At the formation of the league in 1973 , Hambrook gained a place in division two. And despite a disastrous start to the 1974 season , the club gained promotion to division one , alongside local rivals Thornbury.

It was during this season that Roger Maggs won the Bristol Evening Post cricket bat for taking 7-57 in a match against Y.M.C.A.

Over the next 27 years the club secured two league titles. The first division was won in 1987 , and the senior division crown in 2001.

The 2nd XI have faired slightly better , winning their division titles in 1984 , 2000 and 2001 , whilst the 'A' XI gained honours in 1993 , 1996 , 1997 and 2003.

Recent times has seen the cricket club go down the route of using overseas players. The first was New Zealander , Mark Peterson , back in 1991 , and he has been followed by the likes of Kain Moore , Lyndon Morgan , Julian Doudle , Trevor Sweeney, Greg Steele and Faiyaz Lange. They all added much to the club.

Since gaining promotion to the WEPL in 2002 the club maintained it's highest ever playing standard until relegation back into the B&D Senior Division at the end of the 2010 season

In more recent years the club has seen a major expansion of it's Youth Section. Although ever present in the local youth league since it's formation in 1971, it's been the past 10 years that have seen the youth section grow from 3 to 6 age groups, with some ages necessitating two teams.

Looking to the future , the present committee are committed to pursuing the policy of ecouraging local players to succeed and progress through the youth teams , whilst continuing to improve the club's facilities.....

Hambrook Cricket Club Youth Section