"Clifton College"

by Charles Bird

Engraving

Paper Size: 17 x 21 ins / 42 x 53 cm

Image Size: 12 x 16 ins / 29 x 40 cm

Cricket began rather primitively in Stuart times. It was played very much on a local basis, with regional variations of rules. Scores were recorded by notches on a stick, and when Kent played All England in 1747 the county was victorious by 111 notches to 110. By this date, all classes of English society had been caught up in the enthusiasm for the game, gentry and labourers in teams together. It has been suggested that had the French aristocracy been able and inclined to play games with their peasants, their chateaux might have escaped the ravages of the Revolution. Cricket became a fundamental part of public school life in England in the mid-19th century.

watermarks do not appear on prints