The origins of Wedmore Cricket Club, go back to a meeting in Porch House, West End, Wedmore in 1850 though the first match there are recorded details for took place on 30th July 1858 against Wrington. The Weston Mercury of 7th August 1858 shows complete scorecards of a two innings game. The match report stated that “the whole party adjourned to the Golden Lion (in Wrington) where most present played a ‘good innings’ “. Clearly the after match socialising was important even then.
In the late 1860’s and early 1870’s Dr. William Glanville led the club. In 1875 Wedmore scored 173 against Theale with Fores Glanville scoring 93, a very high individual score for those days.
In 1877 Rev. Sydenham Hervey, son of Lord Hervey, Bishop of Bath and Wells and grandson of the Earl of Bristol, became vicar of Wedmore. He went on to captain the club for over 20 years.
An Oxford and Cambridge eleven played at Wedmore in 1883 with over 300 spectators present.
In 1902, William Burrough scored his first hundred for Wedmore and went on to play a handful of games for Somerset. In 1907 he took 90 wickets at 8.5 each. In the same year Fred Curtin took 113 wickets at 7.53 each and another county cricketer, Alfred Crowder, scored 850 runs at an average of 53 including 156 n.o. against Bridgwater. In this period Wedmore were a real force to be reckoned with, regularly beating teams like Weston, Bridgwater, Glastonbury and Street.
1910 was when the new Sports Field ground was opened and Sammy Woods brought an XI, including several Somerset players, for the match to celebrate the occasion.
In 1921 Somerset Club and Ground sent a team to play Wedmore captained by Fred Curtin. Wedmore scored 89 and bowled Somerset out for 55, Norman Mapstone taking 7-19, to record a famous Wedmore victory.
William Burrough’s son Dickie was a regular Wedmore player in his younger days. He went on to play for Somerset between 1927 and 1947 (171 games in all). Tom Williams and Douglas Mapstone (son of Norman) were the key players in the 1940’s. 1951 saw the formation of a colts team with Dave Patch as captain. The new pavilion was built in 1968 to replace the old wooden one.
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