133-553: The Angel Ground was a sports ground at Tonbridge in the English county of Kent . It was used as a venue for first-class cricket by Kent County Cricket Club between 1869 and 1939 and then for association football by Tonbridge Angels F.C. , until 1980. It was subsequently demolished and redeveloped by Tonbridge and Malling District Council in 1980. The ground was located in the centre of Tonbridge, around 250 metres (820 ft) north-east of Tonbridge railway station , just to
266-555: A 0–0 draw. Another FA Cup tie, against Charlton Athletic F.C. in 1972–73 , saw 7,770 attend. By 1977 the council required the ground for redevelopment. A three-year legal battle was fought, eventually reaching the High Court , before the council offered the club a new ground, the Longmead Stadium on the north-western edge of the town. The club took the old main stand with them from the ground and this remains in use at
399-620: A South African XI and Chatham Garrison amongst others in 1916, and Blythe played at Lord's and The Oval and against a Linden Park side containing four of Kent's players. Blythe and Claud Woolley were identified for overseas service in early 1917, were transferred to the Royal Engineers and underwent training at Marlow in Buckinghamshire. Blythe played more cricket whilst at Marlow, playing alongside Woolley and Jennings. His final appearances at Lord's saw him playing against
532-746: A Vets team. The club has two girls teams (Under 15 and 18), and a junior and mini section. Tonbridge's football team, the Tonbridge Angels , play in the National League South – with the former manager of the England national football team , Roy Hodgson having played for them. The town has a canoe club that has produced a number of Olympic participants, and a dinghy sailing club, the Tonbridge Town Sailing Club, which holds events at Haysden Country Park on
665-435: A batsman: against Nottinghamshire , he scored 82 not out , sharing a partnership of 106 for the ninth wicket with Bill Fairservice ; batting at number four against Yorkshire he scored 42 not out; and against Somerset he scored 70 in an hour out of a last-wicket partnership of 98 with Fairservice. In total, he scored 400 first-class runs, improving by nearly 150 runs on his previous best, and his batting average reached 15.38,
798-561: A bridge belonging to the estate or manor (from the Old English tun), or alternatively a bridge belonging to Tunna, a common Anglo-Saxon man's name. Another theory suggests that the name is a contraction of "town of bridges", due to the large number of streams the High Street originally crossed. Until 1870, the town's name was spelt Tunbridge , as shown on old maps including the 1871 Ordnance Survey map and contemporary issues of
931-470: A finger on his left hand. He generally conceded few runs, but Australian pitches did not favour his bowling style, and the injury to his bowling hand meant he could not turn the ball as much as usual. Wisden suggested that Blythe worked hard, albeit in a weak bowling attack, and his 18 Test match wickets were taken at an average of 26.11. His health benefitted from the tour, and he returned physically stronger than before. No longer required to train before
1064-584: A nominal member of the Tonbridge Nursery, and played a handful of matches there during the season. The good impression that Blythe had made during his first two seasons led to his selection for an English team to tour Australia organised by Archie MacLaren . Two of the leading English professional bowlers, Wilfred Rhodes and George Hirst , were refused permission to join the tour by their county, Yorkshire, so MacLaren chose Blythe and several other promising cricketers. Kent allowed Blythe to join
1197-425: A pitch that helped the bowler. Although he was ostensibly a slow-paced bowler, Blythe sometimes bowled an "arm ball" which was decidedly fast and, in general, he had more pace than would be expected. In his Golden Ages , A. A. Thomson praised Blythe as Wilfred Rhodes ' "historic rival as a slow left-hand bowler". Thomson declared Rhodes and Blythe to have been "the greatest of slow left-hand bowlers" but stated
1330-598: A prisoner of war camp was built at the junction of Tudeley Lane and Pembury Road on land belonging to Somerhill House . It held German pilots who had been shot down, and captured Italian soldiers. After the war the camp was used as temporary housing for people made homeless by the Blitz . The site is now occupied by the Weald of Kent Girls' Grammar School. Ruth Ellis , the last woman in the United Kingdom to be hanged,
1463-459: A short walk from the High Street along Canon Lane, on the outskirts of the town. The Borough Council has published proposals to improve the town's shopping and leisure facilities. During the early 20th century Tonbridge became the South East hub for plastic moulding / engineering and printing, with many well-known companies such as The Crystalate Gramophone Record Company, which claimed to be
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#17327983922411596-422: A slight personal preference for Rhodes. He qualified his opinion by admitting that many better judges, including Ranjitsinhji , considered Blythe to be "the more difficult to play (against)". As well as Ranji, all the leading batsmen greatly respected Blythe and Gilbert Jessop wrote in his book A Cricketer's Log that his particular bêtes noires as bowlers were Blythe, Monty Noble and Tom Hayward . Blythe
1729-468: A specialist school for languages and science; the Judd School for Music with English and also now Science with Maths; Hayesbrook School for boys, a specialist sports college; and Hillview School For Girls , with Performing Arts Status. Hugh Christie Technology College has IT expertise. Further and higher education is available at West Kent College on Brook Street. There is also a small campus of
1862-528: A spell in which he took 25 wickets in four innings spread across four days. Kent finished eighth in the Championship, with Blythe taking a wicket in every match he played in, the beginning of a remarkable sequence in which he took at least one wicket in each match he played in until August 1909. The domestic season was followed by Kent's short tour of the United States, Blythe taking ten wickets in
1995-562: A week's wage for Blythe. At the suggestion of Lord Harris, the Committee commissioned a painting by Albert Chevallier Tayler of one of the season's matches. The main conditions were that it should be set on St Lawrence Ground in Canterbury, and should include Blythe as the bowler; the painting, Kent vs Lancashire at Canterbury , became well-known and has been hung in the pavilions at Canterbury and at Lord's Cricket Ground . In
2128-540: Is Kelly Holmes ' former club. The Tonbridge Half Marathon has been held in September since 2011. Tonbridge has a Rugby union club, Tonbridge Juddians Rugby Football club., often referred to as TJs. The 2009/10 season saw the club's first XV win promotion and go unbeaten in the league for the second year running, they played their rugby in 2010/11 in London 1. The senior men's section of the club fields five sides plus
2261-578: Is a market town in Kent , England, on the River Medway , 4 miles (6 km) north of Royal Tunbridge Wells , 12 miles (19 km) south west of Maidstone and 29 miles (47 km) south east of London . In the administrative borough of Tonbridge and Malling , it had an estimated population of 41,293 in 2019. The town was recorded in Domesday Book 1086 as Tonebrige , which may indicate
2394-696: Is also served by the A21 trunk road between London and Hastings and the A26 between Maidstone and Brighton. It is also close to the M25 motorway . Tonbridge is served by numerous bus routes, most of which are run by Arriva Southern Counties . Dualing of the A21 from Castle Hill to Pembury , where a new regional hospital opened in 2011, has now been completed and opened in 2018. Before World War I , aviation pioneers Frank Gooden and Richard Johnson tried to establish an airfield to
2527-606: Is depicted as the bowler in Albert Chevallier Tayler 's oil painting, Kent vs Lancashire at Canterbury , commissioned by Kent at the suggestion of Lord Harris to commemorate the club's first official County Championship title in 1906. Harris made two conditions: the ground had to be Canterbury; the bowler had to be Colin Blythe. Harris' choice of Blythe for this honour is echoed in Altham's history: "But when all
2660-474: Is in Ranjitsinhji 's opinion more difficult to play than Rhodes, the lower flight of the ball making it a hard matter to go out and drive him. Wisden Cricketers' Almanack , 1904 Another wet season in 1903 aided Blythe's bowling and he took 142 first-class wickets at an average of 13.75, his best return in terms of wickets and average so far. He was the "mainstay" of Kent's bowling attack and by
2793-462: Is in the parliamentary constituency of Tonbridge . The town's development is shaped by the Medway valley and the railway lines, with development forming a rough 'hourglass' shape centred on the river and the castle. The residential areas north of the town centre include the mostly post-war Trench Wood and Cage Green (north of the town centre) and Higham Wood (north east). Areas in the south part of
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#17327983922412926-464: Is in the centre of the town. Around 60% of the boys there are boarders, and live in the school's houses, which are all close to the school. The town is also home to several Grammar Schools , including The Judd School , Weald of Kent Grammar School and Tonbridge Grammar School. A number of Tonbridge's secondary schools have specialist status, including Tonbridge Grammar School for Maths and ICT, as well as Languages; Weald of Kent Grammar School for Girls,
3059-406: Is said, it is the figure of 'Charlie' Blythe that stands out above his fellows as the greatest factor in the county's success". Altham went on to say that Blythe elevated bowling "from a physical activity onto a higher plane" and summarised him as "practically unplayable" on a " sticky wicket ". Technically, Altham says, Blythe's strengths were "the quickness of his break and rise (of the ball) from
3192-560: Is the oldest established cricket club in Tonbridge. Its large secluded ground features a modern pavilion, offering facilities to club members and visitors alike. The club competes in the Kent Cricket League Division IV on a Saturday and plays friendly matches, under the banner of Tonbridge Exiles CC, on a Sunday. The club has a junior section. Tonbridge Athletic Club which trains on the Tonbridge school track,
3325-481: The Australian Imperial Forces and then, in his final match, for an Army and Navy side against an Australian and South African XI. He took only one wicket, Australian international Charlie Macartney . By this time Blythe was certain that he would not be able to play cricket professionally after the war, and was appointed as cricket coach at Eton College , intending to take up the position once
3458-565: The Bradshaw railway guide. In 1870, this was changed to Tonbridge by the GPO due to confusion with nearby Tunbridge Wells , despite Tonbridge being a much older settlement. Tunbridge Wells has always maintained the same spelling. Tonbridge stands on a spur of higher land where the marshy River Medway could be more easily forded. Ancient trackways converged at this point . There is no record of any bridge before 1191. For much of its existence,
3591-520: The County Championship for the first time in 1906 . Blythe took 111 first-class wickets at 19.90 in the season, but was hampered by injury which prevented him reaching 100 wickets in the Championship for the first time since 1901 and the last time in his career. Against Sussex, he split the second finger of his bowling hand and missed three games; attempting to return too soon, he split the finger again and missed four more matches. During
3724-594: The Old Bailey . Tonbridge is in the county of Kent . After the Norman Conquest Richard fitz Gilbert acquired Tonbridge and the surrounding area, this district being known as the Lowy of Tunbridge . The lowy covered the approximate area of the later parishes of Tonbridge, Tonbridge Rural, Southborough , Hildenborough and Hadlow . The separate administration of the lowy continued until at least
3857-524: The Southern Football League , Tonbridge Angels F.C. leased the ground from the council and adopted it as their home ground in 1949. Their first match, against Hastings United , drew a crowd of 5,000, with Hastings running out 2–1 winners. The club continued to use the ground for more than 30 years. The ground saw its record attendance for Tonbridge's 1951–52 FA Cup first-round tie against Aldershot F.C. , when 8,236 supporters watched
3990-556: The St Lawrence Ground at Canterbury . Occasional wartime cricket matches were held on the ground and the final match, played in 1942, was abandoned after German bombers began to jettison bombs over the town. It was used as an Army vehicle park during the Second World War and the trustees of the club decided that the ground would require too much money spent on it to return the pitch to its pre-war condition. It
4123-523: The St Lawrence Ground in Canterbury , is dedicated to him and to other members of the club who died in the war. Blythe was born on 30 May 1879 in Deptford , at that time part of Kent . His paternal grandfather, originally from Rochester , had moved to the area to work as a shirtmaker and later ran a warehouse there. Blythe's father, Walter, was an engineer fitter and his mother, Elizabeth Dready,
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4256-636: The University of Kent . Tonbridge has many primary schools including Hilden Grange School and infant nurseries/daycare. The 2007 Tour de France passed through the centre of Tonbridge on 8 July, as part of the first stage (London to Canterbury). The riders climbed Quarry Hill at the south of the town, a Grade 4 and the first King of the Mountains climb of the Tour. The town is home to two cricket clubs: Cowdrey CC and Tonbridge CC. Cowdrey Cricket Club
4389-436: The 13th century became an official residence and records repository of Edward II . In later medieval times, Tonbridge was considered an important strategic settlement. Some evidence shows Henry III intended it to be a walled town, and a charter was issued allowing for walls to be built, a market to be held, court sessions to be held and two members from the town to attend parliament. The walls were never built, perhaps because
4522-506: The 14th century, after which it became regarded in a similar way to the other hundreds of the county. In the 1894 local government reforms Tonbridge and Southborough became urban districts and the rest of the area became part of Tonbridge Rural District. Since 1974 the town has been part of the local government district of Tonbridge and Malling , and is divided into the five local government wards of Cage Green and Angel, Castle, Higham, Judd, Trench and Vauxhall. These wards have 12 of
4655-452: The 1898 season at Tonbridge, almost certainly the first time he had received formal cricket coaching. The regime for the nursery professionals consisted of net practice each morning, followed by further practice in the afternoon early in the season or, in later months, bowling at club members who requested it. The players also gained match practice by playing for local clubs which were able to request their service, and Blythe quickly developed
4788-569: The 1907 County Championship match at the County Cricket Ground, Northampton , Kent defeated Northamptonshire by an innings and 155 runs. Kent had batted first, having won the toss, and then dismissed Northants for 60 and 39. The story of the match is that it was dominated by, first, the weather and then by Blythe. The first day was Thursday, 30 May, Blythe's 28th birthday. Play could not commence until mid-afternoon and then three hours were possible before more rain intervened. Kent won
4921-619: The 48 seats on the Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council. As of May 2023, 6 of these seats were held by the Green Party, 3 by the Lib Dems and 3 by the once-dominant Conservatives. Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council is responsible for running local services, such as recreation, refuse collection and council housing ; while Kent County Council is responsible for education, social services and trading standards. Both councils are involved in town planning and road maintenance. Tonbridge
5054-625: The Australian second innings which nearly tilted the match, which was drawn, in England's favour. Wisden commented that he "got on admirably" and "bowled uncommonly well", although Rhodes returned to the side for the final two matches. Blythe was selected by the MCC to tour South Africa over the 1905–06 English winter . The English team was not particularly strong and featured only three players, including Blythe, who had played against Australia
5187-612: The British record until 2003. However, this temperature was later rejected as being around 2 °C (3.6 °F) too high. Major industries include light engineering, printing and publishing, distribution and financial services. Tonbridge, together with its neighbour Tunbridge Wells, has been designated by the South East Assembly as a Regional Hub. The town has largely retained its 'market town' atmosphere and has many attractions to visitors and residents alike, including
5320-731: The Earth and Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council. The project also received some support from some local shopkeepers and residents. Parts of Tonbridge are at risk of flooding. Significant flooding occurred in 1968 , which led to the construction of the Leigh Barrier; and in 2013 which resulted in the Environment Agency building a 320-metre long flood defence along Avebury Avenue in 2015. Despite these measures, significant flooding occurred again in December 2019. The area to
5453-515: The KFRE, and after initial training at Tonbridge, the men were posted to the Gillingham depot as part of 2/7 company, a Territorial Force company. Blythe's enlistment was covered by the press and whilst at Tonbridge he undertook a recruiting tour of Kent, enlisting another 25 men. He was promoted to corporal by the end of the year and to serjeant in 1915. After spending the first years of
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5586-633: The Kent & England cricketer". A memorial to him and the other members of Kent's sides who died during the war was erected at the St Lawrence Ground in Canterbury in 1919. The idea of a memorial was discussed by the Kent Committee as early as December 1917, subject to approval by his widow, and noted in The Times in April 1918. The memorial, which initially took the form of a drinking fountain,
5719-458: The Kent attack. Professional batsmen such as Punter Humphreys , Frank Woolley and James Seymour became an increasing part of Kent's success, coming together with a group of "gifted" amateurs to produce strong batting lineups. The Nursery began to pay dividends quickly and Kent finished third in the Championship in 1900, and by 1904 The Times was able to call it a "brilliant success". The nursery closed in 1927, with player development moving to
5852-465: The Kent bowling averages as the county finished third in the 1900 County Championship , their best position in ten years. In his second match of the season, he had first innings figures of five for 71 against Gloucestershire , the first time he took five wickets in an innings . Further five-wicket returns followed against Middlesex and Yorkshire, and by early August he had taken 56 wickets in 14 games at an average of just over 22 runs per wicket. In
5985-592: The Kent team, Walter Wright , came to bat in the nets and asked Blythe, as one of the few present, to bowl to him to give him some practice before play began. Blythe did so and was seen by William McCanlis , a former Kent cricketer who acted as coach and advisor to the team. Impressed by Blythe's bowling action, McCanlis arranged for him to bowl to him on another day. McCanlis described his discovery of Blythe as involving "a considerable amount of luck", Deptford not being an area usually considered when searching for new talent. Shortly after, Blythe bowled to McCanlis at
6118-534: The Tonbridge mural and the Canterbury memorial were designed by Walter Cave , the vice-president of the Royal Institute of British Architects . Two of Blythe's wallets, torn by the shrapnel which killed him, are on display inside the pavilion at Canterbury. Off the field, Blythe played the violin and Harry Altham , writing in Barclay's World of Cricket , said that his slow left-arm action "reflected
6251-555: The West Kent Police Division, prior to the West Division being again headquartered at Maidstone. Royal Mail's TN postcode main sorting office is located on Vale Road in the town. Tonbridge is also the location of Carroty Wood, an outdoor activity and residential centre run by Rock UK , offering groups of young people the opportunity to try out a variety of outdoor activities. A former oast house on
6384-430: The age of 11 at the earliest. There is no evidence that he watched cricket until Saturday 17 July 1897 when Blythe, then aged 18, attended the third and final day of a county match between Kent and Somerset at Rectory Field , Blackheath, a ground relatively close to his home. When he arrived there were very few spectators—Blythe recalled that "I don't think there were that many more spectators than players"—and one of
6517-643: The area during the Battle of Passchendaele . On 8 November 1917 Blythe and Woolley were part of a working party on a railway line between Wieltje and Gravenstafel. Shrapnel from a shell burst pierced Blythe's chest, killing him instantly; the same burst wounded Woolley. Blythe is buried in the Oxford Road Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery near Ypres . His headstone bears the inscription, chosen by his wife, "In loving memory of my dear husband,
6650-456: The arrival of the railway in 1842 the company went into a steep decline and all commercial traffic ceased in 1911 when the company collapsed. Some of the original warehouses and the wharves are still recognisable today, downstream of the town's main bridge. Later, the town and its surroundings became famous for the production of finely inlaid wooden cabinets, boxes and other objects called Tunbridgeware , which were sold to tourists who were taking
6783-526: The ball, taking 10 wickets in a match five times. That season, the Australian cricket team toured England , playing five Test matches. Wilfred Rhodes , the established England left-arm spin bowler, missed the third Test with a finger injury, and Blythe, in the opinion of The Times "very likely a better bowler", replaced him to make his only Test appearance of the season and his first on home soil. He took four wickets, including three quick wickets in
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#17327983922416916-472: The beginning of July 1910. Kent retained the title with a new but short-lived percentage system (wins to matches played) working in their favour. They won nineteen of 25 matches for 76.00% and were well clear of runners-up Surrey who won sixteen of 28 for 57.14%. Blythe took 175 wickets and was second after Razor Smith (247). His average of 14.26 was third-best among the bowlers who took 100 wickets, after Jack Hearne and Razor Smith. Blythe's best innings return
7049-472: The best left-hander of his pace". The following season, Blythe had his most successful season to date, taking 149 wickets at 21.08 as Kent finished sixth in the County Championship in 1905―he took 68 more wickets than any of Kent's other bowlers. He had another success with the bat, scoring 75 and sharing a ninth wicket partnership of 120 with Fairservice, and had several successful games with
7182-491: The bowlers with 100 wickets. His ten for 30 at Northampton was his best innings return. He achieved 5wI seventeen times and 10wM six times. Blythe made his second tour Australia, this time with MCC, in 1907–08. He played in eleven first-class matches and took 41 wickets at 22.80 with a best return of six for 48. He achieved 5wI three times and 10wM once. Kent had a very good season in 1908 and were placed second behind Yorkshire, who were unbeaten in 28 matches. The crucial match
7315-484: The castle's large outer bailey could have easily accommodated the townspeople in times of strife. A surrounding bank and ditch known as The Fosse was erected. Today only traces of this encircling defence now remain. The historic core of the town still contains a large number of working buildings dating from the 15th century: the oldest is Port Reeves in East Street. Tonbridge School , the famous public school,
7448-545: The centenary of Blythe's death. Pelham Warner , who had played with Blythe for England and was a great admirer of his, laid a wreath at the memorial during the 1919 Canterbury Cricket Week , beginning a tradition which has continued. Blythe is also commemorated by a decorative mural in Tonbridge Parish Church, on the town's war memorial and has a road in North Tonbridge named after him. Both
7581-405: The club's general manager in 1898. It provided structured coaching and match practise for the young professionals who, by 1914, had become the basis of the Kent team, gradually taking the place of the amateurs who had dominated the county teams of the 1870s and 80s. By 1906 around 60% of all appearances were by professionals, with bowlers such as Colin Blythe and Arthur Fielder forming the core of
7714-562: The county's administrators had determined that something needed to be done to strengthen the side. The establishment of the Nursery was one of the key developments that lay the foundations for the successes of the pre- World War I period during which Kent won the County Championship four times between 1906 and 1913. The Nursery was run by Captain William McCanlis and set up and overseen by Tonbridge man Tom Pawley , who became
7847-525: The crowd finally dispersed at midnight. The United Kingdom's first speeding fine was handed out by Tonbridge Petty Sessions court in 1896. The guilty driver was a Mr Walter Arnold of East Peckham , who was fined one shilling for speeding at 8 miles per hour (13 km/h) in a 2 mph (3 km/h) zone in Paddock Wood , in his Karl Benz powered car. Mr Arnold was apprehended by a policeman who had given chase on his bicycle. During World War II
7980-613: The earliest age possible and he became an apprentice engineer fitter and turner alongside his father at the Woolwich Arsenal . Blythe decided to study for a Whitworth Scholarship , but the pressure proved too much for his health and a doctor recommended that fresh air would aid his recuperation. Until this point, Blythe appears to have played few, if any, organised cricket matches. He may have played cricket and football for boys clubs around Blackheath or for his school, but it appears that he did not bowl seriously before
8113-463: The east of Tonbridge High Street. It was bordered on the north by a branch of the River Medway and suffered from flooding in 1925. The ground was named after the nearby Angel Hotel and was initially used as a cricket ground. Although a field near the Angel Inn is first referenced as a cricket ground in 1844, the first recorded match, featuring Tonbridge Cricket Club, was in 1868. The club purchased
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#17327983922418246-555: The end of the season, The Times was proclaiming him as "certainly one of the best slow medium left-handers at the present day". Kent began the season badly and only rallied in August, when Blythe took over 70 wickets. Beginning with nine for 67 in an innings against Essex in Canterbury week at the start of August―the first of six times he took nine wickets in an innings―Blythe had a string of successful performances, including taking five for 13 from just 4.3 overs against Surrey as part of
8379-481: The family home and continued his engineering job over the winter of 1897–98, but rented lodgings in Tonbridge for the 1898 cricket season, a pattern which continued until he married in 1907. The Tonbridge nursery ... has just now given Kent a bowler of great promise in Blythe, a left-hand man of about the pace of Rhodes of Yorkshire, with a fine easy action. The Times , 4 September 1899. Blythe spent
8512-419: The first match of Canterbury Cricket Week , when Kent played Lancashire , Blythe took eleven wickets for 72 runs in the match in helpful bowling conditions, including six for 40 in the first innings, his best bowling figures to date. Although the match was drawn, the crowd cheered Blythe and held a collection for him in appreciation of his performance; both the local and national press also praised his bowling in
8645-413: The game, The Times writing that he had "bowled superbly". The rest of the season brought a string of successes: in the last eight games, he took 58 wickets at an average of 14.50 and finished the season with 11 five-wicket returns and two 10-wicket matches, including twelve wickets in the game against Worcestershire . Blythe benefited from Kent's recently instituted winter pay for their professionals;
8778-442: The ground became the base for the "Tonbridge Nursery", a player development centre established by Kent to train young professional cricketers. This was deemed necessary by the Kent Committee as after dominating county cricket in the early years of Queen Victoria 's reign, the county had become a weaker side. When the County Championship was formerly established in 1890 Kent were initially able to finish only in mid table and by 1896
8911-509: The ground in 1905 for £4,300 and used it until 1942. The ground was first used as a venue for first-class cricket in 1869 when Kent played Nottinghamshire . The ground became more widely used by the county during the 1880s, with Sussex initially the most frequent visitors. A cricket week was first held in 1890 and had become the second oldest (after the Canterbury Cricket Week ) of Kent's five established cricket weeks by
9044-451: The ground was in June 1939 when Kent drew with Glamorgan . A total of 106 first-class matches were held on the ground, all of them featuring Kent as the home side. The total made against Essex in 1922 was Kent's highest total in first-class cricket when it was set. As of December 2017, it remains the fifth highest score in the county's history. The score of 16 made by Warwickshire in 1913 is
9177-402: The illness was, one of his biographers, Christopher Scoble, speculates that it may have been related to his later epilepsy , or that he was affected by the attention brought about by his successful first full season. The weather during the 1901 season was dry, leading to a succession of hard pitches which made batting easy and did not play to Blythe's bowling strengths. In these conditions, he
9310-439: The key cricketing skills, such as line-and-length bowling and variations in the flight and spin of the ball, he would use with great success throughout his career. By 1899, he was playing regularly for local clubs, bowling more than 600 overs and taking 105 wickets during the season, comfortably ahead of the other nursery bowlers. His batting, a skill which McCanlis recalled he had "no idea whatever" about when he began at
9443-477: The latter's local cricket club and impressed him sufficiently that he was recommended for a trial at the Tonbridge Nursery where promising young professional cricketers were trained with a view to joining the Kent team. Blythe was successful in the trial and was taken on at the nursery for the 1898 season; the trials book recorded the verdict: "Bowls slow left. Very useful bowler." Blythe remained at
9576-532: The leading county wicket-taker with 170, but did not play in Kent's final match of the season at Bournemouth; war had intervened. Despite his epilepsy, Blythe enlisted in the Kent Fortress Royal Engineers (KFRE) at the end of August alongside Kent teammates David Jennings and Henry Preston as well as his close friend Claud Woolley and Jennings' brother Tom . As a trained engineer, Blythe's skills lent themselves to service in
9709-587: The lowest ever made against a Kent side. It was scored in the Warwickshire second innings, the side being bowled out in 45 minutes. One of Kent's greatest bowlers, Colin Blythe, made his debut for the county on the Angel Ground in 1899. Playing against Yorkshire , he bowled Frank Mitchell with his first ball in first-class cricket, one of only three men to have taken a wicket with their first ball in first-class cricket whilst playing for Kent. In 1897,
9842-400: The match (this has never been done in first-class cricket). He says Blythe was affected by dropping an absolute "sitter" off his own bowling but that was in the first innings, not the second. The first wicket in the second innings was taken by Bill Fairservice so the all-twenty goal was never on once that wicket fell. Blythe's best Test bowling performance was eight for 59 (fifteen for 99 in
9975-498: The match) against South Africa at Headingley in the 2nd Test of the 1907 series. Kent were unable to retain their championship title and slipped to eighth place in the 1907 final table, having won twelve of their 26 matches. Blythe had one of his best seasons individually, especially his performances at Northampton and Headingley. He took 183 wickets, the same as George Hirst , and only George Dennett with 201 took more. Blythe's average improved to 15.42 and placed him fifth among
10108-446: The new Kent left-hand slow bowler, seems a very promising man". Wisden Cricketers' Almanack , in its review of the 1899 Kent season, described him as a "new and promising" bowler, although "he has not yet done enough to justify one predicting a great future for him", whilst The Times , in its review, considered that he was a "bowler of great promise". In 1900, Blythe played in all of Kent's 22 matches, taking 114 wickets and leading
10241-698: The new ground. The Angel Ground was sold for £1.7 million and the club played its last game at the ground in January 1980, with Mickey Angel scoring the last goal on the ground. They played the remainder of their home matches during the season at a variety of grounds across Kent before moving to the Longmead Stadium for the start of the 1980–81 season. The ground was demolished and a supermarket, department store and Angel leisure centre replaced it. Tonbridge Tonbridge ( / ˈ t ʌ n b r ɪ dʒ / TUN -brij ) (historic spelling Tunbridge )
10374-410: The north of Tonbridge at Cage Green Fields, at the top of the ridge which The Ridgeway ascends, and east of Shipbourne Road . An accident is recorded as having occurred on 24 December 1913 at the airfield, although neither Gooden or Johnson was injured. The scheme was ended by the outbreak of war. Tonbridge School , founded in 1553 by Sir Andrew Judde , is a major independent school for boys, which
10507-478: The nursery, also developed. Towards the end of August 1899, Blythe, then aged 20, was called into the Kent side and made his first-class debut against Yorkshire on 21 August 1899 at the Angel Ground in Tonbridge. Kent, enduring a poor season and whose bowlers had not performed effectively, began well and took early wickets. Yorkshire began to recover and Blythe was given the ball for the first time with
10640-574: The oldest record producer in Britain. They bought out The Vocalion Gramophone Company in 1932 when the principal labels included Rex, Nine-Inch Broadcast, and Ten-Inch Broadcast. From the early post-war years, Crystalate was very much involved in producing the 1 mini-disc, which was sold in Marks & Spencers, Woolworths and probably other stores for 6 d (2.5p) each between 1930 and 1937, with labels such as Crown, Embassy and Eclipse. In 1937, Crystalate
10773-502: The only time he averaged more than 15 in an English season. More than one critic claimed that Blythe could have become a good batsman had he so wished, but he never batted as consistently again, and preferred hard-hitting in the lower order to serious batting. At the end of the season he was the subject of one of the prestigious front-page profiles in Cricket magazine, and The Times wrote that Blythe had "strong claims to be considered
10906-511: The outcome. Blythe took 138 wickets at 19.38 with a best analysis of eight for 45. He achieved 5wI ten times and 10wM five times. He had the seventh-highest number of wickets and the fifth-best average. Kent had another good season in 1912 but championship success eluded them and they finished third behind Yorkshire and Northants, but as in 1911, they would have won the title under the 1910 percentage system. They won fourteen of their 26 matches. Blythe had his best season in statistical terms as he
11039-675: The outskirts of the town. Tonbridge Canoe Club was formed in 1977 to promote the various disciplines of canoeing from its base on the River Medway opposite Tonbridge Castle. The club meets every Saturday morning throughout the year, and on various weekday evenings for race training and general club sessions, the club has members actively participating in racing (sprint and marathon), touring, open canoeing and recreational paddling Colin Blythe Colin Blythe (30 May 1879 – 8 November 1917), also known as Charlie Blythe ,
11172-561: The pitch, combined with his perfect length". Blythe met Janet Gertrude Brown, who was from Royal Tunbridge Wells , in 1906. She was called Janet by her own family but Blythe and everyone in his family called her Gertrude so, like him, she had two familiar names. Born in February 1889, she was ten years younger than Blythe. They were married on 11 March 1907 at the registry office in Greenwich . The couple lived in Tonbridge, not far from
11305-407: The previous season, although Wisden was of the view it was "good enough" for the task, albeit short of a fast bowler. In contrast to his previous tour, Blythe requested that Kent continue his winter pay, suggesting that he would not go otherwise. The Kent committee only agreed after a majority vote, although the influential committee chairman Lord Harris supported Blythe. In South Africa, Blythe
11438-550: The record for the highest number of first-class wickets taken in a single day's play along with Hedley Verity and Tom Goddard . He took over 100 wickets in 14 of the 16 seasons he played, including 215 in 1909. Despite having epilepsy , Blythe enlisted in the British army at the beginning of World War I . He was killed during the Second Battle of Passchendaele whilst on active service. A memorial at Kent's home ground,
11571-497: The road to Hildenborough has been converted to a small theatre called the Oast Theatre . Tonbridge Medical Group built a substantial new medical centre in 2020 to replace their ageing Pembury Road and Higham Lane sites. Tonbridge railway station is one of Kent's busiest with 4.1 million passengers using it each year. It is an important railway junction with lines to London, Ashford , Hastings and Redhill . The town
11704-431: The run-scoring of batsmen when necessary, bowling for an hour against Sussex at Tunbridge Wells in a high-scoring match without conceding a run. His wickets generally came steadily, although against Hampshire he took thirteen wickets for 91 in June and then fifteen for 76 in a single day's play on a wet pitch at Canterbury in August, including nine for 30 in the first innings. He also began to show more potential as
11837-470: The scheme had begun in 1897, following a similar model to that used by Yorkshire, but the 20 shillings -a-week payment was not enough to live on and Blythe returned to work at the Woolwich Arsenal and to live in his family's home for the winter months. He was ill for part of the winter and was ordered by Kent to spend two weeks recuperating by the sea. Although it is uncertain what the nature of
11970-433: The score 86 for the loss of four wickets. With his first delivery in first-class cricket, he bowled Frank Mitchell , who had scored 55 runs. Blythe played the remaining three games of the season, taking a further 12 wickets to finish with 14 at a bowling average of 22.14 runs per wicket. His best performance came against Surrey , when he took three wickets in each innings, after which The Times wrote that "Blythe,
12103-450: The season at the Tonbridge Nursery, Blythe was successful in the 1902 season, when he was assisted by a wet summer which led to a series of damp, rain-affected pitches . He took 127 wickets at 15.47, including his best figures so far, eight for 42 against Somerset, and finished second in the Kent bowling averages. Although he was not chosen to play for England against the touring Australians , The Times wrote that his performance during
12236-403: The season was "far in advance of anything he has previously done for the county". He is a slow bowler of varied gifts, and though ... seen to much the best advantage on wickets damaged by rain, he is often effective on a dry pitch. When the ground is favourable to run getting he depends a good deal upon the ball that goes with his arm ... On slow wickets he breaks back very quickly, and
12369-420: The second, The Times reporting that he "bowled splendidly". After his performance, in what was to be the only England Test victory of the tour, Blythe was presented with a gold pocket watch engraved with his bowling figures. Blythe took four for 64 in the first innings of the second Test, but after this his performances fell away and he took only six wickets in the last three Tests, hampered after splitting
12502-409: The sensitive touch and the sense of rhythm of a musician", the left arm emerging from behind his back "in a long and graceful arc". Blythe, who had complete mastery of flight and spin, bowled consistently to a full-length and made effective use of his fingers at the point of delivery to determine if the ball would be an orthodox break or a late inswinger , either of which was a difficult ball to face on
12635-405: The team went in to the final Championship match of the season against Hampshire needing only a draw to secure the title; Blythe took six wickets in each innings and Kent, who scored 610 runs when they batted, won by an innings. Following their victory, the team were widely acclaimed, particularly within Kent, and the Kent Committee chose to award the professionals a bonus of £10, rather less than
12768-549: The time he was not playing, he received half-pay, and his place was taken by a 19-year-old debutant, Frank Woolley , who became one of Kent's greatest players. He returned for the final eleven Championship matches of the season, all of which Kent won to clinch the title in a tight finish. Against Surrey at Blackheath, considered the turning point of Kent's season, he "won the game for Kent with some brilliant bowling on an easy batting wicket" ―taking five for 25 from 20 overs as Surrey were bowled out for 80 in their second innings ―and
12901-612: The time of the First World War . The week was the county's first of the season and was described by The Times in 1911 as "one of the most delightful". There were usually at least two County Championship matches held on the ground each year. Kent played a total of 106 First XI matches on the ground, with the county Second XI also using the ground a number of times, including in the Minor Counties Championship . The final first-class match to be played on
13034-464: The toss, batted first and reached 212 for 4. On the Friday, no play was possible because of persistent rain. The weather relented on Saturday morning and Kent were able to continue their innings. Their tactics were simply to score as many as possible as quickly as possible and they added 42 in forty minutes to reach an all out 254 with more than an hour to go before lunch. On a wet but drying wicket, Blythe
13167-407: The tour but withheld his winter pay. Scoble suggests that he enjoyed the tour and "took part fully in the social aspects", including playing his violin with the ship's band during the voyage to Australia. In his first game of the tour, he took five for 45 against South Australia , and when he made his Test match debut on 13 December 1901, he took three for 26 in the first innings and four for 30 in
13300-649: The town but were repulsed. In 1740 an Act of Parliament was passed to make the River Medway navigable to Tonbridge by the Medway Navigation Company, allowing such materials as coal and lime to be transported to the town, and gunpowder, hops and timber to be carried downriver to Maidstone and the Thames. For a hundred years the Medway Navigation Company was highly profitable, paying out good dividends to its investors, but after
13433-502: The town centre. The high street has a variety of bars, restaurants, estate agents, clothes shops, hairdressers, banks, charity shops, cafes, bakers, a butchers and a fishmongers. There are relatively few empty high street premises compared to the mid-1990s, reflecting the town's increasing prosperity. There are relatively few high street chain stores that have tended to move to large shopping centres such as Tunbridge Wells, Maidstone and Bluewater , although there are some major retail outlets
13566-566: The town include the estates off Brook Street which have Radburn layouts (south west), the Victorian railway terraces around Douglas Road and Barden Park, and Vauxhall (to the south east). In 2014 the Angel Community Garden was created to eliminate eyesores in the area, and encourage bees which are declining. The garden was put along the edge of Sainsbury's car park. It was formed in collaboration with Tonbridge Friends of
13699-523: The town remained to the north of the river, since the land to the south was subject to extensive seasonal flooding. One part of the town is called 'Dryhill'. Richard Fitz Gilbert de Clare founded the Priory of St Mary Magdalene in 1124. A motte and bailey castle was built here in the 11th century by Richard Fitz Gilbert , son of the murdered guardian of the infant William the Conqueror . Richard
13832-546: The town was chosen for a place of execution of a number of Protestants; and in 1555 James Tutty and Margery Polley were burned at the stake in the town and Joan Beach met the same fate in 1556 at Rochester. A memorial to Margery Polly is on the green at Pembury . During the Civil War , the town was garrisoned by the Parliamentarian side who refortified the castle. Royalist sympathisers made several attempts to take
13965-642: The two first-class matches played in America. In the 1904 edition of the almanack, Wisden chose Blythe as one of the Cricketers of the Year for the 1903 season, its review of the season having said that "nothing stood out as prominently as the bowling of Blythe". A drier summer in 1904 resulted in fewer pitches which favoured Blythe's bowling, and his 138 wickets came at the higher average of 19.60. He showed again that he could perform on harder pitches and slow
14098-606: The war was over. Blythe was posted to the 12th battalion of the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (KOYLI), a pioneer battalion which had been raised in Leeds and consisted mostly of Yorkshire miners. He embarked for France in September. Working in the Ypres Salient sector of the front, the battalion was mainly engaged in laying and maintaining light railway lines to allow easy passage of men, equipment and munitions across
14231-468: The war working on coastal defences and other construction projects around Kent, the introduction of conscription in January 1916 meant that territorials were required to sign Imperial Service Obligations and were liable to be sent overseas. Wartime cricket matches, firstly for the KFRE and later for other sides, occupied some of Blythe's time. The side played matches against the Royal Engineers ,
14364-587: The waters at the nearby springs at Tunbridge Wells. Another speciality in the town was until recently the production of cricket balls (the original cricket ball factory in Preston Road was demolished in 2012 to make way for housing) and other sports goods. The Corn Exchange in Bank Street, which was originally conceived as a chapel, dates from 1790. During the March 1880 parliamentary election, Tonbridge
14497-449: The well-maintained Castle Gatehouse, a large country park and activities based around the river. Sports facilities including an indoor/outdoor swimming pool , a leisure centre and a large sports ground are all located close to the town centre. Many of the facilities are provided or subsidised by the local authority. Most of the town's shopping facilities are concentrated on the High Street, which runs for about 1 mile (2 km) through
14630-416: The west is retained as floodplain including Tonbridge Park. Tonbridge experiences an oceanic climate ( Köppen climate classification Cfb ), like all of Kent, and similar to almost all of the United Kingdom. Temperatures all year round are mild, with a low amount of precipitation. Snow sometimes occurs in the winter. On 22 July 1868, the temperature was supposed to have reached 38.1 °C (100.6 °F),
14763-430: Was Kent's season opener at Bradford Park Avenue where Yorkshire won by nine wickets. Only 249 runs were scored in the entire game. Kent also lost to Hampshire and Surrey in August. Blythe had an outstanding season and, for the first time, was the country's leading wicket-taker, his 197 putting him well clear of George Hirst (174). Blythe's average was 16.88 (seventh among bowlers with 100 wickets); his best innings return
14896-509: Was absorbed by Decca, which was itself purchased by Polygram (Philips). Some manufacturing still remains in Tonbridge: Enalon Limited, founded in 1946, is the last remaining plastic moulder and toolmaker based in the town. In 1999, Harvester Trust Tonbridge bought a derelict site on Medway Wharf Road, in the centre of Tonbridge. A£4 million building which can be used as a church, community centre and conference centre
15029-535: Was an English professional cricketer who played Test cricket for the England cricket team during the early part of the 20th century. Blythe was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1904 and took more than 2,500 first-class wickets over the course of his career, one of only 13 men to have done so. Blythe was a slow left-arm orthodox bowler and is considered to have been one of the great left-arm spin bowlers in cricket history. He played county cricket for Kent County Cricket Club between 1899 and 1914 and shares
15162-401: Was being converted to a military camp, and in his final game on the ground Blythe took eleven wickets against Worcestershire, including seven for 20 on a drying pitch to win the match for Kent. In his final match of the season, played at Lord's, he took another seven wickets, including five for 77 in the first innings, his 218th five-wicket haul. At 35 years of age, Blythe finished the season as
15295-463: Was both the leading wicket-taker and top of the bowling averages. He took 178 wickets at 12.26 with a best return of eight for 36. He achieved 5wI sixteen times and 10wM eight times. In 1913 Kent won their fourth championship in eight seasons with twenty victories in 28 matches. Blythe again topped the bowling averages with 16.34 but his tally of 167 wickets was third-highest behind Major Booth (181) and Bill Hitch (174). Blythe's best bowling return
15428-423: Was decided that the ground would be sold in 1944, the local council initially declining to purchase the site. In 1945 it was bought by greyhound racing promoters who were unable to obtain planning permission to develop the site and Tonbridge Urban District Council eventually purchased the ground for £7,500 in 1947, the cricket club moving to use grounds at Tonbridge School . Following their formation and election to
15561-412: Was eight for 83; he achieved 5wI twenty times and 10wM six times. Having performed with great credit in 1908, Kent won the 1909 title in fine style, losing only two of their 26 matches. Blythe took 215 wickets, 48 wickets more than anyone else, and he was again the national leader. His average of 14.54 was second among bowlers with 100 wickets, behind Schofield Haigh's 13.95. Blythe's best innings return
15694-562: Was established in 1552 under letters patent of Edward VI , to educate the sons of local gentry and farmers (There was already a nearby school in existence for poorer boys, now Sevenoaks School.) During Queen Mary's reign Tonbridge was involved in an unsuccessful uprising against the Queen's marriage to the King of Spain, with 500 townspeople involved in the Battle of Hartley in 1554. As a result,
15827-721: Was founded as Tonbridge Printers in 1948. On the club's 50th anniversary in 1998, it was decided to make a name change in honour of Lord Colin Cowdrey of Tonbridge. Cowdrey Cricket Club has a junior section and academy, as well as two Saturday teams – the 1st XI playing in Division III of the Kent League, and the 2nd XI in Division IV. The club plays at the Swanmead Sports Ground. Tonbridge Cricket Club
15960-402: Was given planning permission in March 2000. Work began in 2001. The River Centre was officially opened in January 2003, and hosted a wide variety of events from product launches to awards ceremonies, as well as international church conferences. In August 2016, Hillsong Church purchased the building and is the current owner. The police station, on Pembury Road, was previously the headquarters of
16093-431: Was in his element. He opened the bowling from the pavilion end and, in sixteen overs, shattered Northants with a career-best return of 10 for 30. Northants had to follow-on but, with Blythe taking seven for 18, their second innings lasted only thirty overs, so Blythe had taken 17 wickets in a single day's play. Frank Woolley was playing and he recalled in his memoir that Blythe was unlucky not to take all twenty wickets in
16226-458: Was less effective and took fewer wickets at a higher average: in first-class cricket he secured 93 wickets at 23.12, the only full-season in which he played when he did not take at least 100 first-class wickets. When conditions favoured his bowling, however, he had success, for example taking seven for 64 against Surrey, and even on good batting pitches Blythe made it difficult for batsmen to score quickly and generally conceded few runs. He remained
16359-539: Was married at the registry office in Tonbridge on 8 November 1950. Tonbridge was the location of the largest cash theft in British criminal history. On 22 February 2006, over £53.1 million was stolen from the Securitas cash-handling depot in Vale Road to the east of the High Street. During the following police investigation, around half of the money was recovered. On 28 January 2008 five people were convicted at
16492-404: Was nine for 42. He achieved 5wI 23 times and 10wM seven times. Blythe made his second tour of South Africa in his last overseas season in 1909–10. He played in ten first-class matches and took 50 wickets at 15.66 with a best return of seven for 20. He achieved 5wI three times and 10wM once. Blythe took two hat-tricks in his career, both of them within the same fortnight at the end of June and
16625-559: Was responsible for governing England in William I's many absences. The town was besieged by William Rufus , soon after his accession to the throne, because the Earl had pledged allegiance to William's brother, Robert . William Rufus died from an arrow wound a few years later, in an incident generally reported as a hunting accident, when he was shot by Walter Tirel , Richard Fitz Gilbert's son-in-law, & born in Tonbridge himself. The town
16758-412: Was seven for 21; he achieved 5wI fifteen times and 10wM three times. After the start of World War I in early August 1914, cricket continued to be played, although public interest declined and the social side of the game was curtailed. Blythe took ten wickets against Sussex and eight against Northants during Canterbury Week at the beginning of the month. Dover week was moved to Canterbury as The Crabble
16891-470: Was seven for 53; he achieved 5wI eighteen times and 10wM four times. The 1911 County Championship was the first to award points for first innings lead and it created controversy for Kent who finished marginally second behind Warwickshire . If the 1910 system had been retained, Kent would have won a hat-trick of titles. The key match was their nine-run defeat by Surrey at The Oval in late August which, subject to Warwickshire winning their final match, decided
17024-490: Was soon afterwards taken again, this time by King John only a few months after the signing of the Magna Carta . Both the Earl and his son were signatories and guardians of the document responsible for its compliance. It was subsequently besieged by Prince Edward , son of Henry III . On this occasion the besieged garrison burnt the town rather than see it fall. The town and Tonbridge Castle were rebuilt after this and in
17157-592: Was successful, taking over 100 wickets in all games, including 57 in first-class matches, and thrived on the matting pitches used at the time in the country. He was one of the few English bowling successes in the Test matches, playing in all five matches and taking 21 wickets at 26.09. South Africa won the series 4–1; in the only Test won by England, Blythe took eleven for 118, including his first five-wicket returns in Test matches: six for 68 and five for 50. After finishing third in 1904 and in sixth-place in 1905, Kent won
17290-607: Was the daughter of a cooper. They married in Kensington at Christmas 1878 when his mother was four months pregnant, returning to live in Deptford where Blythe grew up. The eldest of thirteen children, Blythe was educated at Duke Street School close to his home, leaving in April 1892 just before his thirteenth birthday. At the time, Deptford was an overcrowded, industrial area which was relatively deprived. The growing size of his family probably prompted him to leave school at
17423-600: Was the scene of a riot. On the announcement of the results, several thousand people started to hurl stones and cobbles at each other in the High Street near the Rose and Crown Hotel. The county's Chief Constable Captain Ruskin, with over a hundred policemen, charged the crowds many times during the evening, only to end up as the target of the crowd, who started hurling stones and cobbles at them instead of each other. Many people, including twelve policemen, were seriously injured before
17556-559: Was unveiled by Lord George Hamilton in August 1919. Inscribed in block letters on the west face of the plinth was the dedication: "To the memory of Colin Blythe of the Kent Eleven who volunteered for active service upon the outbreak of hostilities in the Great War of 1914–18 and was killed at Ypres on the 18th Nov 1917. Aged 38 he was unsurpassed among the famous bowlers of the period and beloved by his fellow cricketers". The date
17689-543: Was wrong: Blythe was killed on the 8th. The memorial was originally sited on the Old Dover Road side of the ground, just inside the main entrance and next to a memorial to Fuller Pilch . It was removed from its initial site during redevelopment of the ground in the early 21st century and restored. It was rededicated, with a corrected inscription, inside the Nackington Road entrance of the ground in 2017 on
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