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History of the Club

Another piece in the jigsaw of Timsbury's history has been found.  Malcolm Tucker writes:-

When was Timsbury Cricket Club founded?  

Another piece of the jig-saw has emerged regarding the exact year of the founding of Timsbury Cricket Club.  Members may recall that a couple of years ago we received a tankard dated 1883 from a couple in Ireland bearing an inscription to a certain R.E. Hill for his contribution to Timsbury CC.  

When looking through a copy of the Bath Journal of 1875 I have just come across a match between Clandown and Timsbury which was played on June 19^th. 1875.  The game at Clandown was a two innings affair.  Clandown made 19 in their first knock and 101 in their second while Timsbury managed the grand totals of 14 and 20!  

The Timsbury batsmen with their individual contributions were:

A Williams 0 and 0

T Fear 0 and 2

G Nokes 0 and 0

G Sage 2 and 3

R Sims 2 and 0 not out

N Sims 3 and 1

S Beacham 7 not out and 6

G Shepherd 0 and 1

J Fear 0 and 2

W Pike 0 and 0

H Flower 0 and 0

Extras 0 and 5

Totals 14 and 20  

Confirmation then that we are at least 130 years old this year!  The search for the first match goes on.

Previously...

The exact date of the formation of Timsbury Cricket Club is still unknown.  It had been established that the club has been in existence since 1894 but last year the discovery of a drinking vessel by a couple in Ireland which they subsequently donated to the club indicated that the Timsbury club was alive and kicking in 1883.  The drinking vessel has an inscription to a certain R.E.Hill for his services to the club in that year.  The first documented evidence was a match against Clutton on June 30 1894 when Timsbury won by 45 runs. 

Timsbury has enjoyed many high points in its long history no more so than in 2000 when the first team reached the semi-finals of the National Village Competition.  A narrow defeat by Eversholt saw the club fall agonisingly short of a famous trip to Lords. 

Timsbury has organised benefit matches against Somerset County Cricket Club on three occasions – in 1979, 1983 and 1987.  On the first of these the county put out a very strong side which included world class performers, Ian Botham, Viv Richards and Joel Garner.  The second visit in 1983 saw Timsbury make national headlines by becoming the first club in the country to hire a helicopter to dry out the pitch. 

One of Timsbury’s greatest achievements came in 1995 when the first team won the Bristol and District K.O. Cup in competition with a number of top Western League sides.  They were twice runners-up in the Somerset K.O. Cup for Junior teams in 1968 and 1969 and after joining the Bristol and District League in 1973 have gained promotion from the First and Second Divisions as well as winning the Senior Division Section B in 1998. 

The club have played at the Recreation Field since 1964 having moved up from The Glebe Field which is now a housing estate.  Timsbury also used the field next to Parish’s House during the early part of the 20^th. century and played on the school ground at Crocombe for a time after World War Two.  The pitch there is now utilised by the club’s third XI, fourth XI and youth sides. 

The formation of a league youth team in 1979 was an important development for the club which has always been highly respected for its youth policy.  Timsbury now run sides at under 9,under 11, under 13, under 15 and under 17 levels.  The 1980s was a particularly successful era with a number of league titles and cup victories coming the club’s way at youth level. 

The dinner/dance has always been a big occasion for the Timsbury club and guest speakers have included such national figures as Patrick Moore, Lady Isobel Barnett and Peter West as well as a glittering array of sporting personalities.

Last modified: October 10, 2005