View of the Cricket Ground in 1948 with the Bowling Green and Rigby Cottages prominent.
I am acutely aware that this publication does not include the names of all the officials, members and players who have served the club so well in its 100-year history. I hope those omitted will realise that this is not of intent, and that any attempt to do so would have been impossible. The club has been fortunate in being so loyally supported in so many different ways and its present sound and healthy state is a fitting monument to all, sung and unsung, who have made their contributions to its well-being.
For their assistance in the compilation of this history I would like to thank Bolton Reference Library and Bolton Evening News Library; former cricketers Mr. Arthur Hindle, Mr. Frank Atkinson and Mr. Bernard Tattersall; Mr Russell Wolstenholme (whose essay on "The Formation of The Bolton League" proved invaluable), Bradshaw local historian Mr. Jim Francis; and all others who have been able to offer documents or particular items of information, or who have merely confirmed the accuracy of facts gleaned elsewhere.
J. B. Taylor
The land occupied by Bradshaw Cricket Club, was probably named "The Rigbys" after a family of tenants, of which there is evidence, and who were known to be small farmers or yeomen of Bradshaw in the early 1600's. As such they would be tenant farmers of the holding incorporating the cricket ground, and owned by the Bradshaws of Bradshaw as part of the manor estate.
View of the Cricket Ground in 1948 with the Bowling Green and Rigby Cottages
prominent.
I have always been proud of my association with Bradshaw Cricket Club and I consider it a great honour to be Chairman of the Club, following such respected Chairmen as Arnold Hamer, Albert Kay and Ted Green who have served the club with distinction over many years. To hold the office of Chairman during the Club's Centenary year is a privilege indeed.
The Club has been officially in existence for one hundred years but as many people know cricket has been played for over two hundred years, having its origins as a village pastime in areas like Bradshaw. During those hundred years countless dedicated people have helped to make Bradshaw Cricket Club what it is today, and I am proud to be able to pay my tribute to those people who have worked unselfishly and who are continuing with the work for the improvement of the Club.
Special thanks are due to Barry Taylor who has spent many hours on researching Club records, old minute books, sporting articles, and identifying players from old photographs to produce this historic and informative booklet on the Club's activities.
I know that reading this book will revive happy memories for many people, ex players of Bradshaw and other clubs, our faithful supporters, and older residents of Bradshaw and Harwood. I hope that it will inspire future officers and players to achieve greater success for Bradshaw Cricket Club.
My thanks are also due to the Centenary Committee with our President David Farnworth and Ken Hardcastle playing the leading parts in organising a programme of events for 1984, and to the officers and committee of the Club for their support, dedication and continued hard work.
May I also thank our colleagues of the Bowling and Tennis sections for their friendship and assistance. May we work together successfully over the next hundred years.
But what of the next hundred years, can we survive?
Bradshaw is no longer the village it was when years ago practically everyone was a member of the Club, the area has grown enormously in the last few years but sadly the membership has not increased, in fact it is decreasing.
I often wonder when I see the surge of traffic down Bradshaw Brow in the evening rush hour whether the occupants of the cars realise that there is such a delightful oasis and peaceful haven just to the left of the bridge. Many newcomers to the area do not know of our existence or what we can offer.
The objects of the Club laid down in the 1930's are to foster the games of cricket, tennis and bowls and other athletic pastimes and to afford the means of social intercourse and recreation for members of the Club and their bone fide guests. I am sure that this has been achieved over the years and continues to apply. The Club has a reputation for friendliness and sportsmanship with many fine traditions which have been preserved and carried on over the years.
On Tuesdays and Thursdays of each week, one can count over a hundred young boys engaged in organised cricket practice, being coached and instructed by senior members not only the arts of cricket but in basic sportsmanship and character building.
But where are their fathers? Are they not interested in these aspects of their sons education? We would dearly love to have another hundred members, so come down some evening, you won't be disappointed, for a small outlay you can join us, and even if you are too old to play I am sure that you will derive some pleasure in these lovely surroundings, indeed you may find - as others have done deep and lasting friendships.
Anyone who supported our Autumn Fayre could not fail to notice and be impressed by the number of young people, boys and girls, engaged in running side shows, serving teas, sweets and ice cream, washing up and assisting in many ways.
Many of the existing committee have served the Club for over twenty-five years, some have over thirty years service. I am sure that with this blend of youth and experience the future of the Club is in good hands and there is no reason to think that it cannot continue for another hundred years.
My best wished to you all in our Centenary Year.
J. H. Coupe
The Bolton League and, by extension, its member clubs, have long been rich in incident, character, and indeed, legend. It is, however, a sad fact that during its fifty-three years of existence the League has suffered from a distinct lack of documentation of both its happenings and those responsible.
It was then, with considerable pleasure that I agreed to write the introduction to this, Bradshaw Centenary Brochure, which largely concerns itself with a comprehensive history of the club and its dramatis personae over the years. All of this, and the accompanying records which complement the facts, have been carefully written and put together by Barry Taylor, one of the League's most enthusiastic historians. Whilst it has obviously been a labour of love, it has, too, been a long and painstaking project, and Barry is to be congratulated upon the extent and the depth of his research in the production of this booklet, which is immensely readable and fills a gap in the literature of our local game.
The Bradshaw story moves from the shadowy figures of its beginnings into the twentieth century, and finally emerges, via two world wars, into comparatively recent times, where the characters are better known and more easily definable. We are told of the club's considerable involvement in the formation of the League; triumph and disaster are highlighted with complete impartiality; and comparisons are avoided, which is as it should be, for comparisons are odious. Was Billy Fletcher the equal of Brian Cole? Was Bobby Rae a finer professional than Duncan Worsley? How did Ken Holding and Brian Senior compare as wicket-keepers? Who knows? Who cares? They are all, along with hundreds of others, famous and obscure, players who have helped bring to life the tapestry of the club's history over its first hundred years, a tapestry which has been woven against what is arguably one of the most picturesque settings in the whole of club cricket.
What, I wonder, will be the reaction of the players of 1884, as they look down and watch the Bradshaw team take the field for the first game of the Centenary season? They will note with general satisfaction that the overall appearance of the Rigbys which is so dictated by the banking and the stream, has hardly altered. They will envy their modern counterpart the facilities contained in both dressing-room and clubhouse. They will be more than a little puzzled at the field-placings, and at the current emphasis placed upon agility and fitness in that department of the game. And as the helmet makes its appearance, they will smile, half scornfully and half regretfully, as they recall the primitive wickets upon which they were called upon to play.
But above all, they will reflect on the timelessness of the game, and will, like us, take pleasure in contemplation and anticipation of the next hundred years of cricket at Bradshaw.