Robert Lyttelton
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Full name | The Hon Robert Henry Lyttelton | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Westminster, London, England | 18 January 1854||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Died | 7 November 1939 North Berwick, East Lothian, Scotland | (aged 85)||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Batting | Right-handed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bowling | Underarm | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Domestic team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Years | Team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1871–1881 | Gentlemen of Worcestershire | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1873–1874 | Marylebone Cricket Club | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
First-class debut | 19 May 1873 England XI v Cambridge University | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Last First-class | 2 September 1880 I Zingari v Yorkshire | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Career statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: [1], 26 November 2011 |
Robert Henry Lyttelton (18 January 1854 – 7 November 1939) was an English cricketer who appeared in seven first-class matches between 1873 and 1880. A member of the Lyttelton family who were prominent in English cricket in the mid to late 1800s, he did not play county cricket, but appeared for a number of representative sides, in which players were often chosen more for their social status than their cricketing ability. In his later years he was known for his views about sportsmanship in cricket, and he successfully campaigned for changes in the laws of the game to penalise blocking the wicket with the legs. He published two books about cricket and collaborated with others on two more.
Early life and cricket career
Robert Henry Lyttelton was born in Westminster, London on 18 January 1854, the sixth son of George Lyttelton, 4th Baron Lyttelton and his first wife Mary, née Glynne.[1] He was educated at
He made his debut in first-class cricket in 1873 for an "England XI", batting at
Despite playing just seven first-class matches, Lyttelton played a number of cricket matches that were not afforded that prestigious status. He played for the "Gentlemen of Worcestershire", a forerunner to Worcestershire County Cricket Club, and made his debut for them in a match against the "Gentlemen of Herefordshire" while still at Eton. He played alongside three of his brothers during this match; Neville; Arthur and Edward.[11] In an 1874 match for Worcestershire against the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), he played as wicket-keeper, and took five catches in the second innings, four of them off the bowling of his brother Alfred, who went on to keep wicket in Test cricket for England.[12] In addition to appearing for Worcestershire, he played for a number of amateur sides, such as the MCC, Free Foresters and I Zingari,[13] for whom he was playing in his final first-class match in 1880.[6]
Lyttelton was a strong believer that
Later life
After leaving Cambridge Lyttelton studied farming, on the estate of Lord Wenlock at Escrick, near York.[2] After two years he moved to Birmingham, where he was articled to the solicitors Milward and Co. He qualified as a solicitor in 1882 of which he later became a partner.[2] On 14 July 1884 Lyttelton married the concert singer Edith Santley, daughter of the baritone Charles Santley.[2] She retired from professional singing at the age of 24 when she married.[16] After her death in February 1926,[16] he married, on 19 July 1926, Olive Agneta Clarke.[2] There were no children from either marriage.[1]
Lyttelton joined the Birmingham law firm Brabazon Campbell in 1888, and in 1902 moved to London, joining the solicitors Stow, Preston and Co, which became Stow, Preston and Lyttelton.
Lyttelton died on 7 November 1939 in North Berwick in Scotland.[2] An obituarist in The Times wrote, "If cricket did not exist, Bob Lyttelton would have created it. If sportsmen still exist his ghost will give them substance."[19] He is buried in North Berwick Cemetery on the east side of the town. The grave lies against the east boundary wall.
Publications
- Lyttelton, Robert Henry; OCLC 4526814 – via Internet Archive.
- —; et al. (1899). Giants of the Game: being reminiscences of the stars of cricket from OCLC 55774624.
- — (1901). Out-door Games; Cricket & Golf. London: J. M. Dent & Co. OCLC 5276627 – via Internet Archive.
- — (1913). Fifty Years of Sport at Oxford, Cambridge and the Great Public Schools (PDF). London: W. Southwood – via National Library of Scotland.
- — (1928). The Crisis in Cricket and the "Leg Before Rule.". London: OCLC 15101993.
Notes
- ^ a b Mosley 2003, p. 839.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Obituary: The Hon Robert Lyttelton". The Times. 8 November 1939. p. 10.
- ^ "Eton College v Harrow School: Other matches in England 1871". CricketArchive. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
- ^ "Eton College v Harrow School: Other matches in England 1872". CricketArchive. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
- ^ "Lyttelton, Robert Henry (LTLN872RH)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
- ^ a b "First-Class Matches played by Robert Lyttelton (7)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
- ^ "Cambridge University v England XI: University Match 1873". CricketArchive. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
- ^ "Cambridge University v England XI: University Match 1873". CricketArchive. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
- ^ "Cambridge University v England XI: University Match 1874". CricketArchive. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
- ^ "Cambridge University v Gentlemen of England: University Match 1876". CricketArchive. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
- ^ "Gentlemen of Worcestershire v Gentlemen of Herefordshire: Other matches in England 1871". CricketArchive. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
- ^ "Gentlemen of Worcestershire v Marylebone Cricket Club: Other matches in England 1874". CricketArchive. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
- ^ "Teams Robert Lyttelton played for". CricketArchive. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
- ^ "Obituaries in 1939". ESPNcricinfo. 2 December 2005. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
- ^ "The "Cricket Crisis"". The Straits Times. Singapore. 10 August 1928. p. 10.
- ^ a b "Obituary: Mrs Robert Lyttelton". The Times. 18 February 1926. p. 16.
- ^ Lyttelton and Hart-Davis, pp. 326 and 330
- ^ Quiller-Couch 1925, pp. 942–946.
- ^ Bibèsco, Princess Antoine (9 November 1939). "The Hon Robert Lyttelton". The Times. p. 10.
References
- Lyttelton, George; Rupert Hart-Davis (1986) [1981 and 1982]. ISBN 071954318-5.
- Mosley, Charles, ed. (2003). Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage. Vol. 1 (107th ed.). Wilmington, Delaware: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books).
- Quiller-Couch, Arthur, ed. (1925). The Oxford Book of English Prose. Oxford University Press. OCLC 503303703 – via Internet Archive.
External links
- Media related to Robert Henry Lyttelton at Wikimedia Commons
- Works by or about Robert Lyttelton at Wikisource