Arthur Fortescue

Arthur Trosse Fortescue (7 April 1848 – 21 November 1899) was an English first-class cricketer and clergyman.

The son of William Blundell Fortescue, he was born in April 1848 at the Fallapit Estate near East Allington, Devon.[1] He was educated at Marlborough College,[2] before going up to Christ Church, Oxford.[3] While studying at Oxford, he made his debut in first-class cricket for Oxford University against the Marylebone Cricket Club at Oxford in 1868. He played first-class cricket for Oxford until 1871, making a total of sixteen appearances.[4] He scored 420 runs in his sixteen matches, at an average of 14.48 and a high score of 68.[5] With the ball, he took 15 wickets at a bowling average of 19.40, with best figures of 3 for 28.[6] In 1872, he appeared once for the Gentlemen of England against Oxford University,[4] before taking holy orders and becoming a Church of England clergyman in 1876. He held various curacies until 1883, at which point he became the vicar of Hainton with Sixhills in Lincolnshire.[3] He later toured North America in September–October 1886 with a team formed by the Devon amateur E. J. Sanders, making two first-class appearances on the tour against Philadelphia at Germantown.[4] Fortescue married Clara Harriet Pease in 1894, before dying at Marylebone in November 1899.[1]