Richard Thornton (cricketer)

Reverend Richard Thornton Thornton (28 March 1853 – 30 May 1928), born Richard Thornton Lee,[upper-alpha 1] was an English clergyman and amateur cricketer active who played first-class cricket between 1881 and 1893, mainly for Kent County Cricket Club.[3]

Richard Thornton
A black a white photograph of a man in a hat and stripped blazer sitting on a chair
Thornton in 1888
Personal information
Full name
Richard Thornton Thornton
Born(1853-03-28)28 March 1853
Folkestone, Kent
Died30 May 1928(1928-05-30) (aged 75)
Eastbourne, Sussex
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm slow
RelationsRichard Thornton (grandfather)
Richard Napoleon Thornton (father)
Albert Thornton (brother)
Walter Thornton (brother)
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1872–1880Dorset
1874–1902MCC
1874–1882Devon
1875Wiltshire
1881–1888Kent
1885EJ Sanders' XI
FC debut2 June 1881 MCC v Kent
Last FC25 May 1893 MCC v Cambridge University
Career statistics
Competition First-class
Matches 66
Runs scored 2,021
Batting average 20.00
100s/50s 1/10
Top score 107
Balls bowled 124
Wickets 3
Bowling average 34.66
5 wickets in innings 0
10 wickets in match 0
Best bowling 2/16
Catches/stumpings 42/–
Source: CricInfo, 5 December 2018

Early life

Thornton was born at Folkestone in Kent, the eldest son of Richard Napoleon Thornton[upper-alpha 1] and his wife Margaret. He was privately educated before going up to St John's College, Oxford, where he matriculated in 1873.[4][5][6] He graduated in 1876, winning a Blue in football whilst at Oxford although he did not play cricket for the university.[7]

Cricket career

Thornton played for Dorset before going up to university and later made non-first-class cricket appearances for a variety of amateur teams, including the Gentlemen of Devon and MCC who he played for between 1874 and 1902.[8] He made his first-class cricket debut for MCC against Kent in 1880 before going on to play 45 times for Kent in first-class matches between 1881 and 1888. As well as making 14 first-class appearances for MCC he played for a variety of other sides and captained EJ Sanders' XI on their tour of North America in 1885. He played matches for a wide range of teams including Incogniti, Devon County Cricket Club, Wiltshire County Cricket Club and toured Portugal in 1895 with Tom Westray's XI.[7]

In his Wisden obituary, Thornton was described as "a free-hitting bat and could bowl both slow-round and lobs", the latter being described as "very successful indeed in club games".[7] In 66 first-class matches he scored one first-class century, making 107 runs for EJ Sanders' XI against the Gentlemen of Philadelphia in 1885, although in club cricket he made a number of high scores.[7]

Professional and later lie

Thornton was ordained as a priest in the Church of England at Chichester in 1878, becoming curate at Sidmouth where his parents owned property.[9] He became a Clerk in Holy Orders and was chaplain to the 1st Volunteer Battalion of the Royal West Kent Regiment during the 1890s when he lived at Tunbridge Wells.[6][9]

Thornton married Ellen Pulford in 1877 at Tormoham in Devon. The couple had four children before Ellen died in 1891, Thornton going on to marry Eliza Pulford, Ellen's sister, in 1897.[9][10] His brothers, Albert and Walter both played first-class cricket, Albert for Kent and Walter for Oxford University. He died at Eastbourne in Sussex in 1928 aged 75.[5]

Notes
  1. Thornton's father was born Richard Lee and was the illegitimate son of Richard Thornton, one of the richest men of the 19th century. Lee changed his surname to Thornton in 1865 as a condition of his father's will.[1] Alumni Oxonienses gives Thornton's birth name and that of one of his brothers as Lee.[2]

References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Richard Thornton (cricketer).
  1. The London Gazette, 4 August 1865, quoted at Family of Richard Napoleon (Lee) Thornton and Margaret James, Attfield Family Tree. Retrieved 2018-12-05.
  2. Foster, Joseph (1888–1892). "Thornton, Richard Napoleon" . Alumni Oxonienses: the Members of the University of Oxford, 1715–1886. Oxford: Parker and Co – via Wikisource.
  3. Carlaw D (2020) Kent County Cricketers A to Z. Part One: 1806–1914 (revised edition), pp. 525–527. (Available online at the Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians. Retrieved 2020-12-21.)
  4. Foster, Joseph (1888–1892). "Thornton, Rev. Richard Thornton" . Alumni Oxonienses: the Members of the University of Oxford, 1715–1886. Oxford: Parker and Co – via Wikisource.
  5. Richard Thornton, CricInfo. Retrieved 2018-12-05.
  6. Ambrose D (2004) A brief profile of Richard Thornton, CricketArchive. Retrieved 2018-12-05.
  7. Thornton, Mr Richard Thornton (Parson), Obituaries in 1928, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, 1929. Retrieved 2018-12-05.
  8. Richard Thornton, CricketArchive. Retrieved 2018-12-05.
  9. Family of Richard Thornton Thornton and Ellen Sophia Pulford, Attfield Family Tree. Retrieved 2018-12-05.
  10. Family of Richard Thornton Thornton and Eliza Marion Pulford, Attfield Family Tree. Retrieved 2018-12-05.
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