Foundations Before Formation

The Early Game in Sutton Coldfield

Cricket was being played in Rectory Park at least a decade before the club's formal foundation. Evidence preserved in later records, including a minute book entry of 1897 marking Bedford's sixty-year association with the club, confirms that organised play was already well established by 1837.

These early matches were simple in arrangement but regular in occurrence. Played on unfenced ground and shared with the wider parkland, the game relied on mutual understanding rather than formal rules of enclosure or ownership. Pitches were prepared by hand, often by the players themselves, and the boundaries of play were as much agreed as measured.

Despite these limitations, cricket flourished. It quickly became a defining feature of local leisure, drawing participants and spectators alike and embedding itself within the identity of Sutton Coldfield.

Rectory Road and the Early Landscape

In the mid-nineteenth century, the landscape surrounding Rectory Park was markedly different from that of today. Rectory Road existed only as a narrow country lane linking Boot Hill to the parish church, while Bedford Road — now a principal route — had yet to be constructed, its place taken by rough tracks known locally as Blackberry Lane or Bricky Lane.

Access to matches was dictated by the limitations of the time. Players and visitors travelled on foot or horseback, and hospitality formed an essential part of the cricketing experience. Visiting sides were often accommodated at nearby farms, including School Farm, where overnight stays were common.

To support these gatherings, a modest structure — remembered as the 'Tin Hut' near the Boot Inn — was erected. Though simple, it reflects the practical efforts made to sustain the game during its earliest years.

Preserving the Early History

The story of these early years survives not through continuous record, but through later dedication to preservation. It was not until 1937, on the eve of the club's centenary, that Frank S. Styles undertook the first serious effort to reconstruct its early history. Working from fragmentary evidence, recollection, and surviving documentation, he established the foundation upon which all subsequent histories would rely.

His work was later extended by Norman Sharp and, in the modern era, by Peter Bell, whose efforts to compile and digitise records ensured that the club's origins would not be lost to time.

The absence of early minute books remains a reminder of how easily history can fade — and how vital such preservation has been in maintaining the continuity of the club's story.

Two of those documents survive as photostats. The first, in the Rector's own hand and dated 17th July 1847, reads: "There being an evident want of recreation and amusement for the inhabitants of this neighbourhood it is proposed to form a cricket club to be composed of members of all classes willing to join. The funds required to support the Club will be trifling and the subscription therefore very moderate." The second is the printed circular that followed, signed by W.K. Riland Bedford as Hon. Secretary pro tem, calling a meeting for Saturday 24th July at which rules would be passed and a President, Committee and Secretary appointed - and listing the twelve subscriptions already received. Three gave a pound apiece, the Rector among them, and nine gave ten shillings; the Garnett name appears three times, and the licensee of the Three Tuns is among them. The originals belong to Birmingham City Libraries.