The Cricket History of Calderdale and Kirklees

About the Project

Links

Contact Us

Home   Archives   Schools   Online Shop   Message Board   Newsletter

 

<< back

 

CUMBERWORTH UNITED CC

Cumberworth Lane, Lower Cumberworth, Nr Denby Dale

HD8 8PH   View Map

Altitude: 219 Metres/719 Feet

Huddersfield Central League

Huddersfield Junior League

Volunteer Contact:

Phil Senior

 
  Club Image
 

Founded: c.1876
Nickname: 'United'
Forerunners: Possibly, a merger between Young Men's Bible Class XI and Foresters Arms in the 1890s
Nearest Landmark: Cumberworth Church
Nearest Railway Station: Denby Dale
By Bus: 239 from Huddersfield Bus Station
Nearest Other Club: Denby Dale
Nearest Pubs: Star Inn, Foresters Arms

  • Club
  • People
  • Team Photos
  • Ground
  • Oral History
  • Local Context
  • Further Reading
  • Club Archives

Club

Timeline (40kb PDF)

Early Years (1.5mb PDF)
Later Years (1.8mb PDF)

Club History in Express & Chronicle Newspapers (135kb PDF)
Notes on History of Cumberworth United CC by Andrew Pearson (18kb PDF)

Club History Booklet (768kb PDF)

History of Club and Ground - Extract from Pennine Pitch (39kb PDF)

Concise History of Club (11kb PDF)

1876 Scores v Thurstonland at Cumberworth (95kb PDF)

1894 Holmfirth District Cricket Association Cup Winners - Newspaper Report (94kb PDF)

1899 Combination League Champions, Scores Away v Shepley & Table (224kb PDF)

1920 Central League Semi-Final v Skelmanthorpe & Team Photo (422kb PDF)

1920 Huddersfield Central League Champions

1923 Huddersfield Central League Champions

1924 Huddersfield Central League Champions - 1st & 2nd XI Tables (122kb PDF)

1927-9 AGM Minutes: 'Salaries and Talent Money' (239kb PDF)

1928 Central League Champions, 2nd XI Table & Scores v Penistone N'field (155kb PDF)

1929 Tinker Cup Winners

1930-5 AGM Minutes: 'Vice-Presidents and Umpires' Fees' (506kb PDF)

1931 Holden Cup Final Winners v Cartworth Moor at Skelmanthorpe (179kb PDF)

1931 Allsop Cup Winners

1932-84 Club Finances: 'Subscription Income and Membership Numbers' (7kb PDF)

1933 Holden Cup Winners v Hall Bower at Shelley & Tinker Cup Winners (223kb PDF)

1933 Allsop Cup Winners

1936-9 AGM Minutes: 'Groundsmen and Players' Fares' (361kb PDF)

1940-5 AGM Minutes: 'Committee and Conveyance' (472kb PDF)

1946-9 AGM Minutes: 'Treasurer and Tackling Manager' (407kb PDF)

1950-5 AGM Minutes: To Perpetuate the Memory of a Great Sportsman' (362kb PDF)

1955 Tinker Cup Final Winners v Thurstonland - Scores & Team Photo (229kb PDF)

1957 Allsop Cup Finalists v Shelley at Skelmanthorpe - Team Photo (273kb PDF)

1957-9 AGM Minutes: 'Equipment Manager & Tea Tent Helpers' (1.5mb PDF)

1960 Newspaper Report v Cartworth Moor & Section 'B' Winners (45kb PDF)

1960-7 AGM Minutes: 'League Rep. & President' (3.1mb PDF)

1961 Allsop Cup Finalists (355kb PDF)

1969 Tinker Cup Winners

1970 Highland Gathering (682kb PDF)

1972 & 1977 AGM Minutes: 'Barnsley Co-op and Inflation' (3.2mb PDF)

1976 Dinner (43kb PDF)

1977 Section 'B' Winners (37kb PDF)

1984 & 1988 AGM Minutes: 'Juniors and Non-Playing Members' (433kb PDF)

1985 (1 Jun) 2nd XI Away v Old Almondburians - Scorebook (142kb PDF)

1986 Section 'C' & Holden Cup Winners (347kb PDF)

1989 Armitage Cup Winners (158kb PDF)

1990 (19 May) 2nd XI Away v Clayton West - Scorebook (141kb PDF)

1990 Team Photo (206kb PDF)

1994 AGM Minutes & Under-13s v Rastrick (1.3mb PDF)

1994 Christmas Party (139kb PDF)

1995 New Pavilion & Sculpture (3.6mb PDF)

1996 Lottery Sports Fund Award (347kb PDF)

1998 Allsop Cup Winners (200kb PDF)

1998 Sculpture (741kb PDF)

1998 Under-17s v Shepley - Scorebook (1.6mb PDF)

1999 (30 Aug) Walker Cup Winners (100kb PDF)

1999 Under-13s Averages (154kb PDF)

1990s Team Photo (183kb PDF)

2001 Allsop Cup Winners (279kb PDF)

2002 Huddersfield Central League Champions (176kb PDF)

2003 1st XI v Thurstonland - Scorebook (1.3mb PDF)

2003 Huddersfield Central League Champions

2004 Huddersfield Central League Champions (1.1mb PDF)

2005 Heritage Exhibition Launch Event (1.2mb PDF)

2005 Allsop Cup Winners (110kb PDF)

2006 Virgin Vie Party (35kb PDF)

2006 Huddersfield Central League Champions

2007 National Indoor Competition (web link)

2007 Cumberworth v Mirfield (web link)

Allsop Cup Winners - undated (43kb PDF)

Club Badge (92kb PDF)

SportsMatch Sponsorship - undated (106kb PDF)

LEAGUES: Huddersfield Central League (web link)

  • Back to Top

People

Who's Who (97kb PDF)

Friend Allsop   Allsop Cup Legacy (25kb PDF)

J.Boothroyd   Award Winner in 1976 (91kb PDF)

Matthew Dolley   Under-13s in 1991 (47kb PDF)

Harry Fearnley   Winner of Club and League Awards in 1976 (91kb PDF)

Alan Fenton   Secretary in 1976 (91kb PDF)

N.Gaunt   '8 for 26' in 1960 (46kb PDF)

Bruce Hey   Vice-President in 1976 (91kb PDF)

Arthur Horn   1933 League Award Winner (27kb PDF)

Christine Horn   Fundraiser in 1976 (91kb PDF)

B.Jessop   1976 Award Winner (91kb PDF)

Gordon Kilner   Bench Dedication (81kb PDF)

Martin Kilner   1st XI Captain (73kb PDF)

S.Kilner   Award Winner in 1976 (91kb PDF)

Trevor Kilner   Bench Dedication (93kb PDF)

Averil Littlewood   Oral History

C.Littlewood   Award Winner in 1976 (91kb PDF)

Keith Littlewood   Bench Dedication (89kb PDF)

Ken Littlewood   1976 Award Winner and Builder of Pavilion (169kb PDF)

J.Locke   Award Winner in 1976 (91kb PDF)

Nigel Senior   Chairman in 1990s (414kb PDF)   Oral History

Phil Senior   Secretary and Huddersfield Central League Official (1.3mb PDF)

Sheila Senior   Oral History

Ken Smith   Player 1932-73 (14kb PDF)

Team Photos

1920s (600kb PDF)

1950s (431kb PDF)

1960s (355kb PDF)

1980s (98kb PDF)

1990s (1.6mb PDF)

2000s (691kb PDF)

Undated

  • Back to Top

Ground

Story of Cumberworth Lane (491kb PDF)

2004 Scissett Youth Band (web link)

2007 (9 Sep) Cumberworth v Denby Dale (1.8mb PDF)

2009 (26 Apr) Cumberworth v Green Moor (1.5mb PDF)
3D Map & Aerial Photograph (250kb PDF)

Line Drawing by Sue Brant

Action

Engraving (159kb PDF)

General Views

Nearby Animals (181kb PDF)

On the Boundary (636kb PDF)

Pavilion (350kb PDF)

Scorebox (116kb PDF)

Signage (471kb PDF)

Spectators (498kb PDF)

Tea Room (44kb PDF)

Weather Vane (37kb PDF)

  • Back to Top

Oral History

Averil Littlewood

Crisps and Sweets (38kb PDF)

Family Business (34kb PDF)

New Pavilion (25kb PDF)

Part of My Life (36kb PDF)

Railway Carriage (15kb PDF)

Nigel Senior

Declining Crowds (audio)
Fundraising (audio)
Junior Involvement (audio)
Members' Role (audio)

Sheila Senior

Part of My Life (21kb PDF)

Spartan Days (16kb PDF)

Tuna and Cheese (24kb PDF)

Wives and Girlfriends (20kb PDF)

Local Context

Profile of Cumberworth by Lindsay Pollick (303kb PDF)

Lower Cumberworth (Wikipedia)

Upper Cumberworth (Wikipedia)

Cumberworth Community Association (web link)

Cumberworth First School (web link)

Lower Cumberworth Methodist Church (web link)

The Star Pub (web link)

Former Cricket Clubs in Local Area (web link)

Foresters Arms CC

Upper Cumberworth CC

Young Men's Bible Class XI CC

Further Reading

A.Tarbatt, Cumberworth: Camp of the Cambrians (1980)

Huddersfield Examiner

Club Archives

Items Held by Club (15kb PDF)

  • Back to Top

 

With grateful thanks to Averil Littlewood, Nigel Senior, Phil Senior and Sheila Senior (CCC) and Andrew Pearson.

If you have any information about this club or any others in this area that could be of use please feel free to contact us via p.j.davies@hud.ac.uk.

Note:
You will need the Adobe Acrobat Plug-in to view these files.

 

 

   

 

Select Images to View Below:

The Ground
  Archive Images

 

Greatest Moment

Clinching a hat-trick of Central League championships in 2004.

Local Hero

Friend Allsop - a club colossus in the first half of the twentieth century, so much so that the 'Allsop Cup' was presented in his memory by Cumberworth United CC. To this day, the name of the Huddersfield Central League 1st XI knockout cup remains the Allsop Cup.

Bizarre Fact

The club's very own ampitheatre - known as Cumberworth Steppes - was opened in the 1990s, consumating the relationship between local cricket and sculpture.

Quiet and Idyllic

Look out for the cuckoo-like character who jumps out of his box at Cumberworth Lane. Every time a run is scored, or a wicket is taken, or an over is finished, a little lad opens the hatch at the top of the pavilion and pops his head out. Yes, he's the scoreboard operator, and on Saturday afternoons his job is a pretty busy one.

Cumberworth United CC play their home games on the outskirts of Lower Cumberworth. On a summer's day, Cumberworth Lane comes across as the ultimate in quiet and idyllic village venues.

It is the immediate environs that help to foster this impression. There are farmers' fields all around, with a variety of animals on display; around and about there are tan-coloured houses and cottages; and the occasional tractor passes by on the road behind the bowler's arm. It actually has the feel of a French landscape - the colours, the smells, the views. If it wasn't for the summer sport being played out by 22 men in all-white, you might just think you were in Provence.

After a spell in the Huddersfield & District Combination, the club joined the Central League in 1919, and in the 1920s it won an array of silverware.

Joe, Douglas and the Horns

Down the years, Cumberworth have been indebted to a variety of key players - Joe Noble, Douglas Cook, Thomas Horn and Arthur Horn, to name only four - but Friend Allsop (1901-52) was the undoubted star.

An ex-miner, he was the top batsman in the side and was particularly influential in 1923 when his team won a hat-trick of trophies and he himself won the 1st XI batting prize.

One teammate said of him: 'There was never a more respected and honoured son of the village…A more genuinely humble and reserved man I never met…I never knew Friend criticise an umpire…I cannot remember him causing a row or a scene. I ran him out twice during our partnership, still he never grumbled a word although I knew he was hurt.'

The Allsop Cup - played for annually by Central League teams - was named after him, such was his stature in local cricket circles.


Although Cumberworth won the final of the 1931 Holden Cup by the huge margin of 278 runs, and although 1933 was 'another glorious year for this small village', historian Gordon Hinchcliffe says the 'great era of Cumberworth cricket' ended in the 1930s.

Village Merger?

The emergence of cricket in Cumberworth is an intriguing story. We know of a team called the Young Men's Bible Class XI, which was linked to the Primitive Methodist church in the village and played at Dozing Field. We are also told of the Foresters Arms, a pub side that played at Bromley Field, near Croft Head - a venue that sat on top of four acres of coal.

Apparently, in the 1890s the two teams merged to form Cumberworth United under the presidency of Henry Josiah Brierley, who owned Kirkstyles. There was also a side called Upper Cumberworth CC, who played in the Central League (alongside Cumberworth United), but who were suspended from competition in 1923 'until improvements were made to their ground'.

Phil Senior, club secretary, says: 'It's a bit confusing. At one point there may actually have been three cricket teams in the village, but the fact is that in the early twentieth century there was only one: Cumberworth United. And the "United" denoted the merger of two, or three, sides, not the merger of Lower and Upper Cumberworth, or teams from the two villages.'

The 'new' club tasted knockout success in 1892 and 1894. A local poet wrote about the latter: 'Cumberworth had won the cup and Thurstonland were done, Hats and bonnets, umbrellas and sticks were flying all around, and children like young kittens rolled and tumbled on the ground.'

New Pavilion


The various slopes and gradients give the Cumberworth Lane ground a slightly rustic feel, but the new pavilion demonstrates that the club is aware of twenty-first century realities.

It went up in 1996 thanks to a grant from the Lottery Sports Fund and is fully modernised, with a ramp for disabled access, a superbly kitted-out kitchen, and a pair of spacious changing rooms either side of the food-preparation area. (Prior to 1996, the 'tent' had been sited in a variety of different positions on the perimeter of the ground).


Refreshments are a key aspect of any Saturday afternoon at Cumberworth Lane: the volunteer helpers set to work on sandwich-making early on in the afternoon, the kitchen area is decked out in 'Yorkshire Tea' memorabilia (posters, towels etc.), and the price list tells us that a full tea costs £2.30 and a cup of tea just 30p.

Framed photos of the 1923 and 1957 sides indicate that Cumberworth have a proud and illustrious heritage.

Parched Outfield


Close to the pavilion there is room for children to play and for sun-seeking spectators to unpack their deckchairs, unfurl their rugs and gossip about goings-on in the village. In the middle of summer, parts of the outfield are parched. The playing area as a whole has the feel of a 'bowl'. It is enclosed, slightly uneven, and rises up to the roadside.

Around the perimeter there is a little gully-style drain, a number of benches, and dozens of little white plastic markers that denote the boundary. There are no sightscreens - just a wall and a fence that have been whitened. Occasionally, a dog wanders onto the playing area, and then goes off to play ball with the children on the boundary's edge.
It seems that the main problem at Cumberworth is parking.

Cumberworth Lane is fairly narrow, and once a few spectators have parked their vehicles on this road, close to the ground, it becomes a difficult lane to navigate. Buses, fire engines and farm vehicles are all confronted by this unique Saturday-afternoon challenge.

Parked cars are also in the line of fire. Any batsman who strikes a straight six from the bottom end is liable to endanger them. It is not a big ground, so the boundaries are very reachable. No wonder a pavilion notice says: 'Cars parked at owners' risk'. Even local joggers have to beware.

Romans and Tunnels

The Romans left Cumberworth in 40AD. In ancient times, the settlement was known as 'Cumbreuurde' (a Celtic name denoting 'the holding of Cumbra') and also 'Cumbreworde' (as mentioned in the Domesday Survey). In medieval times, local folk - known as 'Cumberworthians' - were notorious for leaving waste in the middle of the road and not paying their tithes.

The village does not have its own train station but it does have a tunnel. In terms of buildings, the place is noted for St. Nicholas's church (which dates originally from 1299), the First School and the brickworks.

There is also an annual gala. In the nineteenth century, Cumberworth was home to a colony of weavers, but a local study tells us that in 1847 the place contained: 1 cow doctor, 1 butcher, 11 farmers, 5 shopkeepers, 3 tailors and 1 pub - the Foresters Arms.


The natural landscape around and about is attractive, and hilly. Cumberworth lies on ridges of high ground north of Denby Dale - as one seventeenth-century cleric put it, it is a 'place in the mountains'. Not so long ago, coal, quarries and clay were the key industries; today, it is a sleepy, and very pretty, commuter zone. It is famous for drainpipe-production and grouse-shooting, and mention should also be made of another cricketing arena, Bonfire Hill, where many village children learnt the game informally.

Disclaimer - Designed and programmed by Lee Booth.

 
Heritage Lottry Fund University of Huddersfield