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MELTHAM CC

Meltham Sports & Community Centre, Mean Lane, Meltham, Huddersfield HD9 5QT   View Map

Altitude: 177 Metres/581 Feet

Huddersfield League

Huddersfield Junior League

Volunteer Contacts:

Ian Shaw & Roger Peaker

Club Website

 
  Club Image
 

Founded: 1867
Nearest Landmark: Morrisons Supermarket
Nearest Railway Station: Slaithwaite
By Bus: 321/324/325/933 from Huddersfield Bus Station
Nearest Other Club: Slaithwaite

Club

Timeline (40kb PDF)

Early Years (1.3mb PDF)
Later Years (1.8mb PDF)

History of Club and Ground - Extract from Pennine Pitch (49kb PDF)

'15 Things You Didn't Know About Meltham CC' by Rob Hardie (40kb PDF)

1890-1992 Various Meeting Minutes (4.5mb PDF)

1890-1948 Club Archives: Dominoes, Whisky and Tennis (139kb PDF)

1949-68 Club Archives: Testimonials and Tobacco (104kb PDF)

1959 Sykes Cup Final Scorecard (50kb PDF)

1965-70 Accounts (430kb PDF)

1968-8 Club Archives: Geordie Drinks, Gambling and Right Hooks (40kb PDF)

1978 Sykes Cup (88kb PDF)

1997 (11 Aug) Sykes Cup Final (133kb PDF)

2004 Examiner Charity Challenge (web link)

2005 Heritage Exhibition Launch Poster (41kb PDF)
2005 Heritage Exhibition Launch Tickets (67kb PDF)

2005 Heritage Exhibition Launch Programme (783kb PDF)

2006 Club Struggles (web link)

2007 Awards Night by Rob Hardie (16kb PDF)

2007 Paddock Shield Winners by Rob Hardie (42kb PDF)

2008 Meltham Cup Draws and Fixtures by Rob Hardie (27kb PDF)

2008 New Home Office Guidelines by Rob Hardie (15kb PDF)

2008 Junior Section by Rob Hardie (19kb PDF)

League Handbook Entries - undated (40kb PDF)

Reminiscences of Meltham CC - author unknown (48kb PDF)

Heritage Display in Club Pavilion (163kb PDF)

Meltham Athletic FC (web link)

LEAGUES: Alliance, Huddersfield Central League, Huddersfield League (web link)

People

Who's Who (1.1mb PDF)

Top Club Bowlers by Rob Hardie (162kb PDF)

John Barker   Photo (20kb PDF)

Chris Berry   Profile by Rob Hardie (43kb PDF)

Paul Booth   Photo (41kb PDF)   Cricinfo   

Dave Crowther   1990 Photo (1.4kb PDF)

George Dawson   Photo (52kb PDF)

Dilip Doshi   Profile by Rob Hardie (26kb PDF)   Photos (212kb PDF)   Cricinfo  

J.Eddings   Photo (54kb PDF)

B.Hirst   Photo (54kb PDF)

G.Holroyd   Photo (54kb PDF)

Roy Kilner   Photos (113kb PDF)

Madan Lal   Profile by Rob Hardie (51kb PDF)   Photos (117kb PDF)   Cricinfo

Shahid Mahmood   Photo (48kb PDF)

Frank Mellor   Medals & Trophies 1964-74 (197kb PDF)

Leighton Morgan   Profile by Rob Hardie (18kb PDF)

Nirmal Nanan    Profile by Rob Hardie   Cricinfo

D.Naylor   1958 - Secretary (58kb PDF)

Grant Robinson   Profile by Rob Hardie (17kb PDF)

Charles Robson   Q&A with Rob Hardie (37kb PDF)   1990 Photo (1.4mb PDF)

Dennis Schofield   Photo (50kb PDF)   Cricinfo

Ian Shaw

David Sutton   1990 Photo (1.4mb PDF)

Ian Swallow   Profile (42kb PDF)   Stats (8kb PDF)   Photos (204kb PDF)   Cricinfo

Alfred Topp   Photos (150kb PDF)

Club Women (1.1mb PDF)

Team Photos

1930s (88kb PDF)

1940s (158kb PDF)

1950s (60kb PDF)

1960s (51kb PDF)

1970s (60kb PDF)

1980s (270kb PDF)

1990s (248kb PDF)

Undated (52kb PDF)

Ground

Story of Mean Lane (1.9mb PDF)

Change at Mean Lane by Rob Hardie (85kb PDF)

Watercolour by Tony Haigh

Line Drawing (62kb PDF)

2007 (2 Jun) Meltham v Holmfirth (1mb PDF)

2008 (10 May) Meltham v Shelley (2mb PDF)

Clubhouse (437kb PDF)

Kitchen (138kb PDF)

Around the Ground (632kb PDF)

Players (284kb PDF)

Scoreboard (371kb PDF)

Mini-Scoreboard (15kb PDF)

Spectators (485kb PDF)

Action (631kb PDF)

General Views (411kb PDF)

Aerial Views (327kb PDF)

Oral History - Ian Shaw & Dennis Schofield

First Major Pro Signing
No Longer as Prosperous as the 1960s
Signing Madan Lal
1948 Sykes Cup Final

Signing Dilip Doshi

Local Context

Profile of Meltham - Mills, Music and Collaps by Lindsay Pollick (796kb PDF)

Wikipedia (web link)

Town Guide (web link)

Meltham Town Council (web link)

Meltham Branch Line (web link)

Aerial Views of Town (web link)

Albert Craig (1.2mb PDF)

Former Cricket Clubs in Local Area (web link)

Meltham Mills CC    Club History

Meltham OB CC

Meltham Parish Church CC

Meltham Silica CC

Meltham Wesleyans CC

Further Reading

J.Hughes, The history of the Township of Meltham, Near Huddersfield (Crossley, 1866)

I.Southall, The Weaver from Meltham (Whitcombe & Tombs Pty, Ltd., 1950)

Huddersfield Examiner

Holme Valley Express

Club Archives

West Yorkshire Archive Service Collection (Stored at Huddersfield Library)

 

 

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.

 

 

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The Ground
  Archive Images

 

Greatest Moment

Completing a hat-trick of Sykes Cup final victories in 1994.

Local Hero

Left-arm spinner Paul Booth whose county career took him to Yorkshire and Warwickshire.

Bizarre Fact

In 1972 Meltham had to play all their fixtures away from Mean Lane because of 'sand on the square'.

The 'Green Dragon'

For almost a century, the club has been improving and redeveloping the ground.

On Wednesday 18 May 1921 a new £350 pavilion was opened by Clr. J.H. Preston and D.R. Gellantly. It took the place of the small old hut that stood before, and an interest-free donation of £150 from R.F. Woodhead enabled the building to be erected. 'Comfort' was the watchword in those days, and the new construction - complete with changing rooms and bar - scored highly in this regard.

In time, the building came to be known as the 'Green Dragon'. It lasted until 1963, when it was replaced by a more modern structure (an ex-Yeadon RAF hut measuring 102ft by 21ft), which cost between £700 and £800, and which was opened by Clr. H.B. Dearnley. Six years later the building was extended further - 'without detrimental effect to the appearance or comfort' - and more improvements, including the installation of showers and a tea room, followed in 1975.

Beer from the Barrel

In 2004 the club moved into the the newly built Meltham Sports & Community Centre - a fantastic new facility for the cricket club and for other sporting organisations in the village.

In the early days of the club, Holmfirth were Meltham's main rivals; in the last couple of decades it has been Slaithwaite and Elland.

Times have definitely changed. Many moons ago, beer in the pavilion was served straight from the barrel. But rest assured - techniques have improved since then.


Back in 1951 one observer wrote: 'The club has always been progressive in outlook and the amenities to be found on this picturesque ground are such that the Meltham club may be regarded as having one of the best grounds in the league.'

Half a century on, the observation still carries weight, and not surprisingly, the club has won the Greenwood Trophy for the best ground in the Huddersfield League on several occasions. A notice in the clubhouse says: 'Our facilities are available for private functions'.


The Meltham Cricket & Athletic Club, as it is formally known, was founded in 1867 - a fact that is now commemorated on the iron gates in the far corner of the ground.

At first, their Mean Lane HQ, located in the Broadlands district, was owned by Glebe trustees, but 55 years on from formation, in 1922, the club was able to purchase the land itself.

Since then a number of top players have turned out for the club, including Dilip Doshi, Madan Lal, Shahid Mahmood, Ryan Sidebottom and Paul Booth.

Re-seeding the Square

In 1951 it was claimed that 'few grounds in Yorkshire have a more delightful turf than is to be found on the Meltham ground'. The playing area is particularly flat (one green-capped Meltham player admits there is the faintest of slopes); the square incorporates a variety of batting strips and there's also an artificial wicket. Locals say that Meltham tracks traditionally play slow and low, and that bowlers usually have a tough time.

The most notorious date in the history of Meltham CC is 1972 - when no cricket at all was played on the Mean Lane square. The year before, the wicket had been treated for weeds, but turned a horrible shade of brown. So the square had to be re-seeded, and Meltham had to play all their 1972 fixtures away from home.

Three decades on, the sight of the Meltham groundsman and his faithful assistants happily watching the cricket from deckchairs inside the scorebox garage, and then skipping to the middle during the interval to roll the pitch, is a charming sight.

The groundstaff also operate a makeshift scoreboard on the side of the scorebox for spectators who can't see the front of the main scorebox. There are four adverts on the scorebox and five on the wall directly opposite the pavilion. Afoot too are plans for a new twenty-first century pavilion, to be located between the cricket ground and bowling green. 

'Pleasant Pennine Settlement'

Meltham ('the home amidst the cloudberry bushes') is five miles south-west of Huddersfield. It was mentioned in the Domesday Book and is noted for its silk production, its high-class modern housing, and its celebrated restaurant - Dirker Roods.

Writer John Spencer calls it 'a pleasant Pennine settlement', and goes on: 'It is clear from the number of industrial buildings on and close to the main road through the village that Meltham was once a thriving, bustling place.' It is also home to many traditions, including 'Collop Monday' - the day before Shrove Tuesday and Meltham Carnival.

The key dates in recent history? 1827 - when Meltham Mills Co-op was founded; 1845 - when Meltham Mills Band was established; 1912 - when King George V and Queen Mary passed through the village; 1924 - when 'public transport buses' arrived; and 1949 - when the local railway station was closed down.

Today, the population of the place is 9,000, and the local W.I. describes it as 'mostly residential, with only two woollen mills now in operation and other small pockets of industry.'

Disclaimer - Designed and programmed by Lee Booth.

 
Heritage Lottry Fund University of Huddersfield