An 18th-Century Ball
A leather ball, believed to be an 18th-century cricket ball, recently found with a lady's shoe behind the plasterwork of a house at 17, South Street, Lewes, in Sussex.
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A leather ball, believed to be an 18th-century cricket ball, recently found with a lady's shoe behind the plasterwork of a house at 17, South Street, Lewes, in Sussex.
The ball is three-seam with a diameter of 3in. and has been conserved by the City and Guilds of London Art School (whose conservation report is available for examination). The condition of the ball can be considered good apart from a split of about 3½in. running along it. The split extends for approx. 1½in. where the two rows of stitching have come apart, then for the remaining 2in. the leather itself is split. One of the seams may have been re-sewn to affect a small repair. The stitching in this area is cruder and more variable in size than the original stitching. The split allows the inside of the ball to be seen. This appears to be hollow except for more twine and fragments of building material. However, under x-ray the ball appears to contain a round area of dense material approx. ¼in. in diameter.
The lease of 17 South Street was assigned to Thomas Wollgar gent., a local antiquarian whose manuscripts are now in the hands of the Sussex Archaeological Trust, in December 1765 for a period of 30 years. It is surmised that he and his wife concealed the ball and the shoe for good luck when in the process of Georgianising their house -- both objects were in a used state rather than new when put away behind new plasterwork and wallpaper. The presence of the lady's shoe is crucial in dating the ball. The shoe has been dated as 1760's-70's, and if it was concealed when it was worn out this would probably have been at the end of the 1770's or a little later. It is known that cricket was played a very short distance away at Cliff Hill, and Cliff Hill Cricket Club was formed on 26 June 1775, though no list of members appears to have survived.
It is generally accepted that there has been little change in the design of cricket balls since the 18th century. This ball is smaller in the hand than a modern ball, it is of rough rather than smooth leather, and the stitching is also of a rougher character. However, the three-seam pattern of stitching is unquestionably of a type known from later cricket balls, and a number of examples are in fact illustrated in Hugh Barty-King's Quilt Winders and Pod Shavers (Macdonald & Jane's, 1979). The fact that cricket was played so close to the house, at a time when it's popularity was still very much restricted to Kent, Sussex and Hampshire, also adds strong weight to the case for this being THE EARLIEST SURVIVING CRICKET BALL (almost half a century older than the ball at Lord's dated 1825 which is the earliest ball previously documented).
The ball is three-seam with a diameter of 3in. and has been conserved by the City and Guilds of London Art School (whose conservation report is available for examination). The condition of the ball can be considered good apart from a split of about 3½in. running along it. The split extends for approx. 1½in. where the two rows of stitching have come apart, then for the remaining 2in. the leather itself is split. One of the seams may have been re-sewn to affect a small repair. The stitching in this area is cruder and more variable in size than the original stitching. The split allows the inside of the ball to be seen. This appears to be hollow except for more twine and fragments of building material. However, under x-ray the ball appears to contain a round area of dense material approx. ¼in. in diameter.
The lease of 17 South Street was assigned to Thomas Wollgar gent., a local antiquarian whose manuscripts are now in the hands of the Sussex Archaeological Trust, in December 1765 for a period of 30 years. It is surmised that he and his wife concealed the ball and the shoe for good luck when in the process of Georgianising their house -- both objects were in a used state rather than new when put away behind new plasterwork and wallpaper. The presence of the lady's shoe is crucial in dating the ball. The shoe has been dated as 1760's-70's, and if it was concealed when it was worn out this would probably have been at the end of the 1770's or a little later. It is known that cricket was played a very short distance away at Cliff Hill, and Cliff Hill Cricket Club was formed on 26 June 1775, though no list of members appears to have survived.
It is generally accepted that there has been little change in the design of cricket balls since the 18th century. This ball is smaller in the hand than a modern ball, it is of rough rather than smooth leather, and the stitching is also of a rougher character. However, the three-seam pattern of stitching is unquestionably of a type known from later cricket balls, and a number of examples are in fact illustrated in Hugh Barty-King's Quilt Winders and Pod Shavers (Macdonald & Jane's, 1979). The fact that cricket was played so close to the house, at a time when it's popularity was still very much restricted to Kent, Sussex and Hampshire, also adds strong weight to the case for this being THE EARLIEST SURVIVING CRICKET BALL (almost half a century older than the ball at Lord's dated 1825 which is the earliest ball previously documented).
Further details