I was looking at the history of Arnos Park the other day in relation to The Mayor’s vote for a London park, and came across this superb extract about a ground that Rosaneri have had the honour of playing at.
The Walker Ground in Southgate, which was originally part of the great estate.
Despite the Walkers’ efforts to keep Southgate rural, and their generosity
towards the local people, it is perhaps the last generation of 7 brothers
that are best remembered for bringing fame to the quiet little village of
Southgate for their services to cricket. In 1859, the ‘Lillywhite’s Guide
to Cricketers’ stated, ‘V.E. (Vyell Edward) Walker is undoubtedly the best
all round cricketer in the world.’ It is thought that none of them ever
married due to their absolute dedication to the game.
The 7 brothers were John (1826 – 1885), Alfred (1827 – 1870), Frederic
(1829 – 1889), Arthur Henry (1833 – 1878), Vyell Edward (1837 – 1906),
Russell Donnithorne (1842 – 1922) and Isaac Donnithorne (1844 – 1898).
John Walker, the eldest of the brothers, spent large sums of money on
returfing the ground at Chapel Fields wicket, now known as the Walker
Ground in Waterfall Road. He founded Southgate Cricket Club in 1855, and
invited all the great teams at the time to visit the ground and play the
village team.
The United All England XI would come to play the Sixteen Men of Southgate,
a yearly event that ran for 6 years from 1858. Crowds of up to 10,000,
including the greatest cricketers in the land, would come to the Walker
Ground to watch these legendary matches that were played over 3 days each
August. In 1860, all 7 Walker brothers played for the village team. Out of
the 6 matches, Southgate won 5 and lost 1. Thereafter, the village became
universally regarded as a centre of cricket. To this day, portraits of all
7 brothers hang at Lord’s.
By the way, if you wouldn’t mind voting for Arnos Park that would be a great help to the campaign I am involved in at work at the moment !
http://www.london.gov.uk/parksvote/region/north/arnos.jsp?utm_source=dropdown-microsites&utm_medium=dropdown&utm_campaign=dropdown