The Story of Uphill Castle Cricket Club

Cricket in Uphill traces its roots back to 5th June 1893, when local village stalwarts gathered to form a team truly representative of the entire community. Before this, local matches were played by the ‘Boulevard Club’, primarily made up of staff from Uphill Manor (historically known in the village as ‘The Castle’).

With the generous backing of Major R. B. Graves-Knyfton and the Manor family, the fledgling club was born. The Manor even provided each player with a full kit and club tie, an essential piece of attire for a properly dressed Victorian cricketer!

Our inaugural match away at Mark was a character-building affair; the Castle were dismissed for a grand total of 4 runs (two of which were byes). Despite the bumpy start, the club quickly found its feet.

After initial seasons playing at Manor Field in front of the Castle, the club moved through several local venues, including ‘Fifty Acres’ (St. John’s) and Hocker’s Field, before establishing our permanent presence.

Through two World Wars, dedicated members kept the flame alive. In the 1940s, local farmer George Edwards leased the cricket ground at a peppercorn rate. In exchange, his sheep were allowed to graze the outfield over the winter months—a arrangement that led to some legendary, if unconventional, groundskeeping methods on the square during the post-war era!

The 1970s marked a pivotal shift for the Castle. In 1973, Uphill Castle voted to join the newly formed Somerset Cricket League, successfully navigating the 1974 qualification process to enter Division 2 for the inaugural 1975 competitive league season.

Since then, the club has grown into a vibrant, multi-team outfit running four Saturday Senior XIs and thriving Sunday XI fixtures as well as a Ladies Softball XI.