Charles Inglis Thornton (20 March 1850 – 10 December 1929), nicknamed "Buns", was an English

cricketer Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

who played more than 200 first-class matches in the later 19th century, for no fewer than 22 different teams. He was also the founder of the

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...

Festival.Carlaw D (2020) ''Kent County Cricketers A to Z. Part One: 1806–1914'' (revised edition), pp. 522–524.
Available online
at the

Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians The Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians (ACS) was founded in England in 1973 for the purpose of researching and collating information about the history and statistics of cricket. Originally called the Association of Cricket Stati ...

. Retrieved 2020-12-21.) Thornton was born in

Llanwarne Llanwarne is a village and civil parish in Herefordshire, England. The population of the civil Parish as taken at the 2011 census was 380. It is about from the Welsh border, is approximately north-west of Ross-on-Wye, and near Harewood End ...

Herefordshire Herefordshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England, bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh ...

, the son of the Rural Dean of Hereford. He was orphaned before the age of five. and adopted, along with his brother, by Archdeacon Harrison of Canterbury. This is where he began to play cricket playing with children in the neighbourhood in informal single wicket competitions. He played his first organised game at Great Mongeham in 1861 making 22 not out. He was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England *Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States *Éton, a commune in the Meuse depa ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

. His career at Eton was slow to win approval. The master in charge of cricket, Fred Bell, did not like his attacking play. Thornton remarked that it was because he hit all the best balls into the trees. He had success in both Eton v Harrow and Oxford v Cambridge matches, then very much part of the London season. He must have had independent means because on graduation he was able to rent a hunting box in Oxford with his cousin, hunting three days a week and playing cricket the other four. He was considered one of the biggest hitters in cricket, with one shot at

Hove Hove ( ) is a seaside resort in East Sussex, England. Alongside Brighton, it is one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove. Originally a fishing village surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th century in respon ...

in 1876 claimed to have exceeded 160 yards. He hit the ball over the pavilion at Lord's in the 1868 Eton v Harrow match. This, however was over the old pavilion. The only person to have struck a ball over the current pavilion (built 1889–90) is AE Trott. Other claims made by Thornton included a 156-yard hit at Ranelagh, a 152-yard hit at Canterbury and a 136-yard hit at Scarborough, the ball landing in Trafalgar Square (Scarborough). Thornton was a member of the

Orleans Club The Orleans Club was a London-based cricket club that was founded in 1878 and played four first-class matches. Its teams were organised by C. I. Thornton,''A Guide to First-Class Cricket Matches Played in the British Isles'', second edition, 1982 ...

, which was founded in 1878, and organised its cricket teams. His own private team — C. I. Thornton's XI — played most of their early games at

Fenner's Fenner's is Cambridge University Cricket Club's ground. History Cambridge University Cricket Club had previously played at two grounds in Cambridge, the University Ground and Parker's Piece. In 1846, Francis Fenner leased a former cherry orc ...

, but after his retirement from playing in 1897 their home became Scarborough, where they continued to play first-class cricket until 1929, the year of Thornton's death. He died in 1929 aged 79 at

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also ) is an area in London, England, and is located in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. Oxford Street forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropo ...

in London. Thornton had some interesting ideas about cricket. He wanted bowlers' run ups limited to 10 yards, and the wearing of leg guards (pads) to be forbidden. The only protection he advocated was football style shin pads.Cricketer ibid

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thornton, Charles Inglis 1850 births 1929 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge English cricketers Kent cricketers Middlesex cricketers Cambridge University cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Cricketers from Herefordshire Gentlemen of the South cricketers North v South cricketers Orleans Club cricketers North of the Thames v South of the Thames cricketers Gentlemen cricketers Gentlemen of England cricketers C. I. Thornton's XI cricketers A. J. Webbe's XI cricketers Lyric Club cricketers Lord Londesborough's XI cricketers Gentlemen of Kent cricketers