Charles Bryden (1852–1941) was a rugby union international who represented

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

from 1875 to 1877.Charles Bryden Profile on espn.co.uk
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Early life

Charles Cowper Bryden was born on 16 June 1852 in

Banbury Banbury is an historic market town and civil parish on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. The parish had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding ...

, the second son of William Anderson Bryden, and Maria, daughter of William Cowper. His father, William Anderson Bryden, having been born in Manchester in 1818 had made his way to Australia as a young man and went into partnership with Robert Miller in Adelaide. By 1844 they had a drapery business called Miller & Bryden, a forerunner of J. Miller Anderson & Co. Miller and Bryden's partnership dissolved in June 1848, and soon after William returned to England. He married Maria Cowper in 1850 and soon after their eldest son, William, was born the family moved to Banbury and William Anderson became a brewer and spirit merchant. In 1861 the family moved to

Clapham Clapham () is a district in south London, south west London, England, lying mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, but with some areas (including Clapham Common) extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. History Ea ...

where Charles's eighth and ninth siblings were born. In 1878, when Charles was 27, the family moved to

Surbiton Surbiton is a suburban neighbourhood in South West London, within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (RBK). It is next to the River Thames, southwest of Charing Cross. Surbiton was in the Historic counties of England, historic county of ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

. Charles attended

Cheltenham College Cheltenham College is a public school ( fee-charging boarding and day school for pupils aged 13–18) in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The school opened in 1841 as a Church of England foundation and is known for its outstanding linguis ...

, leaving in 1869.Cheltenham College Register, p.288, 1841-1910. (1911). United Kingdom: Bell. At Cheltenham at the same time were his two brothers,

William Radford Bryden William Radford Bryden (1851 – 16 February 1941) was an English architect and surveyor who designed various prominent Victorian era, Victorian buildings in Buxton, Derbyshire. Life Bryden was born in Eccles, Greater Manchester, Eccles, Lan ...

(born 1851) the architect, and

Henry Bryden Henry Anderson Bryden (3 May 1854 – 23 September 1937) was an English solicitor, athlete and sportsman, playing rugby for England in 1874. He was a keen hunter and naturalist and travelled widely. He then became a professional author writing a ...

(born 1854), also a future England rugby union international. As well as playing rugby football, Charles also represented his school at cricket.

Rugby union career

Bryden played his club rugby for the dual code side,

Clapham Rovers Clapham Rovers was from its foundation in 1869 a leading English sports organisation in the two dominant codes of football, association football and rugby union. It was a prominent club in the late 19th century but is now defunct. The club play ...

, the two codes being rugby union and association football. He played both codes, playing association football as much as rugby. He was a key player for the club, scoring in their first match against

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

in 21 October 1871. His younger brother, Henry, also played for Clapham and was called up to play for England on 23 February 1874 at

The Oval The Oval, currently named for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club sinc ...

against

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

match. A year later, Charles was called up for his international debut on 13 December 1875 in Dublin for the Ireland vs England match, this also being Ireland's first home international. Charles later played in the Scotland v England match in Edinburgh in 1877, won by Scotland by a goal.

Career and later life

Charles became a broker, describing himself as a hide broker and later a colonial broker. He married Ethel Petley (1859 - 1919) in 1887 and they had four daughters (Ethel, Violet, Phyllis and Dora). He died on 20 February 1941 in

Poole Poole () is a coastal town and seaport on the south coast of England in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area in Dorset, England. The town is east of Dorchester, Dorset, Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

.England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations),1861-1941

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bryden, Charles 1852 births 1941 deaths English rugby union players England international rugby union players Rugby union forwards Clapham Rovers F.C. players Rugby union players from Banbury Men's association football players not categorized by position Association football players not categorized by nationality