Charles John Chenery (1 January 1850 – 17 April 1928) was a

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

in the first international match against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

. He also played

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

for Surrey and

Northants Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is kn ...

Football career

Chenery was born in

Lambourn Lambourn is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. It lies just north of the M4 Motorway between Swindon and Newbury, and borders Wiltshire to the west and Oxfordshire to the north. After Newmarket it is the largest centre of ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Be ...

, the son of George Chenery and Sophia Atkins. He was educated at the

Marlborough Royal Free Grammar School Marlborough Royal Free Grammar School, previously known as Marlborough Grammar School and King Edward's School, Marlborough, was a grammar school in the town of Marlborough, in Wiltshire, England, founded in 1550. Originally for boys only, the s ...

, although the family also spent three or four years in Australia in the early 1860s. After leaving school he joined the original Crystal Palace club and was selected for the "England" side that played an unofficial international match against a Scottish side in February 1872. He was retained for the first official international match which took place on 30 November 1872 at

West of Scotland Cricket Club The West of Scotland Cricket Club is a cricket club based in Glasgow, Scotland. The club's home ground is Hamilton Crescent, located in the Partick area of Glasgow's West End. West of Scotland, traditionally, are one of the working class cricke ...

's ground at

Hamilton Crescent Hamilton Crescent is a cricket ground in the Partick area of Glasgow, Scotland, which is the home of the West of Scotland Cricket Club. Hamilton Crescent hosted the first international football match, between Scotland and England, played o ...

Partick Partick ( sco, Pairtick, Scottish Gaelic: ''Partaig'') is an area of Glasgow on the north bank of the River Clyde, just across from Govan. To the west lies Whiteinch, to the east Yorkhill and Kelvingrove Park (across the River Kelvin), and to t ...

, Scotland. The match finished in a 0–0 draw, with Chenery playing as one of seven or eight forwards. He and

Harwood Greenhalgh Ernest Harwood Greenhalgh (6 March 1849 – 11 July 1922) was an English footballer who played for England as a full back in the first international match against Scotland. Playing career Greenhalgh was born in Mansfield and played for Notts ...

were the only two players who were recalled for the return match at the

Kennington Oval The Oval, currently known 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 since it ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

on 8 March 1873, which resulted in a 4–2 victory for England, with Chenery, playing at

inside right Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

, scoring the fourth goal. Chenery's Crystal Palace teammate Alexander Morten played in goal for England. He made his third and final England appearance (again against Scotland) in a 2–1 defeat on 7 March 1874 and was the only player to appear in each of England's first three internationals. He also played occasionally for the Wanderers and, although not appearing in any of their five

FA Cup Final The FA Cup Final, commonly referred to in England as just the Cup Final, is the last match in the Football Association Challenge Cup. It has regularly been one of the most attended domestic football events in the world, with an official atten ...

teams in the 1870s, he did serve as their secretary in 1871. At some time he appeared for the

Barnes Club __NOTOC__ Barnes Football Club is an association football club in Barnes, London. The club had great importance in the development of the game in the nineteenth century and was the first team ever to win a match in the FA Cup. History Origins T ...

as well as representing Surrey and

Cricket career

He played cricket for Surrey in 1872 and 1873 as a right-hand batsman and right-arm fast bowler. His top score was 40 n.o. at

the Oval The Oval, currently known 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 since ...

against

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

in August 1872. He also played for

before that county was elevated to first-class status.

Later life

Chenery emigrated to Australia in 1878, settling in

Mansfield, Victoria Mansfield is a small town in the foothills of the Victorian Alps in the Australian state of Victoria. It is approximately north-east of Melbourne by road. The population around Mansfield was as at the 2016 census. The town itself has 341 ...

, where he had relatives. He married Priscilla Swan in 1890, and they had three sons. He died at Mansfield on 17 April 1928.Melbourne Argus, 19 April 1928

References

External links

*
England profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chenery, Charles 1850 births 1928 deaths People from Lambourn English footballers England international footballers Wanderers F.C. players Crystal Palace F.C. (1861) players Barnes Club footballers English cricketers Surrey cricketers Northamptonshire cricketers England v Scotland representative footballers (1870–1872) Surrey Club cricketers Association football inside forwards