Charles Gurdon (3 December 1855 – 26 June 1931) was an English barrister, judge,

rower Rowing, often called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars (called blades in the United Kingdom) are attached to the boat using rowlocks, while paddles are ...

and

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

forward who played club rugby for

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

and

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 ...

. Gurdon represented England fourteen times during the early development of international rugby union, once as captain. He and his brother Edward Temple Gurdon formed one of the most notable sibling pairings in English rugby.

Life and legal career

Gurdon was born in

Barnham Broom Barnham Broom is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is situated on the River Yare, 9 miles (15 km) west of Norwich. and 4 miles (6 km) north-west of Wymondham. The village's name means 'Beorn's ...

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

, in 1855, the second son of Rev Edward Gurdon. He was educated at

Haileybury School Haileybury is a co-educational Public school (United Kingdom), public school (fee-charging boarding school, boarding and day school for 11- to 18-year-olds) located in Hertford Heath, Hertfordshire. It is a member of the Rugby Group and enrols ...

before matriculating to

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Jesus College was established in 1496 on the site of the twelfth-century Benedictine nunnery of St Radegund's Priory, Cambridge, St ...

, in 1874. He was a member of the

Pitt Club The University Pitt Club, popularly referred to as the Pitt Club, the UPC, or merely as Club, is a private members' club of the University of Cambridge. It was formerly male-only, and has admitted women since 2017. History The Pitt Club was ...

at Cambridge. His elder brother Edward Temple and younger brother

Francis Francis may refer to: People and characters *Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church (2013–2025) *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Francis (surname) * Francis, a character played by YouTuber Boogie2 ...

also studied at

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

; Francis entered the clergy, becoming the Bishop of Hull. Gurdon chose to enter the legal profession and was admitted to the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

in 1877. He received his BA in 1878, and was

called to the Bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

in 1881. From 1923 to 1929 he was a County Court judge for

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

, before retiring to London. He died suddenly on 26 June 1931.

Sporting career

Gurdon was keen sportsman from a young age. At Cambridge he was a member of both the rugby club and

Cambridge University Boat Club The Cambridge University Boat Club (CUBC) is the rowing club of the University of Cambridge, England. The club was founded in 1828 and has been located at the Goldie Boathouse on the River Cam, Cambridge since 1882. Nowadays, training primaril ...

and won five sporting

Blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

. He won four Blues for rowing in

the Boat Race The Boat Race is an annual set of rowing races between the Cambridge University Boat Club and the Oxford University Boat Club, traditionally rowed between open-weight eights on the River Thames in London, England. It is also known as the U ...

in 1876, 1877, 1878 and 1879 with two Cambridge wins in 1876 and 1879 and the only

dead heat A dead heat is a rare situation in various racing sports in which the performances of competitors are judged to be so close that no difference between them can be resolved. The result is declared a tie and the competitors are awarded a joint ra ...

in 1877. In 1879 he was a member of the Jesus College eight which won the

Grand Challenge Cup The Grand Challenge Cup is a rowing (sport), rowing competition for men's eight (rowing), eights. It is the oldest and best-known event at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. It is open to male cr ...

and the

coxless four A coxless four, abbreviated as a 4- and also called a straight four, is a racing shell used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for four persons who propel the boat with sweep oars, without a coxswain. The crew consists of four ...

which won the

Stewards' Challenge Cup The Stewards' Challenge Cup is a rowing event for men's coxless fours at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through ...

Henley Royal Regatta Henley Royal Regatta (or Henley Regatta, its original name pre-dating Royal patronage) is a Rowing (sport), rowing event held annually on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. It was established on 26 March 1839. It diffe ...

.R C Lehmann ''The Complete Oarsman''
/ref> Gurdon gained one Blue for playing in

the Varsity Match The Varsity Match is an annual rugby union fixture played between the universities of Oxford and Cambridge in England. The event began in 1872 with the first men's match, with interruptions only for the two World Wars and the COVID-19 pandemic ...

in 1877. His brother Edward had won three Blues the previous three seasons in the Varsity Match, and Gurdon followed his brother in representing Cambridge. Oxford were the stronger team throughout the season, Cambridge played with just five members with prior Varsity Match experience and Oxford won by two tries to nil. On leaving University, Gurdon joined first-class English club team Richmond. Gurdon was first chosen to represent England during the 1879–80 season. By this time, his brother Edward had already gained two caps but was unavailable for Gurdon's first international, which was played away against

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. Gurdon was reselected for the very next international and for the first time, the brothers played in the same pack for England, Edward scoring a try in a heavy defeat of

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 ...

. The brothers would play a total of ten matches together as England teammates, from 1880 through to 1886. Gurdon next played in all three England internationals of the 1880–81 season, which began with a win over Ireland at Manchester, followed by a crushing victory over

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

in the first Welsh international rugby match. The season ended with an away draw with Scotland. England played in just two games during 1881–82 and Gurdon played in both, bringing his consecutive matches for England to seven. His sixth match, against Ireland at

Lansdowne Road Lansdowne Road Stadium (, ) was a stadium in Dublin owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) that was primarily used for rugby union and association football matches. The stadium was demolished in 2007 to make way for the Aviva Stadium on ...

, was notable as the one and only time that Gurdon was given the captaincy of the England national team. The seventh match was also the first time Gurdon had appeared on a losing England team, with Scotland beating England by two tries to nil to take the

Calcutta Cup The Calcutta Cup is the trophy awarded to the winner of the rugby match between teams of England and Scotland played annually in the Six Nations Championship. Like the match itself (England–Scotland), the Calcutta Cup is the oldest trophy con ...

for the first time in four attempts. The next year saw the first Home Nations Championship, with all the Home Nations competing for the title. Gurdon missed the first two encounters, but was in the team for the final England game of the tournament away to Scotland. Under the captaincy of his brother Edward, England had won the first two games against Ireland and Wales, leaving the match with Scotland as the Championship decider. In a tight and exciting game England narrowly won, taking the title, Calcutta Cup and the very first Triple Crown. Gurdon returned for the

1884 Home Nations Championship The 1884 Home Nations Championship was the second series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 5 January and 12 April 1884. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. England won the cham ...

, and under the captaincy of his brother, he played in the first and third games of the tournament; England taking the Triple Crown for the second year in succession. Gurdon played in four more matches for England, playing once in the

1885 Home Nations Championship The 1885 Home Nations Championship was the third series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, but the tournament was not completed. The 1885 Championship was notable for the dis ...

and then all three games of the 1886 Championship. Gurdon played his last international game in 1886 to Scotland, which was also his brother's final game.

Bibliography

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gurdon, Charles 1855 births 1931 deaths People from Barnham Broom People educated at Haileybury and Imperial Service College Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge Cambridge University R.U.F.C. players England international rugby union players English rugby union players Rugby union forwards Richmond F.C. players Cambridge University Boat Club rowers English male rowers Rugby union players from Norfolk County Court judges (England and Wales)

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

Life and legal career

Sporting career

See also

Bibliography

References