Lothian George Bonham-Carter J.P. (29 September 1858 – 1 January 1927) was an English

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 striki ...

er. Bonham-Carter was a right-handed batsman who bowled slow

roundarm bowler In cricket, roundarm bowling is a bowling style that was introduced in the first quarter of the 19th century and largely superseded underarm bowling by the 1830s. Using a roundarm action, the bowlers extend their arm about 90 degrees from thei ...

, but with which arm is unknown, but he was one of the last cricketers to use this bowling style. He was born in Adhurst St Mary, just north of Petersfield in Hampshire.

Early life and cricket career

The son of John Bonham-Carter, a Member of Parliament for

Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...

, and Laura Maria Nicholson, granddaughter of abolitionist William Smith, Bonham-Carter was educated at Clifton College, where he represented the college cricket team. In 1876, he enlisted in the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

(2nd Gloucestershire Engineer Volunteer Corps), holding the rank of

Sub-Lieutenant Sub-lieutenant is usually a junior officer rank, used in armies, navies and air forces. In most armies, sub-lieutenant is the lowest officer rank. However, in Brazil, it is the highest non-commissioned rank, and in Spain, it is the second high ...

. By 1878 he was serving in the Rifle Volunteer Corps (1st Berkshire) and held the rank of

2nd Lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

, in that same year he was promoted to lieutenant. By 1880, he had seemingly been demoted back to 2nd lieutenant and resigned his commission on 9 June 1880. Later in his life, he worked as a

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

. He later made his debut in first-class cricket for Hampshire against the Marylebone Cricket Club in 1880. Four years would pass before Bonham-Carter would play first-class cricket for Hampshire again, with his next appearance coming in 1884 against

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

. He made 6 further first-class appearances for Hampshire, the last of which came against Surrey in 1885. However, with Hampshire often uncompetitive, the county lost first-class status at the end of that season, and would not regain it until it was admitted into the

1895 County Championship The 1895 County Championship was the sixth officially organised running of the County Championship, and ran from 6 May to 2 September 1895. Surrey claimed their fifth title, which was decided by the percentage of completed matches by each side. T ...

, thus bringing to an end his first-class career. In his total of 8 first-class matches, he scored 260 runs at an average of 17.33, with a high score of 67. This score, one of two fifties he made, came against Surrey in 1884. With the ball, he took 2 wickets at a

bowling average In cricket, a player's bowling average is the number of runs they have conceded per wicket taken. The lower the bowling average is, the better the bowler is performing. It is one of a number of statistics used to compare bowlers, commonly use ...

of 31.50, with best figures of 2/22. Despite Hampshire's loss of first-class status, he continued to play for the county until 1888.

Later life

War Memorial and Manor House, Buriton - geograph

Bonham-Carter was a founder member of Petersfield Golf club in May 1891. Bonham-Carter was the first of the Bonham-Carters to begin their connection with the village of Buriton in Hampshire. In 1910/11 he had Buriton House built, reputedly because his wife, Emily, did not like living in Buriton Manor, which was then a working farm. Bonham-Carter had two sons:

Stuart Bonham Carter Vice Admiral Sir Stuart Sumner Bonham Carter, (9 July 1889 – 5 September 1972) was an officer in the Royal Navy who served in both the First and Second World Wars. Naval career Born the younger son of Lothian Bonham-Carter and Emily Maud S ...

, who served in World Wars, reaching the rank of vice admiral in the Royal Navy, Algernon Bonham Carter, who was awarded the DSO in World War I, and a daughter, Esme, who became a Mrs Tomlinson and subsequently Mrs. Selwyn. His brother-in-law was the fellow Hampshire cricketer Anthony Abdy. He is also distantly related to the actress Helena Bonham Carter among others. He died in Buriton on 1 January 1927. His estate passed to Algernon, with parts of it being sold in 1927 to the Forestry Commission to cover death duties.

References

External links

Lothian Bonham-Carter
at ESPNcricinfo
Lothian Bonham-Carter
at CricketArchive {{DEFAULTSORT:Bonham-Carter, Lothian 1858 births 1927 deaths People from Petersfield People educated at Clifton College Royal Engineers officers Volunteer Force officers English cricketers Hampshire cricketers

Lothian Lothian (; sco, Lowden, Loudan, -en, -o(u)n; gd, Lodainn ) is a region of the Scottish Lowlands, lying between the southern shore of the Firth of Forth and the Lammermuir Hills and the Moorfoot Hills. The principal settlement is the Sco ...

English justices of the peace Military personnel from Hampshire 19th-century British Army personnel

Early life and cricket career

Later life

See also

References

External links