The Walkers of Southgate were an English cricketing family who lived at

Arnos Grove house Arnos Grove, originally known as Arnolds, is a grade II* listed house in Cannon Hill, Southgate, London. History The house was built after the London banker James Colebrooke bought the Arnolds estate in 1719 or 1720. Dumayne, Alan. (1987) ''S ...

in Southgate,

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

, England. The family fortune was partly built through the brewing company Taylor Walker, and the Walker brothers – seven of the twelve children of brewer Isaac Walker (1794–1853) and Sarah Sophia Taylor (1801–1864) – were all sent to

Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (school founder), John Lyon, a local landowner an ...

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 ...

, where they became keen cricketers. The brothers were the nephews of cricketer Henry Walker and the great-grandchildren of merchant Isaac Walker.

Cricket

The three eldest brothers originally played for the Southgate Albert, the village team, on the bumpy Chapel Fields wicket until John had the ground re-turfed in the early 1850s. The brothers founded the Southgate Cricket Club in 1855, a Middlesex team in 1859, the official

Middlesex County Cricket Club Middlesex County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Middlesex which has effectively been subsumed within the ceremonial ...

in 1864, and were instrumental in establishing the home of the county at

Lords Lords may refer to: * The plural of Lord Places *Lords Creek, a stream in New Hanover County, North Carolina *Lord's, English Cricket Ground and home of Marylebone Cricket Club and Middlesex County Cricket Club People *Traci Lords (born 19 ...

in 1877. In 1859, the first match played by the Middlesex team was held in Southgate against Kent, who were defeated by 78 runs. Although

Test cricket Test cricket is a Forms of cricket, format of the sport of cricket, considered the game’s most prestigious and traditional form. Often referred to as the "ultimate test" of a cricketer's skill, endurance, and temperament, it is a format of i ...

only started in 1877, four of the brothers played in the

United All-England Eleven The United All-England Eleven (UEE) was an English cricket team formed in 1852 by players breaking away from William Clarke's All-England Eleven (AEE). Key UEE players included John Wisden and Jemmy Dean, who became joint secretaries of the tea ...

prior to that date. Both the United All-England team and the

Marylebone Cricket Club The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's, Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London, England. The club was the governing body of cricket from 1788 to 1989 and retain ...

(MCC) would visit Southgate to take on the brothers and their team, attended by crowds of up to 10,000. Their cricket ground Chapel Fields in Waterfall Road, Southgate became the Walker Cricket Ground in 1907Cricinfo – Grounds – The Walker Cricket Ground, Southgate
/ref> and is maintained by the Walker Trust to this day.

The brothers

* The seven Walker brothers were: ** John Walker (1826–1885) ** Alfred Walker (1827–1870) **

Frederic Walker Frederick, Frederic, Friedrich or Fred Walker may refer to: *Frederick Walker (native police commandant) (died 1866), explorer *Frederick Walker (painter) (1840–1875), English painter and illustrator *Frederic John Walker (1896–1944), B ...

(1829–1889) ** Arthur Henry Walker (1833–1878) ** Vyell Edward Walker (1837–1906) ** Russell Donnithorne Walker (1842–1922) ** Isaac Donnithorne Walker (1844–1898) * The brothers had an uncle who also was a cricketer: ** Henry Walker (1807–1872) The entomologist Francis Walker was another uncle. The brothers are all buried in the family vault in the churchyard of Christ Church, Southgate.

Cricket

The brothers

References

Further reading