Thomas Lee French (10 June 1821 – 7 April 1909) was an English landowner and

clergyman Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

who played first-class

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

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 Cambridge Town and minor cricket for

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

teams in

East Anglia East Anglia is an area of the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, with parts of Essex sometimes also included. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, ...

. He was born at

Eye An eye is a sensory organ that allows an organism to perceive visual information. It detects light and converts it into electro-chemical impulses in neurons (neurones). It is part of an organism's visual system. In higher organisms, the ey ...

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

and died at

Menton Menton (; in classical norm or in Mistralian norm, , ; ; or depending on the orthography) is a Commune in France, commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the French Riviera, close to the Italia ...

in the south of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. As a cricketer, French appeared for Cambridge University between 1841 and 1844. He played three times in

the University match The University Match is an annual cricket fixture between Oxford University Cricket Club and Cambridge University Cricket Club. First played in 1827, it is the oldest varsity match in the world. Until 2001, when first-class cricket was reorga ...

against

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

, being joint captain with George Boudier in 1843 when his 32 in the second innings of a low-scoring game contributed to a Cambridge victory. French appears to have been regarded largely as a batsman, though it is not known whether he was right- or left-handed, but he also kept wicket on occasion and took two recorded wickets as a bowler in first-class games. After leaving

, his cricket was confined to lesser matches, but as late as 1878, when he was 57, he was playing for

in a two-day match, albeit not successfully. French was ordained as a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

clergyman when he left Cambridge and from 1845 to his death he was the rector of

Thrandeston Thrandeston is a small village on the Norfolk/Suffolk border in England. Overview The village is split into two areas, Thrandeston Little Green and Thrandeston Great Green. Most of the housing, the church and rectory are situated in the for ...

, Suffolk. The post was a benefice in the gift of the Bateman family who owned nearby Brome Hall. French himself was also an extensive landowner and held public and judicial office: he was reported to be the last Freeman of Eye, chairman of the local Poor Law Trust and a member of the

East Suffolk County Council East Suffolk County Council was the county council of the administrative county of East Suffolk in east England. It came into its powers on 1 April 1889 and acted as the governing authority for the county until it was amalgamated with West Suffo ...

References

1821 births 1909 deaths English cricketers Cambridge University cricketers Cambridge Town Club cricketers People from Eye, Suffolk People educated at Winchester College Alumni of Emmanuel College, Cambridge Members of East Suffolk County Council 19th-century English Anglican priests {{England-cricket-bio-stub