Pannal Ash cricket club is one of the oldest clubs in the Harrogate area. The local press writer ‘G’, in May 1930 noted: ‘The following local cricket clubs were “Going Strong” fifty years ago:
Harrogate CC, Ashville College, Pannal Ash, Starbeck, Spofforth, Bilton and Beckwithshaw’.In Mr R H Ward’s ‘Memoirs of a Secretary’, written in January 1932, he notes we had been 'in existence for over 80 years’. On this basis we can claim to have played ‘friendly fixtures' from around 1850 – making Pannal Ash cricket club around 157 years old!!
The local papers, the Harrogate Advertiser and the Harrogate Herald, carried full lists of fixtures and scorecards. One of the first references to the Ash is in the Harrogate Herald dated 20th June 1900, where the Ash had a home fixture against New College 2nd XI.
These two papers carried regular scorecards and reports of Ash fixtures in the early 20th century. We not only see regular fixtures against local rivals Beckwithshaw, Ashville College and Pannal Ash College, but also further afield at Scargill and Kettlesing.
The Harrogate Herald of 27th May 1903 publishes a full season of fixtures as follows:
May 2
St Luke’s
Home
9
Beckwithshaw
Away
16
Bilton
Away
23
Harrogate Police
Home
30
Methodist Free Church
Away
June6
Bloom Bank
Home
13
Leeds Brunswick
Away
20
Beckwithshaw
Home
27
Primitive Methodist
Away
30
Methodist Free Church
Away
July 4
Bloom Bank
Home
11
New Park Institute
Home
18
Harrogate Police
Away
25
Bilton
Home
August 8
Methodist Free Church
Home
15
St Luke’s
Away
22
New Park Institute
Away
September 5
Leeds Brunswick
Home
12
Primitive Methodist
Home
A notable feature of this fixture list is the religious connections of many of the clubs. St Luke's Church of Kings' Road, Harrogate the Methodist Free Church and Primitive Methodists with the Leeds Brunswick Wesleyans who played at Woodhouse in Leeds.
Star names at this time include all-rounders E Parker and A Locker, but family names appear like Newbould and Gill who are associated with the glory years which followed.
Cricket in Harrogate was thriving and crying out for organised competition. The Nidderdale League had disbanded in 1898, not reforming until 1912 causing Killinghall to join the Ripon and District League.
The formation of the Harrogate and District league was put back due to the outbreak of
World War I, when there was no cricket played at all in the Harrogate area.Below we have the oldest photograph in our possession of a Pannal Ash team. The picture is donated by Mrs Mollie East, daughter of Bob Hugill (2nd right on back row) who was later to be the Captain of our famous 1932 league winners team. We also see Mr R H Ward (4th left on back row) holding the scorebook. The picture is thought to date from straight after WWI and prior to the 1920 season when league cricket was begun in the Harrogate league.
