Bluemantles GS Vs Ashdown

Posted by Tim Brocklehurst on September 13, 2026

On September the 3rd we played our annual match against Royal Ashdown Forest. The weather this year was somewhat better than last year when we had to cancel the match due to extremely high winds and horizontal rain! Luckily the sun shone this time and after some recent rain it was good to see green fairways again after the prolonged drought.

Thanks to our first three pairs, including this year’s captain Ed Davies, we managed to win 3-2. It was good to celebrate a rare win and it was also good to celebrate Ted Rose’s 90th birthday (from the day before). As many of you will know Ted has been an active cricketer and golfer for the Bluemantles for over 70 years and I’m sure we will look forward to him playing golf well into his 90’s and even
perhaps reaching another ton!

We were joined at lunch by our golf section chairman Gerald Woods, who has already broken the 90 year old barrier, Nick Ogden the cricket club Chairman and Paddy Butler the fixtures secretary. Our thanks go to the Royal Ashdown Club for hosting the day.

We now have our last meeting of the year coming up at Hever on Wednesday September 30th. It will 18 holes in the morning followed by lunch. This year we are going to play the Princes course which is somewhat shorter than the championship course. If any of the cricketers would like to join in could they please let Richard Musson know (richardmusson@aol.com) They would be very welcome.

From the left Jon Wheatley, Chris Austin, George da Moraville, Ed Davies, Ted Rose, Gerald Woods, Nick Ogden, Richard Musson, Jamie Bebb and Paddy Butler.

Our New Bluemantle

Posted by Tim Brocklehurst on September 3, 2026

By Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the Realm dated 25 August 2026, His Majesty The King has been pleased to appoint James Lawson Broun to the office of Bluemantle Pursuivant of Arms, vacant by the promotion of James van Someren Peill, now Garter King of Arms.

James Broun was born in Buckinghamshire but grew up in the East Midlands. He attended St George’s Academy in Sleaford, Lincolnshire, and Brasenose College, Oxford, where he read History and Politics, graduating with the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 2017. He subsequently received the degrees of Master of Research from King’s College London (2018) and Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Sussex (2022). Before entering the College of Arms as a Probationary Officer in 2025, he worked successively as a Policy Manager at Make UK and as the Research Manager at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents. He holds Associate Fellowships of the Higher Education Academy and the Royal Historical Society, and recently joined the Council of the Harleian Society. James lives in London with his wife.

BM Vs Patron’s XI 20 May 2026

Posted by Tim Brocklehurst on May 22, 2026

GLORIOUS GOODWOOD

Records of cricket being played at Goodwood stretch back to 1702. The oldest set of rules (laws) of cricket still in existence are kept in the magnificent House that overlooks the picturesque ground that entertained The Patron’s XI v The Bluemantle’s XI on Wednesday 20th May 2026.

James Peill, our present Bluemantle, secured this fixture for us with the Goodwood Cricket Club, the Estate, the Duke, the Earl and the ‘chief’ of cricket Richard Geffen. A 40-over match was played and a high degree of competence was displayed by both sides.

Josh Montford Bebb captained the club and scored a fearsome 102 with towering shots threatening the picnickers positioned by the attractive thatched pavilion. He was ably assisted by Alex McDonald (58), Ben Porter (36) and Tom Birkberk (34*) in securing the formidable total of 293 for 5.

Josh Montford Bebb and Joe Cannon at the toss.

A spirited reply by the Patron’s XI was led by Sean Cannon (42) and Alex Bryant (23) and with some hearty blows from fellow players this was not enough to set the scoreboard alight. Teddy Birkbeck (3-18) and Will Zlattinger (3-30) spearheaded the Club’s bowling and a victory was soon out of reach for The Patron’s XI.

Bluemantle’s 293/5. Patron’s XI. 164/9

With thanks to umpires Bryan Tomalin from Goodwood CC and Ian Edmed and our ever dependable scorer Rosalie Reeder.

And to our Chairman Nick Ogden and our Goodwood hosts.

We salute and thank in particular our Patron, James Peill.

The result of the match was secondary to the sheer delight and pleasure of the occasion. An historic site, a famous ground …and a magnificent, noble Laburnum Cedar tree planted in 1761 to watch over us. A splendid, special day.

Nigel Wheeler
President

Spring Foursomes Hosford Tankards Winners

Posted by Tim Brocklehurst on April 20, 2026

On 19th April, in perfect spring sunshine, Ted Rose and Nigel Herbert eased to victory in the Bluemantle’s spring foursomes held at Piltdown Golf Club.

Despite a talented field of quality and experience, plus the formidable pairing of Peter Marno and Tor Bebb chasing hard to reclaim the title as last year’s winners, Ted and Nigel led a calm and skillful campaign to secure the Hosford Tankards in the 2026 spring foursomes.

Nigel Herbert and Ted Rose, winners of the 2026 Bluemantle’s GC Spring Foursomes with their Hosford Tankards.

62nd Year of Bluemantle’s GC at Piltdown

Posted by Tim Brocklehurst on June 21, 2024

On June 19th we played our traditional match against Piltdown Golf Club and the photo of both teams appears above. We have been playing a match against Piltdown since 1974 and before that we used to hold our Spring Meeting at Piltdown. The association between the clubs therefore extends to 60 years. Ted Rose, this year’s Captain, and Gerald Woods, our Chairman, actually predate the association with Piltdown having first played for Bluemantles Cricket Club in the mid-1950s. It was good to see them at Piltdown with the Club’s President Nigel Wheeler and hopefully they can all be spotted in the photo.(Nigel is the winner for hair retention!)

This year we lost 4-1 but as ever the match was played in an excellent spirit and Piltdown proved to be excellent hosts. As was fitting, cricket seemed to be the dominant topic at lunch! The golf course has undergone a number of changes over the last few years and the heather-lined fairways make it a severe test but still a joy to play. We are very much looking forward to our 51st encounter in 2025.

Richard Musson

Upcoming Golf – (all welcome)

Wednesday 10th July 2024 – vs XL Club at Royal Ashdown (old course) – am foursomes followed by lunch for the Herbert Hunter Cup.

Thursday 5th September – Match vs Royal Ashdown – am foursomes followed by lunch.

Tuesday 8th October – Autumn Meeting at Hever GC – singles stableford 11am start – late lunch to follow.

To join any of these days, please contact Richard Musson: 07798 526033

Welcome to our new Patron

Posted by Tim Brocklehurst on June 16, 2024

This year, the King has appointed a new Bluemantle, James Peill, following the promotion of Mark Scott to Somerset Herald of Arms.

James’ previous roles include a Director at Christie’s and Curator of the Goodwood Collection. He has also co-authored numerous highly-regarded books about stately homes and furniture.

We are delighted to welcome James as the Bluemantle’s CC new Patron in time for the Patron’s match on July 11th.

Official announcement on the College of Arms site

Drinks Reception at The College of Arms

Posted by Tim Brocklehurst on April 12, 2024

The Bluemantle Pursuivant, Mark Scott, hosted members of the Bluemantle’s CC at the College of Arms on the evening of 11th April for the last time.

He now becomes Somerset Herald and, on 16th April, James Peill takes over as Bluemantle Pursuivant.

Visit to the archives at The Amelia Scott

Posted by Tim Brocklehurst on November 16, 2023

On 30th October our Chairman arranged a visit to The Amelia Scott Centre in Tunbridge Wells where archives galore exist including some of those of the Bluemantle’s Cricket Club. The Patron and President joined Nick and the former was soon in his element examining crests and coats of arms both of the town and of the club.

In a pair of boxes we discovered the club rules dating back to the formation of the club in 1862. We examined photos of heroes of the past and looked through a number of the old scorebooks from the late C19th and early C20th. The President was delighted to find proof of Siegfried Sassoon’s regular appearances. Clearly a keen member but not a prolific run scorer. He was also delighted to find his own great uncle playing in some of the matches with the great poet.

The 1964 fixture list showed 34 senior matches and also a handful of junior games under the organisation of Herbert F.M.Hunter, our recent President. Familiar names such as R.R.Bairamian, E.M.Rose, D.J.D Farrow, R.M.K.Gracey, N.Heroys and A.L. Newbury were match managers in that crowded season.

Alas, all of our more recent records have been lost and destroyed. To find these splendid records of the past was a joy indeed. Our club has a noble history and here was proof of the Bluemantle’s being one of the oldest cricket club in the land.

Nigel Wheeler
President

Robin Brodhurst (1952-2023)

Posted by Tim Brocklehurst on April 2, 2023

Bluemantle’s CC lost a very dear sportsman this year.

Robin Brodhurst was a fond member of the Bluemantle’s and added much fun and laughter to the club through the 1980’s and 1990’s. Robin died in his sleep, aged 70, in mid-January 2023.

Robin was an enthusiast and a great encourager. He excelled as a schoolmaster and will be much missed by all who knew him.

Click here for Pangbourne’s tribute.

Bluemantle’s Golf Round-Up

Posted by Tim Brocklehurst on October 11, 2022

’The Bluemantle golfers completed their 60th season with the Autumn meeting at Hever Golf Club. Nigel Herbert took the honours with an excellent score of 39 Stableford points with Jonathan Wheatley finishing runner-up with a very respectable 35 points. To the secretary’s knowledge, this is the first time the same player has won both the Spring and Autumn meetings in the same year, all the more creditable as Nigel plays off a low handicap and has a suspect knee!

In addition to the two meetings we also played matches against traditional opponents Piltdown, the XL Club and Royal Ashdown. Although not successful in two of the matches we did manage a draw against the XL Club thus preserving our unbeaten record against them going back to 2000. Matches against the XL Club have been played every year since 1963 so they are our oldest opponents.

In between all the above we managed to fit in a Summer meeting playing the Princes course again at Hever. This was a foursomes competition for the Hosford Tankards and was won by Peter Morris and the secretary.

Currently our numbers are around 25 so there is plenty of room to accommodate some more Bluemantle cricketers either still playing or retired. In addition to having two of our founding members, Gerald Woods and Ted Rose, still playing we have a good spread of players of all ages. Jamie Bebb has been our Captain in our 60th year and his enthusiasm has really ensured that all the meetings and matches have been well-supported and, more importantly, great fun.

The Golf Section is open to all members of the Bluemantle’s so if you are tempted to join us please contact Richard Musson on 07798 526033.