Our history

1850-1899

In 1850 the population of Cumnor was approximately 1,000. The parish school was built in 1861. But with the repeal of the Corn Laws, the parish suffered neglect and a decline in population.

Cumnor Cricket Club was officially formed in 1896 but friendly games of cricket were played in the village from the 1860s. The Oxford Journal reports on a game in 1861 between Cassington and Cumnor Cricket Club. Cumnor won this game by one innings and 42 runs.

In 1896 another friendly match was played in a field off Appleton Road against Chawley Works. Cumnor lost this match by 23 runs. After the match the players adjourned to the Bear and Ragged Staff where singing and a pleasant evening was had by all

1900-1949

In 1901 the first Cumnor Youth game was played with CCC beating local rivals Appleton, 32 runs to 19. Two years later, in 1903, Cumnor moved to the current ground, Park Field. Cumnor did not play during the First World War years.
After the war, cricket started again at Cumnor with two men’s teams turning out. In the 1920s Lord Brooke played for Cumnor, and scored the first ever century for the club at Pembroke College Ground. Later on, he went on to become the Home Secretary in 1962. In 1922 there are records of the first ever Cumnor Women’s team but little details exist of their fixtures.

The cricket season was brought to an abrupt end with games on the last Saturday in August 1939 abandoned because of rain. War was declared three days later. Cricket in Cumnor was stopped again during the Second World War.

1950-1999

After WWII the club returned to the original field off the Appleton Road as an area around Robsart Place was developed for housing. In 1953 the club brought Park Field for £370. Tree felling, drainage digging, and building a changing area with a £25 loan from the Cumnor Pig Club began at Park Field.

In the early 1970s the club almost collapsed due to falling membership and vandalism of the clubhouse and equipment. However with support from the local council, and Warwickshire CC, a new wooden pavilion was put up in Park Field in 1975. This wooden building was purchased by the landlord from the Bear and Ragged Staff from Didcot Power Station for £50. It provided two changing rooms, ladies and gents toilets, a small kitchen and an area that could be used for taking teas.

In the 1980s the top half of Park Field was sold to build houses and this provided the income to improve the ground and build the current pavilion which was opened in 1987.

2000 TO 2018

In 2003 Roger Mitty, our President, designed a new logo for CCC. Before this the club was using a simple logo based on 3 interlinking capital letters – see below

Roger said “There are three elements to the new logo. The willow tree represents the wood used to make bats but also the willow trees on the Park Field which had to be removed to make way for cricket. The Bear and Ragged Staff is there because the pub was for many years the headquarters of CCC before we had our own pavilion. It is also the coat of arms of the Earl of Warwick and when CCC faced closure after a bout of vandalism when the ground was badly damaged by motorbikes and all the kit burnt, Warwickshire CC helped us out with a grant to buy new equipment, including a mower. The bird is a Martlet which is a heraldic bird which derives from the arms of Abingdon Abbey which once owned our ground when Cumnor was in the county of Berkshire.”

In 2012 Cumnor Cricket Club received almost £32,000 from the Olympic Legacy Fund and the following year saw the opening of brand new state-of-the-art artificial nets. In 2013 Roger Mitty, who was celebrating 50 years with Cumnor Cricket Club, won the BBC South Sporting Unsung Hero award. Roger, who is our current President, attended the BBC Sports Personality of the Year event held in Leeds in the December of that year.

2019

2019 saw the introduction of the Cumnor Bears logo into the branding of the club. The Cumnor Bears are the players, supporters and volunteers at Cumnor Cricket Club, who embody the values of family, passion and ambition. The branding projects us as a forward looking club, one that puts community and culture at its heart. The augmented branding combining heritage and vision is the launch pad for the future development of the club.