A timeline of Langleybury Cricket Club
A sourced chronology of Langleybury’s origins, cup campaigns, people, records and community events, with uncertain dates clearly identified.
This timeline follows the events and dated records established for the archive. It is a selective chronology, not a complete account of every season. Each linked article explains its evidence and any remaining qualification.
Origins and the first decades
| Date | Event or record |
|---|---|
| 1865, as recalled in 1988 | A tradition of cricket at Langleybury House appears in the later club programme. No contemporary match record has been established. Origins |
| Early 1950s | The modern club’s beginnings: the 1988 programme gives 1952; later club and newspaper accounts give 1950. The founding-year question |
| 1952, in the 1988 account | A wooden pavilion is associated with the early club. Its later fire is undated. Pavilion history |
| 1960–64 | Alan Bunn serves as secretary, according to the recovered club tribute. Alan Bunn |
| 1963 | B. Hall’s 10/12 against Potten End appears in the club bowling records. Records |
| 1968 | John Catchpole is the earliest Clubman of the Year recipient listed in the surviving table. Awards and volunteers |
| 1970 | The later club history records a licence preceding pavilion extensions; Brian Davey’s 121-wicket season appears in the records. Pavilions · Records |
National cup journeys and the 1980s
| Date | Event or record |
|---|---|
| 1972 | National Village ties at Hunton Bridge are indexed against Audley End, Stansted Hall and Essendon. Village Cup |
| 1974–78 | Alan Bunn’s term as chairman, reported in the original tribute. Alan Bunn |
| 13 July 1975 | Indexed sixth-round match against Isleham. BBC and the match |
| 5 August 1975 | BBC One first broadcasts the Going Places episode containing the Langleybury–Isleham segment. Broadcast history |
| 8 August 1976 | Indexed home national quarter-final against Crockham Hill. Village Cup |
| 20 August 1977 | National semi-final at Cookley; Cookley advances. Village Cup |
| 5 and 12 August 1979 | One-wicket quarter-final win over Linton Park, followed by the semi-final at Ynysygerwn. Village Cup |
| 1979 | Alan Bunn is elected to life membership, according to the club notice. Alan Bunn |
| 1982 | Gazette Cup victory against Berkhamsted is recorded in the opposing club’s history. Cup honours |
| 14 August 1983 | National semi-final against Troon at Treslothan Road. Village Cup |
| 1987 | First and second XIs’ first Home Counties League season, inferred from the dated 1988 programme. League and cups |
| 15 July 1988 | Date of the advertised Luther Blissett testimonial match; its programme preserves a detailed club portrait. The programme |
| 1988 season | S. M. Palmer’s 1,588 runs are the largest first-XI season aggregate in the published table. Records |
Lord’s, a championship and a new generation
| Date | Event or record |
|---|---|
| 1990 | Cliff Spinks records 119 wickets and 26 catches in the first-XI sheets. Cliff Spinks |
| 1992 | Spinks’s 1,391-run season appears in the club records. Cliff Spinks |
| 1 September 1996 | Caldy defeats Langleybury by six runs in the National Village final at Lord’s. The final |
| 1998 | Langleybury wins the Hertfordshire Cricket League; Norman Chase’s presidency begins. Champions · Norman Chase |
| 25 July 1998 | Paul O’Reilly takes 10/43 against Knebworth Park. O’Reilly |
| 1999 | The archived club history records a Hertfordshire County Cup win. Cup honours |
| 25 July 1999 | O’Reilly takes 10/38 for Hertfordshire against Staffordshire, a separate county performance. O’Reilly |
| 30 April 2002 | Date on the original Alan Bunn tribute; it records his years as 1922–2002. This is not an established death date. Recovered notice |
| 2002 | Steven Finn is listed as fourth-XI Player of the Year. Finn |
| 2003–04 | Finn’s Development XI records include 5/19 in 2003 and 106 not out in 2004. Junior cricket |
| 4 August 2004 | The club announces Finn’s England under-15 squad selection. Finn |
| 2005 | Shahzad Malik scores 403 against Middlesex Tamils; Langleybury makes 563/2. The exact match day remains disputed. Malik’s innings |
| 2008 | Gazette Cup victory against Leverstock Green, recorded by the opposition gallery. Cup honours |
Community life and recent records
| Date | Event or record |
|---|---|
| 16 July 2010 | Watford’s celebrity XI wins the charity Twenty20 match by three wickets. Community history |
| January 2011 | A £1,000 locality grant is allocated for practice nets work. Facilities |
| November 2012 | The Friends’ 26th Sportsman Dinner supports Michael Sobell House and junior cricket. Community history |
| May 2013 | A newspaper feature describes the Pinot Grigio Eleven in its fifth season. Women’s cricket |
| August 2013 | A Dale Butler memorial match is reported to have raised £3,750 so far. Women’s cricket |
| 4 July 2015 | Norman Chase dies aged 94; the obituary records the pavilion’s naming in his honour. Chase |
| 13 July 2018 | Langleybury wins the Heath Park Cup final against Leverstock Green by five wickets. Cup honours |
| 24 August 2018 | Gordon Riddick dies. Riddick |
| February 2019 | A district assessment records two grass squares, a non-turf wicket and good changing facilities. Ground history |
| 18 August 2019, planned | The club schedules a Gordon Riddick memorial gathering and bench presentation. Riddick |
| 25 March 2023 | The club hosts an OQL individual quiz event organised by Eddie Gunning. Community history |
| June 2024 | Clubhouse hospitality supports volunteers in a local canal clean-up. Community history |
| November 2024 | CPC Finance reports £11,500 raised at the Sportsman Charity Lunch for SpecialEffect. Community history |
| 6 November 2025 | Cliff Spinks dies aged 62, as recorded in the club tribute. Spinks |
| November 2026 research snapshot | The current club’s published sheets contain records and awards through 2025. Records |
How to read this chronology
The date of a match, the date of an article about it and the date a page was archived are separate. A planned event is labelled as planned; a later recollection is identified as such. The source catalogue and individual articles provide the record behind each entry.
Sources and further reading
- 1988 programme, printed pages 24–25: ground photograph and club history — checked 2026-11-02
- Official Langleybury CC About Us page, Wayback capture 5 July 2015 — checked 2026-11-02
- Langleybury CC: Alan Bunn, 1922–2002, notice dated 30 April 2002 (archived) — checked 2026-11-02
- Langleybury CC: International Honours for Langleybury Lad, 4 August 2004 (archived) — checked 2026-11-02
- CricketArchive: Hunton Bridge National Village matches — checked 2026-11-02
- Going Places, episode 12 — checked 2026-11-02
- National Village Cup: 1996 final scorecard — checked 2026-11-02
- ACS: Hertfordshire Cricket League winners — checked 2026-11-02
- Club record sheet, printed p.13: 1st XI batting aggregates and bowling records, 1961–2025 — checked 2026-11-02
- Courageous WW2 pilot and president of Langleybury Cricket Club for 17 years dies aged 94 — checked 2026-11-02
- Gordon Riddick, 6/11/1943–24/08/2018 — checked 2026-11-02
- Langleybury Cricket Club pays tribute after death of former member — checked 2026-11-02
- Leverstock Green v Langleybury, 13 July 2018 — checked 2026-11-02
- Three Rivers Playing Pitch Strategy Assessment Report — checked 2026-11-02
- Stars of Eggheads and The Chase at Kings Langley quiz — checked 2026-11-02
- Kings Langley Village News, issue 39 — checked 2026-11-02
- Charity lunch for Special Effects — checked 2026-11-02
- Langleybury CC: Records — checked 2026-11-02
