THE CRICKET ST. THOMAS ESTATE

If we look back on the historical association of the village, we should not forget the man who, at one time, owned the whole of the village, along with the parish of Cricket St Thomas, Lord Bridport, and who has left us a great deal to remind us of him. I suppose it would be the natural thing, in those days, for the Rear Admiral of the Fleet to be living in the vicinity, and adopting the title of Lord Bridport, as in early days when Bridport was known as Port Bredy, it was a very notable place on the coast. It is recorded, that at the time of the Spanish Armada, Port Bredy supplied more sailors for the cause than any other port on the south coast. Lord Bridport was, of course, the Uncle of the great Lord Nelson. In those days the estate at Cricket St Thomas gave employment to the whole of the village. In the house itself there were over thirty servants kept. My own father worked for Lord Bridport, and often discussed him with me. He was described as a very hard man, but this was probably a reflection on his position in life. He does however appear to have been a very generous man, and the village hall we have today was given to us by his Lordship on the occasion of Queen Victoria's Jubilee, hence the name.

The Jubilee Hall
It was built entirely by local labour drawn from the workmen employed by the estate, and the timber yard known in later years as "Sawmills", driven by water power. When the hall was presented to the village One Hundred shares in the Royal Horticultural Hall, at Islington, in London, went with it, and the intention was for the interest to keep the hall in repair. Regrettably they showed no profit until relatively recently when they were bought by a building society. Another reminder of his Lordship can be found in the Church, where the pews were renewed, and replaced, by his generosity, under the supervision of the estate carpenter, Edwin Forsey, who at that time lived in Wynyard. Many gates around the district bore the letter "B" near the top hinge to signify they were made at Cricket.

After Lord Bridport sold up the estate, and split up the farms, the place then became the residence of the Fry family, the cocoa people, and these were the Lords of the Manor in my time. They were a much respected family, noted Quakers, and very good, and most generous, to the whole of the village. They took a personal interest in everyone who worked on the estate or had any connections with them. They were very much a part of the village, as the war memorial will verify, when among the names you will find Harold Fry, who fought, and died, with the rest of the lads.

Harold's brother, Geoffrey, became a politician, and was at one time private secretary to Bonar Law. There were several daughters, and they took a very personal interest in the village school. I well remember the youngest daughter, Miss Connie, also Miss Norah, who was later to become Mrs Cooke Hurle, and took a prominent part in local politics. During this period, the Cricket St Thomas estate was like a public park, where you could wander at will, without fear of being stopped, or questioned, and if you happened to meet any of the family they would be delighted to meet you, and ask after your parents, particularly if they worked on the estate, and perhaps enquire as to what the future held for you, but always with kindly interest. My father worked on the estate all his life, and helped carry both Lord Bridport, and Mr F J Fry, to their last resting place. For this service, Mr Fry left my father the sum of Ten Pounds, such was his benevolence. When the Fry family moved away from Cricket, it was a particularly sad day for the village.