Charles Powlett

Education

Powlett was educated at Westminster School and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he graduated as Master of Arts in 1755.

Career

Powlett (sometimes spelled Paulet) was the eldest son, born illegitimately, of Charles Powlett, 3rd Duke of Bolton and Lavinia Fenton, who were not married until 1751 when he was 23. Having been ordained, he was Curate of Itchen Abbas from 1763 to 1792. And Rector of Street Martin-by-Looe in Cornwall from 1785 to 1790.

Powlett acted as a Steward at Hambledon, was "the life and soul of the club for many years" and "when the end came, was the last to abandon the sinking ship".

In 1775, when Hambledon/Hampshire hosted Surrey on Broadhalfpenny Down, the match situation at one point of the Hampshire second innings was such that a Surrey victory seemed certain. Nyren was out for 98 and Small went on to make 136, which is the earliest known century in the history of first-class cricket.

When Nyren was out, he was confronted by Powlett and Dehaney who complained that he and Small had cost them their money. Nyren, disgusted with them, retorted: "Another time, don"t bet your money against such men as we are".

Achievements

• Powlett and his associate Philip Dehaney, another Hambledon member, decided to bet heavily on Surrey to win. Surrey then collapsed and Hampshire won a famous victory.

Membership

Powlett held an important position in the administration of cricket and was a member of the committee which revised and codified the Laws of Cricket in 1774. Despite being ordained and a Steward of the club and a member of the Laws of Cricket committee, Powlett was not above gambling on the outcome of matches or of betting against his own team