Rochdale’s forgotten history: the cricket ball

Hamlet Nicholson with his granddaughters on his 80th birthday, as shown in his autobiography

You may not have given the origins of the humble cricket ball much thought, but in fact, it was invented right here in Rochdale by a cobbler called Hamlet Nicholson in 1860.

Born on 30 April 1810 on Blackwater Street, Rochdale, to Wilson and Sarah Nicolson, Hamlet started work as an apprentice cobbler to his father when he was just eight years old, before going on to invent the cricket ball that is still in use today.

His father, Wilson, was born in 1769 in Sunderland. As a young apprentice to a shoemaker, Wilson escaped a press-gang (forced naval or military recruitment), eluding them as far Darlington before settling in Rochdale.

It was here where he met and married midewife Sarah Law from Healey Stones on 20 November 1797.

After his death in 1852, Wilson was buried at St Chad’s Parish Church in Rochdale.

Sarah was buried in Todmorden Old Church Yard four years later, as St Chad’s churchyard was closed at the time.

One of eight children, Hamlet was born opposite to the Presbyterian Chapel on Blackwater Street, next door to the George and Dragon Hotel. He was baptised at St Chad’s Parish Church on 21 October 1836.

Blackwater Street is no longer in existence, but ran from Lord Square to St Mary’s Gate, under what is now the Rochdale Exchange Shopping Centre.

After working as a cobbler on Drake Street, Hamlet, a staunch conservative, became skilled in working with gutta percha rubber, inventing a number of applications for its use.

When his trade suffered due to the actions of the radical movement in Rochdale at the time, he briefly moved to London.

On his return, he invented the compound cricket ball, which he patented in 1860 and sold throughout the world.

He claimed his rubber ball was cheaper and more durable than a leather ball, never varied in weight as it could not absorb moisture and was easier to hold. He also claimed it was less likely to break a cricket bat.

In his 1892 autobiography ‘An Autobiographical and Full Historical Account of the Persecution of Hamlet Nicholson in His Opposition to Ritualism at the Rochdale Parish Church’, Hamlet wrote how he had promised his wife he would never rest “till I have completed my study of the compound cricket ball”.

Hamlet persevered with the idea, which he wrote “had been some time in my mind”, until he completed the design three months later.

Despite feeling exhausted and mentally fatigued upon completing the first prototype, Hamlet immediately set out with renewed vigour for a refreshing walk. Two days later, he applied for a patent for the design, which was subsequently granted.

In 1862, Hamlet presented the invention at the Paris Exhibition, where he won a prize.

After the patent was obtained, Hamlet “assiduously put it before the cricketing world”, spending his profits on advertising.

Eventually demand for the ball grew, and Hamlet was able to build five houses on a plot of land in Rochdale Park, around 200 yards east of Castle Hill, named for the Rochdale Castle which stood there in 1080.

Having played on the fields in Rochdale Park as a young boy – then Kilner Deyne Fields – Hamlet fulfilled a childhood fantasy in his desire to live there, “if ever a house should be built.”

Around 1836, Hamlet married his wife, Ann, who was just four days younger than him, having known each other from childhood and being brought up near each other on Blackwater Street.

They went on to have five children, Ellen, who is believed to have died in infancy, Maria, Edwin, Henry and Alice, and two grand-daughters, Alice and Annie. Their sons, born in 1842 and 1844, helped create cricket balls ‘during the quiet season’.

Ann and Hamlet were married for 54 years before Ann died at the age of 81 on 26 December 1890 at Kilner Deyne Terrace, The Park and was buried in Rochdale Cemetery.

Hamlet lived until he was 89, and died on 17 June 1899. His gravestone can still be found where he was buried in the cemetery at St Chad’s with several family members. The tombstone lies around 10 yards away from satirical poet Tim Bobbin’s grave.

“I have cause to be thankful that the idea of the compound cricket ball became implanted in my mind, that I was enabled to bring it to a practical issue, and that no one has been able to make one to compete with it, for it is to these circumstances that I owe the secure competency for my declining years.”

Although written 32 years after his ground-breaking invention, these words still ring true 125 years later, as over 100 countries worldwide now play the sport.

These days there are three main manufacturers of cricket balls for international matches: Dukes, which date back to 1760, Kookaburra, and SG.

The balls consist of a cork core, which is layered with tightly wound string, and covered by a leather casing with a slightly raised sewn seam. Traditionally red in colour, white and pink balls have since been introduced, although red balls are still used in test and first-class cricket.

A typical ball in men’s cricket weighs between 155.9g and 163g, and measures between 22.4cm and 22.9cm in circumference.

The weight of the ball has remained unchanged since 1774. Its circumference was reduced to the current measure in 1927. Its previous measurements were set in 1838 as between nine and 9.25 inches.