A pleasant stroll around the South Somerset village of Cricket Malherbie and its Church of St. Mary Magdalene.

On the minor road which takes you south out of the Somerset market town of Ilminster, between the hamlets of Sea and Dowlish Ford, is a signpost directing the traveller to Cricket Malherbie.  Follow the sign up the narrow gently climbing lane, keeping an eye open for tractors and other vehicles, especially on the sharp bends, and you will find the road widens as you approach Cricket Malherbie’s parish church of St. Mary Magdalene.  This charmingly named village is not much bigger than a hamlet.  Its cottages, some thatched, are dotted around the church and Cricket Court – the manor house.  There is ample room to park beside the church, and it is well worth stopping to have a wander round to enjoy the quiet and the scenery.


My wife and I wandered up past the gates to Cricket Court to the next crossroads before retracing our steps.  We caught a glimpse of the manor house and its drive from the road, but as it is private property we obviously made no attempt at a closer look.  Just past Beaverbrook Barn we stopped at a gate to enjoy the wonderful views toward the Blackdown Hills and the more distant Quantocks.  All in all, a very pleasant stroll!

The view from Cricket Malerhbie toward Ilminster and Beacon Hill.

The view from Cricket Malherbie toward Herne Hill south of Ilminster.

The view from the South Somerset village of Cricket Malherbie toward the Blackdown Hills,

A view from Cricket Malherbie in South Somerset with the Quantock Hills on the horizon.

Some history.

Kelly’s Directory of Somerset (1914) informs us that Cricket Malherbie: “is a parish and village 2 miles south of Ilminster and 3 miles north-east of Chard.  Cricket Court, a mansion of stone, is prettily situated, and surrounded by well-timbered grounds: it is the property of Major Thomas Morton Stanhope Pitt, who is lord of the manor and chief landowner.  The soil is flint and gravel; the subsoil clay.  The crops are wheat barley and oats, and there is some pasture.  The area is 461 acres, rateable value £536; population in 1911, 38.”


Cricket Court has links to both world wars.  In the First World War Thomas Morton Stanhope Pitt, with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and later Brigadier General, commanded the 5th (Yeomanry) Mounted Brigade and the 6th Mounted Brigade between 1 December 1915 and 28 September 1917.  He led them in the Sinai and Palestine Campaigns.


In the Second World War Cricket Court was owned by Lord Beaverbrook, one of Churchill’s ministers.  In 1944 Churchill and General Dwight D. Eisenhower met there, as guests of Beaverbrook, to discuss the D-Day landings.


Cricket Malherbie’s Church of St. Mary Magdalene was rebuilt in 1855 at a cost of about £4,500.  Arthur Mee in his The Kings England – Somerset (Hodder and Stoughton Ltd., 1968) writes of the church: “It is a handsome building with a little spire, fine gable crosses, and a beautiful pierced parapet of flowing design.”

 “Kelly’s Directory of Somerset (1914) tells us: “The living is a rectory, net yearly value £55, with residence and 25 acres of glebe, in the gift of Major T.M.S. Pitt.” 


Exploring the churchyard.

While exploring the churchyard we came across a charming railed memorial stone commemorating Geoffrey Fawsitt Taylor (1902 to 1982) who was born in Waverly, New South Wales, Australia.  The inscription reads: “INDIAN MEDICAL SERVICE ~ PROFFESSOR OF MEDICINE LAHORE UNIVERSITY ~ CONSULTANT PHYSICIAN 14th ARMY BURMA ~ ALL THAT COULD DIE OF HIM LIES HERE IN THE PLACE HE LIVED FOR 37 YEARS.

He stood in general elections, unsuccessfully, a number of times in the 1950s, 60s and 70s as candidate for the Liberal Party in the Yeovil Parliamentary Constituency.   


There is also the imposing grave of Captain Francis Philip Egerton RN. (b.23 September 1812  d.2.March 1893), an officer who served at sea in the early-Victorian era.    

He was aboard HMS VANGUARD (78guns) and HMS CALCUTTA (84 guns) in the Mediterranean before serving in the East Indies aboard HMS AGINCOURT (74guns).  After his time in HMS AGINCOURT he remained in the East Indies and was in command of HMS HAZARD, a 431 ton wooden sloop of 18 guns, between August 1844 and May 1847.

He retired from the Royal Navy on 1 July 1864.

The Church of St. Mary Magdalene in the South Somerset village of Cricket Malherbie.

The spire of St. Mary Magdalene in Cricket Malherbie, South Somerset.