Timperley Sports Club

A brief history of the first 125 years.


1877 - 1902

Timperley Cricket Club was formed at a meeting held at a local Village School Hall in April 1877. The first President of the Club was the local vicar, The Rev. E Dowling MA and William Bell, a prominent local trader and magistrate became the first Honorary Secretary. The annual subscription was set at 'one guinea'.

For the first five years, the club played on a field thought to be somewhere on Moss Lane. When the lease expired in 1883 the club moved to its present site at the corner of Stockport Road and Wood Lane adjacent to an old Victorian tip, which was later to become Altrincham Golf Course.

In 1886 Timperley Hockey Club was formed and became the first (and the oldest) club in the North of England. The clubs first match was against Almondbury (nr Huddersfield in Yorkshire) in October 1887. The match report in the Bowdon Advertiser records: 'owing to the late arrival of the visitors train, the leather was not started until 4.45, leaving only 50 minutes for play. Timperley won 2-0.

Richard Deane (a useful right winger) played the leading role in the development of the sport in Cheshire and the North and was responsible for the formation of the Northern Counties Hockey Association in 1890. At this time the original Hockey ground was in the centre of Timperley Village. Although the Cricket and Hockey Clubs were separate organisations in their own right - many players were members of both and eventually they would unite.

Sometime in the 1890's Tennis was played for the first time at the Cricket ground. Although the actual start date is unknown - the annual general meeting of 1897 reports that there were 23 honorary members, 59 cricket members, 9 tennis members and 19 lady tennis members - a total of 110. In 1902 Timperley Cricket and Tennis Club completed its first 25 years. During that time its original founder, William Bell had served as Secretary for all of those years.