Edward Peake
Encyclopedia
Edward Peake was an English
-born rugby union
three-quarter and county
cricket
er. Educated at Oriel College, Oxford, Peake would win a Blue for cricket before representing Gloucestershire
. Peake is most notable for being a member of the first Wales
rugby union team that played England in 1881. In his later life he became a teacher and Anglican
minister.
in Gloucestershire
to R. Peake of Chepstow and Gertrude Peake; Edward Peake was educated first at Marlborough College
before graduating to Oriel College, Oxford. While at Oxford he won Blues in both cricket and athletics and represented the university rugby team. He had a brief career in rugby, curtailed by injury, but was able to have a far longer cricketing career, representing Gloucestershire and Berkshire.
Peake was a school teacher by profession and became assistant master at two private schools at Southborne and Clifton
before later teaching at Clifton College
. From 1885 until 1896 he was assistant master at Giggleswick School
in Yorkshire, before gaining his first headship, at Bradford College, a post he held from 1896 to 1909. In 1909 he gained a position as chaplain of Christ Church, Oxford
where he was also the headmaster of their Cathedral Choir School. By 1921, Peake had left education and was the rector of Bluntisham
in Huntingdonshire
, where he died on 3 January 1945.
Edward Peake left money in his will for a school to be made, named Edward Peake Middle School, located on Potton Road, Biggleswade
, Bedfordshire.
Peake first played rugby at Marlborough College, before representing Oxford
, though he did not win a sporting Blue. Peake later played rugby for Chepstow
and while representing the club was chosen by Richard Mullock
as one of the Welsh XV to face England in the very first Wales rugby international
. The first Welsh team was mainly chosen from the geographic distribution of the representative clubs, so Mulloch could appease the different club regions of Wales, and the university pedigree of the players. Peake would have fitted both these categories, and would have been known to Mullock as his Newport team had played Chepstow twice in the 1879-1880 season. Peake played at three-quarters alongside the team captain James Bevan
, in a game that quickly turned into a national embarrassment when England scored 13 tries without reply. This first historic game would be Peake's one and only international rugby cap, along with eight other members of the Welsh squad. From that first Welsh squad, Peake was one of three players who later became Anglican clergymen, the others being captain, Bevan and future Wales' captain Charlie Newman
.
Peake later played a single game for first class Welsh team Newport RFC, but his rugby career would be cut short after a hurdling
accident at Oxford.
, playing from the 1880 season through to 1883, winning a Sporting Blue. Peake played in 46 first class cricket matches, 26 of them for Gloucester, and played alongside E. M.
and W. G. Grace
. He also played minor counties championship cricket with Berkshire. As a first class cricketer he took 116 wickets as a right-arm fast bowler, and averaged 13.07 runs with the bat in 80 innings.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
-born rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
three-quarter and county
County cricket
County cricket is the highest level of domestic cricket in England and Wales. For the 2010 season, see 2010 English cricket season.-First-class counties:...
cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er. Educated at Oriel College, Oxford, Peake would win a Blue for cricket before representing Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire County Cricket Club
Gloucestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Gloucestershire. Its limited overs team is called the Gloucestershire Gladiators....
. Peake is most notable for being a member of the first Wales
Wales national rugby union team
The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...
rugby union team that played England in 1881. In his later life he became a teacher and Anglican
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
minister.
Personal life
Born in TidenhamTidenham
Tidenham is a village and civil parish in the Forest of Dean of west Gloucestershire, England, adjoining the Welsh border.The parish includes the villages of Tidenham, Beachley, Boughspring, Sedbury, Tutshill and Woodcroft, and according to the United Kingdom Census 2001 had a population of 5,316...
in Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
to R. Peake of Chepstow and Gertrude Peake; Edward Peake was educated first at Marlborough College
Marlborough College
Marlborough College is a British co-educational independent school for day and boarding pupils, located in Marlborough, Wiltshire.Founded in 1843 for the education of the sons of Church of England clergy, the school now accepts both boys and girls of all beliefs. Currently there are just over 800...
before graduating to Oriel College, Oxford. While at Oxford he won Blues in both cricket and athletics and represented the university rugby team. He had a brief career in rugby, curtailed by injury, but was able to have a far longer cricketing career, representing Gloucestershire and Berkshire.
Peake was a school teacher by profession and became assistant master at two private schools at Southborne and Clifton
Clifton, Bristol
Clifton is a suburb of the City of Bristol in England, and the name of both one of the city's thirty-five council wards. The Clifton ward also includes the areas of Cliftonwood and Hotwells...
before later teaching at Clifton College
Clifton College
Clifton College is a co-educational independent school in Clifton, Bristol, England, founded in 1862. In its early years it was notable for emphasising science in the curriculum, and for being less concerned with social elitism, e.g. by admitting day-boys on equal terms and providing a dedicated...
. From 1885 until 1896 he was assistant master at Giggleswick School
Giggleswick School
Giggleswick School is an independent co-educational boarding school in Giggleswick, near Settle, North Yorkshire, England.- Early school :...
in Yorkshire, before gaining his first headship, at Bradford College, a post he held from 1896 to 1909. In 1909 he gained a position as chaplain of Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church or house of Christ, and thus sometimes known as The House), is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England...
where he was also the headmaster of their Cathedral Choir School. By 1921, Peake had left education and was the rector of Bluntisham
Bluntisham
Bluntisham is a village in the Huntingdonshire district of Cambridgeshire), England. It is near Earith east of St Ives.The Prime Meridian passes through the western edge of Bluntisham.Also known as Bluntisham-cum-Earith...
in Huntingdonshire
Huntingdonshire
Huntingdonshire is a local government district of Cambridgeshire, covering the area around Huntingdon. Traditionally it is a county in its own right...
, where he died on 3 January 1945.
Edward Peake left money in his will for a school to be made, named Edward Peake Middle School, located on Potton Road, Biggleswade
Biggleswade
Biggleswade is a market town and civil parish located on the River Ivel in Bedfordshire, England. It is well served by transport routes, being close to the A1 road between London and the North, as well as having a railway station on the main rail link North from London .-Geography:Located about 40...
, Bedfordshire.
Rugby career
Oxford University RFC
The Oxford University Rugby Football Club is the rugby union club of the University of Oxford. The club contests The Varsity Match every year against Cambridge University at Twickenham.-History:...
, though he did not win a sporting Blue. Peake later played rugby for Chepstow
Chepstow RFC
Chepstow Rugby Football Club is a rugby union team from the town of Chepstow, in Monmouthshire, Wales. The club is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union and is a feeder club for the Newport Gwent Dragons.-History:...
and while representing the club was chosen by Richard Mullock
Richard Mullock
Richard Mullock was a Welsh sporting administrator and official, who is most notable for organising the first Welsh rugby union international game and was instrumental in the creation of the Welsh Football Union, which became the Welsh Rugby Union in 1934...
as one of the Welsh XV to face England in the very first Wales rugby international
1880-81 Home Nations rugby union matches
The 1880-81 Home Nations rugby union matches were a series of international rugby union friendlies held between the England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales national rugby union teams. This season is most notable for the introduction of Wales as an international rugby union nation, playing their first...
. The first Welsh team was mainly chosen from the geographic distribution of the representative clubs, so Mulloch could appease the different club regions of Wales, and the university pedigree of the players. Peake would have fitted both these categories, and would have been known to Mullock as his Newport team had played Chepstow twice in the 1879-1880 season. Peake played at three-quarters alongside the team captain James Bevan
James Bevan
James Bevan was a Wales international rugby union three-quarter who played club rugby for Clifton RFC and Newport...
, in a game that quickly turned into a national embarrassment when England scored 13 tries without reply. This first historic game would be Peake's one and only international rugby cap, along with eight other members of the Welsh squad. From that first Welsh squad, Peake was one of three players who later became Anglican clergymen, the others being captain, Bevan and future Wales' captain Charlie Newman
Charlie Newman
Charlie Newman was a Welsh international three-quarter who played club rugby for Newport. He was awarded ten caps for Wales and captained the team on six occasions. An original member of the Newport squad he captained the team in the 1882/83 season.-Personal life:Newman was born Newport in 1857 to...
.
Peake later played a single game for first class Welsh team Newport RFC, but his rugby career would be cut short after a hurdling
Hurdling
Hurdling is a type of track and field race.- Distances :There are sprint hurdle races and long hurdle races. The standard sprint hurdle race is 110 meters for men and 100 meters for women. The standard long hurdle race is 400 meters for both men and women...
accident at Oxford.
Cricket career
Peake first played cricket for Marlborough College, where he was a member of the cricket eleven in 1878, captaining the team in 1879. At Oriel College he joined the University cricket teamOxford University Cricket Club
Oxford University Cricket Club is a first-class cricket team, representing the University of Oxford. It plays its home games at the University Parks in Oxford, England...
, playing from the 1880 season through to 1883, winning a Sporting Blue. Peake played in 46 first class cricket matches, 26 of them for Gloucester, and played alongside E. M.
E M Grace
Edward Mills Grace was a member of the famous cricketing Grace family and the elder brother of W G Grace and Fred Grace...
and W. G. Grace
W. G. Grace
William Gilbert Grace, MRCS, LRCP was an English amateur cricketer who is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest players of all time, having a special significance in terms of his importance to the development of the sport...
. He also played minor counties championship cricket with Berkshire. As a first class cricketer he took 116 wickets as a right-arm fast bowler, and averaged 13.07 runs with the bat in 80 innings.
External links
- Brief profile of Edward Peake Cricketarchive.co.uk
- Edward Peake playing profile, Newport RFC BlackandAmbers.co.uk
- Edward Peake rugby player profile Scrum.com