Haworth West End CC

Established in 1900 Haworth West End plays its cricket in the heart of Bronte country. The ground is situated on the moor tops above Haworth, and it is said to be the highest cricket ground in Yorkshire at a 1000 feet above sea level.The club runs two senior teams which compete in the JP Mewies Craven & District League. The two teams had contrasting seasons in 2007. The 1st X1 unfortunately were relegated from division 3, while the 2nd X1 claimed silverware by winning division 5.The club also runs a very well organised junior section which plays its matches in the Upper Airedale Junior Cricket Leagues. The clubs u15’s are the current holders of the Raleigh Hargreaves cup as well as the Johnson & Johnson division 2 champions. The 2008 season will see the club run teams for u11’s, u12’s, u13’s, u15’s and u17’s.

Haworth West End CC History

The Club was formed in 1900 from the Young Men's Class at the Sunday School as the Haworth West Lane Baptist Cricket Club. Amongst those who played a prominent part in its formation was Mrs Angus Crowther (ex-Deputy Lady Mayoress of Bradford), who, at the time, was a teacher in the Sunday school.

The first season, the Club played in a field behind Hoyle Farm. In 1901 and 1902 they played at Long Bridge before joining with Mytholmes Mission and playing on the Springfield ground alternate Saturdays.

In 1906, through the kindness and generosity of Mr Kershaw Barrett, the Club moved to the field at West End which has been the Club's home ever since.

For many years the Club played in the Keighley & District League, winning the Championship in 1913. The 1914 - 1918 War came and took its toll of the leading players, and it was a tremendous task getting two teams together again. Some really willing workers raised, by voluntary subscription, £170 to build a pavilion, which was opened in 1921 and can be seen in the photographs at our Gallery page. In 1923 the Club made an application to enter the West Bradford League and was successful.

The Club continued to grow steadily over the years and in 1969 it changed its name. Because of the ever increasing costs in running a club fund raising was of primary importance. One of the most favored and most successful methods of raising funds was the Christmas Raffle, however the Baptist Church opposed this as a form of gambling and it was this that forced the Club to relinquish its connections with the Church, and later that year the Club was renamed Haworth West End Cricket Club.

In 1970 and in much need of repair, the old pavilion was pulled down and a new wooden pavilion with a veranda put in its place. The Club had many successes during the 1970's, not least a young lad by the name of Peter Hartley. This youngster was so good in the juniors that he was soon showing the senior players how to Bowl. The rest is history. Peter was lucky enough to have been spotted by talent scouts and was soon on his way to play Professional Cricket with Yorkshire where he proved to be one of their most successful bowlers in recent years before heading off to Hampshire where he retired from the game at the end of the 2000 season.

In 1979 Haworth West End came out of the West Bradford League after 56 happy years and entered the Craven & District Cricket League where in 1993 they became 2nd Division Champions after a final match thriller. A new stone pavilion was built after receiving a grant from the Sports Council and is still in use today. Haworth West End Cricket Club has a long and interesting history. The year 2000 marked the Centenary Year for the Club and this was celebrated with a special event. 2005 saw another milestone as the club restarted its junior section. The club entered an u13 team into the Upper Airedale Junior Cricket League. Since then the junior section has blossomed. The club now runs teams at u11’s, u12’s, u13’s, u15’s and u17’s. In 2006 the u13’s reached the cup final but unfortunately lost to Skipton. The 2007 season saw the u15’s claiming silverware by beating Skipton in the cup final as well as winning the division 2 title. 2007 was also a milestone as the club restarted a 2nd XI with the team going on to win the J P Mewis division 5 title with many of the clubs junior members in the side. We should not forget the efforts of all of those fine men and women who went before us in helping the club to achieve a one hundred year history and it is up to us all at Haworth West End to lead it into the next one hundred years.