#earl of darnley

Lord Darnley's Match at Cobham Hall — England v Kent, July 1807

John Bligh, fourth Earl of Darnley, hosted a major England v Kent fixture on the lawn at Cobham Hall on 14-15 July 1807 — one of the last great patron-funded country-house matches of the underarm era. The young Ivo Bligh, who would as Lord Darnley a generation later bring the Ashes urn back from Australia, was a child of three watching from the terrace. The fixture is the Cobham Hall ground's most important first-class entry.