George Philip Cecil Arthur, Lord Stanhope, is the only Member of Parliament to play for Nottinghamshire in a county match. He played twice, both times being against Surrey at Trent Bridge, in 1860 and 1861.
In 1862 he is described thus: ‘Bats very much in George Parr’s style, and made some very fine innings last season. He exhibited some magnificent play in his second innings in Gentlemen of North v South at The Oval’.
He was born at Chesterfield House, Mayfair in August 1831 and educated at Eton and Oxford, though he failed to obtain a place in either Eleven. As Lord Stanhope he entered the British Army and achieved the rank of lieutenant, retiring in 1855. In 1860 he was elected at a by-election as MP for Nottinghamshire South, a seat he held until 1866, when he succeeded his father to become 7th Earl of Chesterfield and took his seat in the House of Lords.
Lord Chesterfield was one of the pioneers of Derbyshire cricket. In 1857 and in 1859 played for a pre-county championship Derbyshire side against All England XIs; in 1870 he became Derbyshire County Cricket Club's first president.
In 1860 Chesterfield played First-Class cricket for Gentlemen of the North as well as for Notts and an All England XI. In 1861 he played First-Class matches again for Northern Gentlemen and for Nottinghamshire. He also turned out for the Gentlemen of the Midland Counties and was a playing member of both I Zingari and the MCC.
Chesterfield played ten innings in five First-Class matches with an average of 13.50 and a top score of 65.
In 1871 he was staying at Lord Londesborough’s seat near Scarborough with, among others, the Prince of Wales. Both the Prince of Wales and the Earl contracted typhoid fever. The Prince recovered, but the Earl died on 1 December, 1871.
His lordship was unmarried and the title devolved on a cousin, also named George Stanhope.
Picture: Derbyshire CCC Photo Archive
March 2020
Nottinghamshire First-Class Number: 89
See Lord Stanhope's career stats here