Lives in Cricket No 11 - CP Lewis

town. But these boarders were largely unsupervised, and after lessons were over – and at weekends – the boys did as they pleased, some smoking and drinking heavily. Their actions brought many complaints, and with a surge in numbers, Edwards and the trustees of the College did not want a repetition. Their solution was to purchase a house in Stone Street, and invite C.P. to act as housemaster. He duly agreed and for the next few years looked after a dozen-and-a-half boarders, aged from fourteen to eighteen, with the help of a matron and another domestic servant. His return to Llandovery also came at a pivotal time in the history of Welsh sport, with the 1870s being boom years for cricket and rugby in south Wales. During his time as a master at the College, C.P. played a major role at school, club and regional level, by coaching a host of promising scholars at Llandovery, playing for a variety of teams in west Wales and regularly appearing for the South Wales club, for whom he continued to serve as vice-captain and a most able lieutenant to J.T.D.Llewelyn. In his first summer back at Llandovery, he led the gentlemen of the South Wales club on their annual tour to London. It was quite an honour for the energetic young schoolmaster, at 23, to be given this role, but events on the field did not go entirely their way. At The Oval, they lost to the Surrey Club and Ground side by an innings with the county’s professionals Edward Barratt, a left arm 46 Schoolmaster at Llandovery College The staff at Llandovery College in 1879. Lewis, the young games master, is second from the left.