Lives in Cricket No 44 - LCH Palairet

Chapter one French connections Lionel Palairet has been dead for over 80 years, yet books are still published today which refer to his graceful batting during the period known by some as ‘The Golden Age’ of cricket, which is generally considered to be from 1890 to 1914. During his time as a player, he had no equal with regard to the art of batting and the elegant style with which he scored his runs. For Somerset he was truly a great batsman who was full of poise, grace and power. Even at the time of his death he held most of the county’s batting records. Outside cricket though, little is known about him. However, researching this book has opened up a lot more about him as a person and about the contributions he made not only to cricket, but to golf, which would take up most of his spare time once he had retired from first class cricket. He led a full, if not long, life and looking back on his deeds, he could be proud of what he had contributed as a person, as a sportsman and a family man. It is well known that he was from a privileged background; however, as you will read, a lot of tragedy ran through his life. I hope this book shows to readers that he was much more than a great batting stylist, and gives a picture of his life and his deeds that began in the Victorian area and ended well into the 20th century. It has been stated in several publications that he was of French Huguenot ancestry. A Huguenot is a member of a French Protestant religion which started in the 16th century. Followers were inspired by the 1530’s writings of Jean Calvin. Followers mainly lived in the central and southern parts of France. The family line of the Palairets has been traced back to 1475. From the early 1600s, Lionel’s family ancestors were living in a town called Montauban, in southern France, 31 miles north of Toulouse. In 1685, King Louis XIV abolished legal recognition of the religion. He then forced all of the Huguenots to convert to the Catholic religion. It is estimated 500,000 fled France. They settled in many countries where they were accepted and allowed to worship freely. It is estimated that 50,000 of the Huguenots fled to England, 7