Richard Nyren - Legacy

Legacy

The success of Hambledon owed much to the co-operation of its subscribing members on one hand and the players on the other. Just as Nyren, supported by Small and others, was the principal figure in the team, the mainstays among the membership were the Reverend Charles Powlett, Philip Dehany and John Richards. After Nyren finished playing he became the Club Secretary, working closely with Richards who was the Treasurer. They tried to keep things going in rural Hampshire but, as Ashley-Cooper points out in respect of Powlett, "found destiny too strong".

The end was in sight when Lord's was opened at Marylebone and several key patrons, including many Hambledon members, founded Marylebone Cricket Club. MCC immediately usurped Hambledon's position as the sport's lawgiver and became the principal club, while Lord's became the new focal point and feature venue within easy reach of the metropolis. Hambledon carried on for a few more seasons and Hampshire could still put a strong team in the field but "when Richard Nyren left Hambleton (sic) the club broke up, and never resumed from that day (for) the head and right arm were gone". This is a somewhat romantic view, written by Nyren's son. It is true that Richard Nyren left Hambledon for a time in 1791 and there was a party in his honour at the Bat and Ball in September of that year, but the club continued to function after that and Nyren still lived in Hambledon until 1796, the year in which the club's final minute read "No Gentlemen". The end came about not because Nyren left the club but because the membership moved to Marylebone.

Richard Nyren moved to Bromley-by-Bow in 1796 and died there on 25 April 1797.