William Western Knatchbull-Hugessen (23 May 1837 – 6 September 1864) was an English amateur cricketer who played in three first-class cricket matches in 1858 and 1859.
Biography The youngest son of Sir Edward Knatchbull, 9th Baronet and his second wife Fanny, Knatchbull-Hugessen was born William Western Knatchbull at the family estate of Mersham-le-Hatch near Ashford in Kent in 1837.Foster J (1891) Alumni oxonienses: the members of the University of Oxford, 1715–1886, vol II, p.704. Oxford: James Parker and Co. (Available online. Retrieved 1 August 2021. Also available at Wikisource. Retrieved 18 April 2022.) Hugessen was added to the family name following the death of Sir Edward in 1849 as a condition of the will.Matthew HCG (2004) Knatchbull, Sir Edward, ninth baronet, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Retrieved 1 August 2021. He was educated at Eton College before going up to Magdalen College, Oxford in 1855.Staplyton H (1884) Eton school lists from 1791 to 1877, p.247. London: EP Williams. (Available online. Retrieved 1 August 2021.)
Despite not playing for either the Eton or Oxford cricket teams, Knatchbull-Huggesen played cricket for the Gentlemen of Kent team between 1856 and 1860, generally as a wicket-keeper. He made two appearances in matches which have been given first-class status, both in 1858 against Gentlemen of England teams.Carlaw, pp.313–314. (Retrieved 1 August 2021.)William Knatchbull-Hugessen, CricketArchive. Retrieved 16 October 2018. He was a member of the management committee which set up the Maidstone based Kent County Club in 1859 and played one first-class match that year. In his three first-class matches he scored a total of 33 runs with his highest score of nine coming in his match for Kent. He did not bowl.
At the 1861 census, Knatchbull-Hugessen was farming at Provender House at Norton, close to Faversham in Kent, an estate which had been in the Hugessen family since the 17th century.The History of Provender House, Provender House website. Retrieved 1 August 2021. He resigned from the Kent management committee in 1863 due to ill health and died of tuberculosis at St Leonards-on-Sea in Sussex in September 1864, aged 27.William Knatchbull-Hugessen, CricInfo. Retrieved 16 October 2018. A memorial tablet was erected in the church of St John the Baptist in Mersham.
Family Knatchbull-Hugessen's brother, Edward became the first Baron Brabourne in 1880. Edward's son Cecil, who later became the fourth Baron Brabourne, also played first-class cricket, mainly playing for Cambridge University, but also made one appearance for Kent.Obituary – Lord Brabourne, The Times, 1933-02-16, p.14.Brabourne, Supplementary List of Deaths in 1931–32 and 1933, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, 1935. Retrieved 14 October 2008.Carlaw, Op. cit, p.313. His uncle, Henry Knatchbull had played for Kent teams between 1827 and 1848 whilst Knatchbull-Hugessen's brother, Henry Thomas, took his place on the Kent management committee and was the club's president in 1880.Carlaw, Op. cit., p.312.
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