Charles Bennet, 4th Earl of Tankerville
| The Earl of Tankerville | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born | 15 November 1743 St.James's Square, Middlesex |
| Died | 10 December 1822 Walton-on-Thames |
| Residence | Mount Felix |
| Nationality | English |
| Other names | Lord Ossulston (from 1753 to 1767) |
| Education | Eton College |
| Occupation | Gentleman |
| Known for | Cricket |
| Title | 4th Earl of Tankerville |
| Successor | Charles Augustus Bennet |
| Spouse(s) | Emma Colebrook |
| Children | at least 5 |
| Parent(s) | Charles Bennet, 3rd Earl of Tankerville and Alicia (formerly Astley) |
Charles Bennet, 4th Earl of Tankerville (15 November 1743 – 10 December 1822), styled Lord Ossulston from 1753 to 1767, was a British nobleman, a collector of shells and a famous patron of Surrey cricket in the 1770s. He agreed a set of cricket rules that included the first mention of the Leg before wicket rule. His wife, Emma, was also notable as a collector of exotic plants. Her collection of over 600 illustrations were purchased by Kew Gardens in 1932 and are still available today.
Tankerville was born in 1743 and was educated at Eton College between 1753 and 1760. Having succeeded to the Earldom on the death of his father on 27 October 1767 he married Emma, daughter of Sir James Colebrooke, 1st Baronet, in 1771 and settled at Walton on Thames at his house, Mount Felix overlooking the Thames.
Lady Tankerville amassed a large collection of exotic plants at Mount Felix. Emma Tankervilles collection was thought to be the largest in the London area. Specimens named after Lady Tankerville include the Nun's Orchid or Phaius tankervilleae. Artists were employed to create botanical drawings on vellum of the specimens.
Tankerville often played cricket and seems to have been a very good fielder, though he was not especially noted for batting or bowling. He was the employer of Edward "Lumpy" Stevens, who was a gardener at Tankerville's Walton-on-Thames estate; and William Bedster, who was his butler. It was the accuracy of "Lumpy" Stevens that led to the introduction of a middle stump. Prior to 1776 there were only two stumps and Lumpy's deliveries could go through the hole. A permanent memorial to Lumpy Stevens has been proposed.
In 1774, Tankerville sat on the committee that formulated some early laws of cricket. They were settled and revised at the Star and Garter in Pall Mall on Friday 25 February 1774. The meeting was chaired by Sir William Draper and the committee included the Duke of Dorset, Harry Peckham and other "Noblemen and Gentlemen of Kent, Hampshire, Surrey, Sussex, Middlesex, and London". This meeting was one of the earlier sets of cricket rules and is acknowledged as being the first where the Leg before wicket rule was introduced.
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