Horatio Mann

Sir Horace Mann was an English MP who was a member of the famous Hambledon Cricket Club and a patron of Kent cricket. He was also an occasional player but rarely in first-class matches.

He was also a member of the Committee of Noblemen and Gentlemen of Kent, Hampshire, Surrey, Sussex, Middlesex and London at The Star and Garter in Pall Mall, which drew up a new revision of the Laws of Cricket in 1774.

Educated at Charterhouse, Sir Horatio was MP for Sandwich from 1774 to 1807. He had a number of influential friends including Horace Walpole, with whom he had a long correspondence; and John Frederick Sackville, 3rd Duke of Dorset, with whom he shared a keen cricketing rivalry.

Sir Horatio had his family seat at Bourne, near Canterbury. Within its grounds he had his own cricket ground Bishopsbourne Paddock which staged many first-class matches during the 18th century. He later moved to Dandelion, near Margate, and established another ground there which was used for some first-class games towards the end of the 18th century.

But his generosity was too great and in 1808, a victim of wagering massive sums of matches, he was declared bankrupt.