Block:"Base-ball" Mentioned in Lady Hervey's Letter: November 14, 1748
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| Data | A letter from Mary Lepel (Lady Hervey) of Ickworth Hall, Suffolk, to Rev. Edmund Morris of Hampshire mentions "base-ball" being played in London by the family of Frederick, Prince of Wales: "…in a large room they divert themselves at Base-ball, a play all who are or have been schoolboys are well acquainted with; the Ladys (sic) as well as Gentlemen join in this amusement..." |
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| Sources | Copy of letter dated Nov. 14, 1748 found among Hervey family papers in the Suffolk History Centre, Bury St Edmunds. Also, reprinted in "Letters of Mary Lepel, Lady Hervey," London, 1821, John Murray, pp. 139-140 |
| Block Notes | The original of this letter cannot be located and may no longer exist. The copy in the Suffolk archive appears to date to the 18th century but whether it was taken at the same time as the original cannot be determined. It is not in Lady Hervey's hand. Frederick's son George, age 10, (the future George III) was almost certainly among the ball players. Although Lady Hervey observed the prince's family playing baseball at Leicester House in London, they spent most of the year at Cliveden, their estate on the Thames at Taplow in Bucks. |
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