2007 saw one of the finest seasons in Carlton’s long and proud history. The 1st XI won the Masterton Trophy, reached the final of the Scottish Cup and spent most of the season battling for the Premier League title. Our other sides, both junior and senior, chased more silverware, picking up a further five trophies.

Under the leadership of Cedric English, and supported by inspirational Aussie professional Peter Wooden, the 1st XI had a season to remember. While the persistent midsummer weekend monsoons put paid to their title challenge, the cups brought success to Grange Loan. A fine Scottish Cup run took Carlton to the final at Paisley, and despite a thrilling comeback, Carlton just lost out to double winners Greenock in a low-scoring contest. The following weekend, the season ended on a high with a superb victory over old rivals Grange in the final of the Masterton Trophy (pictured, right, with captain Jamie Kerr).

As well as supplying talent to the 2nd and 3rd XIs over the summer, Carlton’s juniors also had plenty to offer in the under-age competitions. The U13s matched the 3rds by winning their league with a 100% record, to mirror their achievement earlier in the year of winning the Lothian Indoor League. They also matched the 1st XI by reaching the Scottish Cup Final, where an under-strength XI put in a brave performance before losing out to Kinross. The U15s also won their league, and then capped a memorable season by turning in a superb performance to beat Watsonians in the Lothians Cup Final.

History of the Club

The club was founded in 1863 and took its name from London's Carlton Club. Originally playing home matches on the Meadows and in Stockbridge Park (now Inverleith Park), the club moved to Grange Loan in 1866, moving to its current location in 1904. After renting the ground for a number of years, N.L. Stephenson, who was to become the dominant personality in the club for the next half century, persuaded the club to buy the ground in 1925. To raise the purchase price, a series of fairs and carnivals were organised. Carlton has played on the same site ever since. During the early years of the Second World War, Carlton continued to play cricket, mostly as recreation for servicemen stationed in the area. Later, the ground was used for target practice, and for many years after, groundsmen would dig up bullets and shells in the course of their work.

The late ’40s and ’50s saw cricket return to Grange Loan, and the club, still under the firm hand of Dr N.L. Stephenson, continued to flourish. However, his period as the driving force behind Carlton Cricket Club was drawing to a close. In 1959 a young geologist, Alun Davies, moved from south Wales to work in Grange Terrace. It was over two years later that he noticed a cricket club playing only one street away from his office and soon became involved. A medium-paced right-arm bowler and a more-than-useful middle-order, left-handed batsman, he became the captain of the 1st XI, and went on to become the driving force at Grange Loan, noted not just for his exploits on the field, but for his blunt down-to-earth Welsh wisdom serving in various capacities in the administration of both the East League and the SCU.

In more recent years, Carlton has remained one of the top teams in the country. Since the inception of the East League in 1953, Carlton had retained its place in the top division, although gaining the reputation of being the perennial runners-up. However all that was forgotten in 1988, the club's 125th anniversary year. Carlton won the East League for the first time, the Masterton Trophy (for the sixth time) and were the Famous Grouse Team of the Year in Scotland. This was the last time any all-amateur team achieved this level of success. For many years, the club was well served by a gaggle of Swans, Alan, Richard and, occasionally, Chic. Richard Swan went on to play for Scotland and set a record for the number of matches as captain. Jim Govan joined the club in 1986, going on to join Richard in the Scotland side before moving south to play professionally with Northants, returning later to play for Carlton once again. More recent Carlton players to gain international recognition are Bryn Lockie, Cedric English, Fraser Watts & Jamie Kerr.  Former Scotland captains George Salmond and Craig Wright also played a season at Grange Loan.

Junior Development

During the 1980s Peter Nettleton, for many years the 1st XI wicket-keeper, had started junior coaching sessions. Followed on by David Watts and Gavin Scott, Carlton became a hot-bed of junior cricket in Edinburgh, a situation that continues to this day under the stewardship of John Boyd.

The success of Carlton’s junior section is shown by the number of children introduced to the game and by the number of Carlton juniors who have progressed into the senior Carlton teams and into district and national sides at both junior and senior levels.  The club was rightly proud when Fraser Watts became the first junior to graduate from the Carlton U11s through to the full Scotland team in 1998.

Carlton has been a driving force in the development of junior cricket in the East of Scotland in recent years. Indeed, a commitment to junior cricket is now a pre-requisite for membership of the Scottish National Cricket League, with member clubs required to participate in the TOPClub scheme, providing coaching and matches to develop junior cricketers - the life-blood of the game in Scotland in the decades to come. Carlton's age-group sides (U10, U11, U13 and U15) have all achieved success. However, equally important is the role of introducing children to cricket, ensuring they enjoy the game and benefit from quality instruction from Carlton's qualified coaching team.