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The grave of Unwin Sowter JP in Derby's Nottingham Road Cemetery

Unwin Sowter in cricket garb in 1874

Barely a few steps beyond the main entrance to Derby's Nottingham Road Cemetery is an unobtrusive grave to Unwin Sowter JP.

Few visitors would give it a second glance, for it betrays no hint of the talents and minor celebrity of its occupant - yet Unwin Sowter in his day was every inch a Derbeian of distinction.

He was born in Derby on 22 April 1839 into a mill-owning family who settled in the Duffield area. In time he served his hometown as a highly-respected alderman and Justice of the Peace, and was Mayor of Derby in 1879-80.

He was well-known in the town as proprietor of the large Sowter Brothers flour mill adjacent the more famous Silk Mill in Derby, but perhaps his more interesting claim to fame is in sport.

Unwin Sowter was a pioneer of organised cricket in Derby and district, and on 26 and 27 May, 1871, at Old Trafford, Manchester, played for Derbyshire against Lancashire in Derbyshire's inaugural first first-class match as a county cricket club.

Derbyshire won the contest with ease, Lancashire being bowled out for a miserly 25 runs in their first innings. That still stands as the second lowest total for which a county has been dismissed in a game against Derbyshire.

Lancashire managed a two-innings total of only 136, which was insufficient to require Derbyshire to bat again, after the visitors had themselves notched only a moderate first-innings score of 147. Sowter - a right-handed batsman - was responsible for a very creditable 47, the highest innings of the match.

He appeared for Derbyshire seven times in all from 1871-76 before retiring with his unassailable 'first' securely under his belt.

Sowter Road, near St. Mary's Bridge and Full Street in Derby, was named in his honour in 1898.

Unwin Sowter died in Derby on 14 April 1910, eight days before his 71st birthday, although his grave, which he shares with his wife and daughter, credits him with having attained the age of 71.

This piece is one of the Grave Matters series which records unusual or interesting Derbyshire gravestones. Click on the link to see the list or to add to it.

• Sowter, Unwin - Derby's mayor played cricket for County.
• UNWIN SOWTER

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County:  Derbyshire