John Buttery, born in Nottingham on 21 December 1815, was a lacemaker and resided in Hockley, Nottingham.
An ‘excellent’ medium pace bowler (though of what style cannot be established) he belonged to the Rancliffe Arms Club and made his Nottinghamshire debut v MCC at Lord’s in August 1843. He played in three First-Class matches for the County, one for Nottingham, two for Manchester and two for Lancashire – these later two coming when he was engaged as professional with Manchester. In his nine First-Class games he scored 148 runs at 9.86, top score 36 and took 21 wickets at 13.38, the best return being 7-82 against Sheffield for Manchester.
Buttery, considered ideal as a practice bowler because of his accuracy and his ability to bowl almost for hours on end, was professional at Oxford for some twenty years; in the later stages of his career he combined playing with umpiring.
In 1873 he caught a severe cold and never recovered, dying on 5 December that year, shortly before his 60th birthday, at his home in Nottingham.
July 2020
Nottinghamshire First-Class Number: 58