which killed a horse, a calf and several poultry, as well as burning away worth of hay and damaging the farmhouse. It is claimed that the fire could be seen from Colchester, where a large crowd gathered on North Hill. This was the first of many fires. The Police had trouble tracking down the perpetrators as many in the village were sympathetic towards them. However, in 1843 Robert Woodward was found guilty of fire raising after an undercover policeman in the White Hart and his lover came forward with evidence. He was sentenced to transportation for life to Australia. During this period the village Cricket Club was founded on its original location to the west of the brewery,. The first recorded cricket match in the village was a decade earlier between the Gentlemen of Essex and the Gentlemen of Norfolk played over three days commencing on 15 July 1831. The Essex County Standard reported that although the bad weather effected the amount of cricket that could be played, with delays on the first two days, there was considerable interest in the game. Essex won by 89 runs. By the 1940s the club had moved to its current location on Manor Road. A football club was not formed in the village until 1911. it was nicknamed The Brewers'', and played mostly friendlies using the cricket ground as a pitch. The current West Bergholt FC was founded in 1938 and became stable enough to maintain membership of a league, playing on its current location of the Memorial Field. The first success of the club came in 1981 winning the Border League Division 2. Education The village by the 19th century already had a fee-paying school, but nothing for the poor. The vicar at the time, Reverend William Sims, had already applied to the Church of England for funding for the building of a school for the poor, but by 1833 he had raised only £55 of the £300 needed and appealed again. By then the village had grown in numbers and more money was needed for a larger school than originally planned. However, William Sims died before he could see the fruits of his labour. Fortunately the next vicar, his son, Frederick Sims, was able to raise £400 by public subscription. The school was built on the Heath and two cottages were made alongside it: one for the schoolmaster and his wife