Cricket fans across the globe will instantly recognise the famous logo and colours of Gray-Nicolls cricket bats, used by cricket superstars in countries including England, Australia, New Zealand, and Pakistan.
But not many people know that one of the most iconic cricket brands in the world started life in Robertsbridge in Rother in 1875, when carpenter Levi James Nicolls started to make cricket bats. About the same time, bats were also being made by HJ Gray, in Cambridge, and decades later the two would merge to form Gray-Nicolls.
To help highlight the achievements of the company and over 150 years of cricket bat making, councillors from Rother District Council recently visited the business and were given a tour of the workshop – where Gray-Nicolls bats continue to be made to this day.
Councillor Doug Oliver, Leader of Rother District Council said: “We had a fantastic tour at Gray-Nicolls, and it was great to see the skills used by their staff to craft the bats.
“It is amazing to think that the first bats were being made in Robertsbridge 150 years ago, and this week, one of England’s best players, Harry Brook, will walk out at Lords in the first test with a Gray-Nicolls bat.
“Other cricket superstars who use Gray-Nicolls bats include England’s Tammy Beaumont, New Zealand’s Kane Williamson, and Australia’s Travis Head. It underlines the esteem shown to this cricket bat maker right across the world.”
The story of Gray-Nicolls is a tale of two families and two workshops. In 1855 HJ “Harry” Gray founded Grays in Cambridge, first making rackets and then cricket bats. LJ Nicolls was crafting his bats some 100 miles south in Robertsbridge and during the Second World War, the two companies merged to form Gray-Nicolls.
In the 1970s, Gray-Nicolls started to produce its famous “Scoop” design, producing the bats at Robertsbridge but also at its newly established manufacturing site south of Melbourne in Australia. The Scoop would soon become one of the most popular cricket bats of the 1970s and 1980s.
Through the 1990s and 2000s, Gray-Nicolls was the brand of choice for England captains. Michael Atherton, Nasser Hussain, Sir Andrew Strauss, and Sir Alastair Cook all used Gray-Nicolls throughout their tenures in charge.
To read more about the history of Gray-Nicolls please visit: www.gray-nicolls.co.uk/pages/about-us Rother District Cllrs who attended the visit were: Cllr Doug Oliver, Cllr Sue Prochak, Cllr Terry Byrne, Cllr Hazel Timpe, Cllr Polly Gray, Cllr Ruairi McCourt, Cllr Cheryl Creaser, and Cllr Nicola McLaren. Chief Executive, Lorna Ford also attended the tour.
Published: 3rd June 2026
