The Lord Wakefield Match History (Part 1)

by
posted on December 24, 2020
** When you buy products through the links on our site, we may earn a commission that supports NRA's mission to protect, preserve and defend the Second Amendment. **
wakefield1.jpg

Prologue

It all began with a fire in the ovens of the shop of Thomas Farriner, King Charles II’s appointed baker, in London’s Pudding Lane, on Sunday, Sept. 2, 1666. The wind-driven flames quickly spread, running amok for three days until finally extinguished, leaving 436 acres of the great city—including 13,200 houses, 87 parish churches and St Paul’s Cathedral—a smoldering ruin. Nearly 90 percent of the city’s inhabitants were made homeless by the blaze. London, which had just begun to recover from the Great Plague of 1665, the last widespread outbreak of bubonic plague in England, was dealt a terrible blow. 

Sir Christopher Wren, Surveyor General to King Charles II and the architect of St. Paul’s Cathedral, was commissioned by the King to supervise the rebuilding which took the better part of the next decade to complete.

Part of the project was to be a permanent memorial of the Great Fire. He called upon his friend Dr. Robert Hooke, natural philosopher, architect and polymath, to provide a design for a colossal Doric column to commemorate the Great Fire. The Monument, as it is commonly known, is 202 feet tall, the exact distance between it and the site of Farriner’s Bakery. 

More importantly to the shooting community, The Monument served as the model for a shooting challenge trophy. Lord Charles Cheers Wakefield, Baron Wakefield of Hythe, a member of The SMRC’s governing council, gifted it to the Society of Miniature Rifle Clubs (SMRC), now the National Small-bore Rifle Association of Great Britain (NSRA) in 1933. 

It was perhaps fitting that Wakefield was Baron Wakefield of Hythe, because that pleasant village in Kent was the site of the British Army’s School of Musketry from 1853, until it moved to Waterloo Lines, Warminster, Wiltshire, in 1969.

The Wakefield Trophy Finds A Home

The Wakefield Trophy was designated as the prize in 1933 for the winner of a 40-shot prone postal event between Great Britain and Sweden. That relationship was so strong that the plate at the base of the trophy is engraved, “For annual small-bore team competition between Great Britain and Sweden” in both languages.

In its original format, 10 riflemen shot eight five-shot strings prone, five minutes per string, using .22 rifles with metallic sights for an aggregate score of 4000. The match ran continuously from 1933 to 1984, with the exception of the years that Great Britain was involved in World War II (1939-45), as Sweden stood by as a neutral power, more or less.

Part 2 of our history on the Wakefield Trophy Match is coming soon. Subscribe to the free Insider newsletter for the latest updates.


Read more: History Of U.S. Participation In The Interallied Smallbore Rifle Team Match

Latest

CMP Buynow 1
CMP Buynow 1

CMP Streamlines Legacy M1 Garand Sales With Easy ‘Buy Now’ Feature

CMP’s new fixed-price “Buy Now” system makes it easier than ever to own a legacy, non-reclaimed M1 Garand rifle.

Watchtower Firearms, Demolition Ranch Team Up For Limited-Edition DEMOLITIA Blackout 1911

Watchtower Firearms releases limited-edition double-stack 1911 chambered in 9 mm designed with input from Demolition Ranch.

Federal Ammunition Honored With National 4-H Shooting Sports Pioneer Award

Federal Ammunition receives 2025 4-H Shooting Sports Pioneer Award for over 40 years of support for youth programs.

New: Smith & Wesson M&P 15 AXE Rifles

Smith & Wesson launches the M&P 15 AXE lineup of suppressor-ready rifles with reduced gas blowback and modern features.

Review: Savage Arms Mark II & Winchester’s .21 Sharp

As demonstrated in the Savage Mark II FV-SR, Winchester’s .21 Sharp cartridge offers higher velocity and greater precision than .22 Long Rifle rounds.

Marsh Edges Stine In Canadian Showdown To Win Lapua Monarch Cup Opener

Justin Marsh edges Jake Stine by one point to win the Canadian NRA Smallbore Silhouette Nationals and first stage of the 2025 Lapua Monarch Cup.

Interests



Get the best of Shooting Sports USA delivered to your inbox.