Blackheath Football Club is a

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

club based in

Well Hall Well Hall is a place to the north of Eltham in the Royal Borough of Greenwich in southeast London, England, with no present formal boundaries and located east-southeast of Charing Cross.Eltham Eltham ( ) is a district of southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is east-southeast of Charing Cross, and is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. The three wards of Elt ...

in south-east London. The club was founded in

Blackheath Blackheath may refer to: Places England *Blackheath, London, England ** Blackheath railway station **Hundred of Blackheath, Kent, an ancient hundred in the north west of the county of Kent, England *Blackheath, Surrey, England ** Hundred of Blackh ...

in 1858, and is the fourth-oldest rugby club in continuous existence in the world, after

Dublin University Football Club Dublin University Football Club (DUFC) is the rugby union club of the University of Dublin and Trinity College, in Dublin, Ireland, which plays in Division 1A of the All-Ireland League. History The first known record of the Club appears unde ...

(1854),

Liverpool St Helens F.C. Liverpool St Helens Football Club is an England, English rugby union team formed from the merger of Liverpool Football Club and St. Helens RUFC. The institution is not to be confused with either Liverpool F.C. (playing association football) or ...

(1857) and

Edinburgh Academical Football Club The Edinburgh Academical Football Club, also known as Edinburgh Accies, is a rugby union club in Edinburgh, Scotland. The club is currently a member of the Scottish Premiership, the top tier of Scottish club rugby. Its home ground is Raeburn Pl ...

(1857). The Blackheath club also assisted in organising the world's first rugby international (between

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

on 27 March 1871) and hosted the first international between England and Wales ten years later – the players meeting and getting changed at the Princess of Wales public house. Blackheath, along with

Civil Service F.C. Civil Service Football Club is an England, English association football, football club based in the city of London, England, London. The club originally played both association football and rugby football and the Civil Service, along with Bla ...

, is one of the two clubs that can claim to be a founder member of both

The Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the ...

and the

Rugby Football Union The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the Sports governing body, national governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby ...

. The club currently play in

National League 2 East National League 2 East is a new rugby union league at level four in the English rugby union system and provides semi-professional competition for teams in London, South East England and East of England. The remainder of England is covered b ...

, the fourth tier of the

English rugby union system Men's Rugby union in England consists of 106 leagues, which includes professional leagues at the highest level, down to amateur regional leagues. Promotion and relegation are in place throughout the system. Women's Rugby union in England cons ...

, with matches played at Well Hall, after a move from

Rectory Field Rectory Field is a sports ground in Blackheath in the Royal Borough of Greenwich in south-east London. It was developed in the 1880s by Blackheath Cricket, Football and Lawn Tennis Company and became the home ground of rugby union team Blackheath ...

in Blackheath at the end of the 2015–16 season.

History

Early history

The institution was founded as "Blackheath Football Club" in 1858 by old boys of

Blackheath Proprietary School The Blackheath Proprietary School was an educational establishment founded in 1830. In the 19th century, it had a profound influence on the game of football, in both Association and Rugby codes. In 1863, the school became one of the founders of Th ...

who played a "carrying" game of football made popular by

Rugby School Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. Up ...

. When the old boys played against the current pupils, supporters would shout for either "Club" or "School" accordingly. This is why to this day supporters of BFC shout for "Club", not for "Blackheath". In 1863 the club developed the tactic of passing the ball from player to player as an alternative to the solo break and the "kick and follow-up". Blackheath is the fourth-oldest rugby club in continuous existence in the world, after

(1854),

(1857) and

(1857), but asserts it is the "oldest independent Rugby club, meaning that it was not attached to any institution such as a military establishment, hospital, school or college." In 1863 Blackheath was a founder member of

which was formed at the

Freemasons' Tavern The Freemasons' Tavern was established in 1775 at 61-65 Great Queen Street in the West End of London. It served as a meeting place for a variety of notable organisations from the 18th century until it was demolished in 1909 to make way for the ...

, Great Queen Street, on Lincoln Inn Fields, London 26 October 1863 with the intention to frame a code of laws that would embrace the best and most acceptable points of all the various methods of play under the one heading of "football".

Francis Maule Campbell Francis Maule Campbell (c. 1844 – 30 December 1920) was a significant figure in the history of association and rugby football. Early life Campbell was born in Blackheath, Kent to Dawson Campbell, a wine merchant, and his wife Jane née Sutton ...

, a member of Blackheath, was elected treasurer. At the fifth meeting Campbell argued that hacking was an essential element of 'football' and that to eliminate hacking would "do away with all the courage and pluck from the game, and I will be bound over to bring over a lot of Frenchmen who would beat you with a week’s practice." At the sixth meeting on 8 December Campbell withdrew Blackheath, explaining that the rules that the FA intended to adopt would destroy the game and all interest in it. Other rugby clubs followed this lead and did not join the Football Association. In this way the great divide between association football and rugby took place. In December 1870 Edwin Ash, secretary of

Richmond Football Club The Richmond Football Club, nicknamed the Tigers, is an Australian rules football team playing in the Australian Football League (AFL). Between its inception in the Melbourne suburb of Richmond in 1885 and 1907, the club competed in the Victo ...

published a letter in the papers which said, "Those who play the rugby-type game should meet to form a code of practice as various clubs play to rules which differ from others, which makes the game difficult to play." On 26 January 1871 a meeting attended by representatives from 22 clubs was held in London at the

Pall Mall Restaurant The Pall Mall Restaurant was a hostelry situated at Number 1 Cockspur Street, Westminster, London, just off Pall Mall and near Trafalgar Square. The site was subsequently the offices of the White Star Line, and was then occupied by a Tex Mex rest ...

. As a result of this meeting the

(RFU) was founded. Three lawyers who had been pupils at Rugby School drew up the first laws of the game which were approved in June 1871. The Club is one of seven of the original twenty-one clubs to have survived to this day.

Later history

Blackheath initially played its matches on the Heath (meeting and changing at the Princess of Wales

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

) but occasional interruptions from spectators led the club to move, initially to a private field (Richardson's Field) in Blackheath before moving to the Rectory Field in 1883. On 27 March 1871,

(captained by Blackheath's captain and with three other Club players in the 20-strong side) played

Raeburn Place Raeburn Place is the main street of the suburb of Stockbridge, Edinburgh, Scotland, and the name of the playing fields there. Rugby The first ever international rugby football game was played on the playing fields at Raeburn Place on 27 Ma ...

, Edinburgh, losing by one point. This was the first international rugby union game in history. Richardson's Field hosted the first England v.

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

fixture on 19 February 1881, which England won, again with four Club players in the side. In 1982 Blackheath joined the list of winning teams at the

Glengarth Sevens {{primary sources, date=October 2011 The Glengarth Sevens was an annual 7 a-side rugby union tournament held at Davenport Rugby Club The first Glengarth Sevens was held in 1967 at Headlands Road, home of Davenport Rugby Club. Its celebrated its ...

at Stockport R.U.F.C. Blackheath were one of the opponents for

The Original All Blacks The Original All Blacks (also known simply as "The Originals") were the first New Zealand national rugby union team to tour outside Australasia. They toured the British Isles, France and the United States of America during 1905–1906. Their op ...

on their 1905–06 northern hemisphere tour, the first-ever New Zealand rugby union tour outside of Australasia. The touring side ran out 32–0 victors. After 158 years it was announced that the 2015–16 season would be the last playing at the historic

as the club had made the difficult decision to move to their training ground,

, for the 2016–17 season to maximise matchday revenue and to continue developing for the future. Blackheath played their last game at the Rectory Field on 30 April 2016, beating Blaydon 45–17.

Current standings

Modern club

*Blackheath FC's first team currently plays in National Division 1 in England, but the club fields many sides. *The mini and junior sections have their own home ground, based at Kidbrooke Road, Well Hall, London, SE9. *The club also has two women's teams, the first XV winning the Championship South East 2 League back to back in seasons 2015–16 and 2016–17. *The club provides sections ranging from under-6's right through to under-18's, and has experienced success at all levels. *The mini section ran its first Mini Rugby Festival at

Eltham College Eltham College is an independent day school situated in Mottingham, southeast London. Eltham and Mottingham once formed part of the same parish, hence its name. It is a member of The Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC). Early hi ...

on 25 November 2007. *The club also runs a rugby academy, which started in its current format in 2013, for boys who wish to continue their academic studies alongside playing rugby. The academy is also based at Well Hall.

Notable players

:''See also :Blackheath F.C. players'' * David Allen – openside flanker who played at Club for 13 seasons between 2004 and 2016, scoring 147 league tries from 274 appearances and becoming the all-time top try scorer in tier 3. Gained 8 caps for the

England Counties XV England Counties XV is a representative rugby union team, formed in 2002, open to English players who play in the County Championship and the third tier (and below) of the English rugby union system. Players from the Premiership and RFU Champi ...

as well as appearing for the

Barbarians A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be less c ...

. *

Harold Dingwall Bateson Harold Dingwall Bateson (2 May 1855 – 29 October 1927) was an English rugby union international player. Personal history Bateson was born in Liverpool, Lancashire. He was the son of William Gandy Bateson and Agnes Dingwall Bateson (née Blaiki ...

. * Thomas Batson *

George Burton (rugby union) George Burton was a rugby union international who represented England from 1879 to 1881. Early life George Burton was born on 29 August 1855 in Wakefield. He attended Winchester College. Rugby union career Burton made his international debut o ...

* Mike Campbell-Lamerton. *

Charles Arthur Crompton Lieutenant Charles Arthur Crompton RE, was a rugby union international who played for England in the first rugby international against Scotland in 1871. His Irish birth made him also the first Irish-born player to play in a rugby international a ...

, played in England's first international *

C.B. Fry Charles Burgess Fry (25 April 1872 – 7 September 1956) was an English sportsman, teacher, writer, editor and publisher, who is best remembered for his career as a cricketer. John Arlott described him with the words: "Charles Fry could b ...

* John Gallagher, All Black and member of the team that won the inaugural

Rugby World Cup The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb E ...

in 1987. * Stephen Gray, played for Canada 1987,91,95 World Cups. * Thomas Gubb * Stan Harris *

Dhani Jones Dhani Makalani Jones (born February 22, 1978) is a former American football linebacker who played for eleven seasons in the National Football League. He played college football for the Michigan Wolverines football, Michigan Wolverines, earning Al ...

* Aadel Kardooni, England A * JEC 'Birdie' Partridge * Alexander William Pearson (born 1854) *

Charles Pillman Charles Henry "Cherry" Pillman (8 January 1890 – 13 November 1955)
ESPN Scrum.com was an English

. Played for England 18 times before WW1. * Robert Pillman. Charles Pillman's younger brother who played for England against France in 1914 and was killed in Belgium in 1916 * E H D Sewell sports writer and cricketer *

Charles Sherrard Charles William Sherrard, RE (25 December 1848 – 1938) was a British Army officer and rugby union international who represented England from 1871 to 1872. Additionally, along with Lieutenant Charles Arthur Crompton RE, he was the first memb ...

(1849–1938), played in England's first international * Joe Simpson. *

Mickey Skinner Michael Gordon Skinner (born ), also known as Mickey, Mick, and Mike, is a former English rugby union player who played at flanker for Harlequins, Blackheath and . His nickname was "Mick the Munch" because of his propensity to inflict bone-sh ...

"The Munch". *

Graham Standing Graham Standing (20 December 1860 – 23 October 1909) was a rugby union international who represented England from 1882 to 1883. Early life Graham Standing was born on 20 December 1860 in Clapham, Surrey (now London). Rugby union career ...

* Frederick Stokes (1850–1929),Steve Lewis, ''One Among Equals'', 2008, pp9-10 (Vertical Editions:London) the first captain of the

England national rugby union team The England national rugby union team represents England in men's international rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. England have won the championship on 29 occasion ...

. *

Lennard Stokes Dr. Lennard Stokes was a rugby union international who represented England from 1875 to 1881. He also captained his country on five occasions, notably in the first ever match against Wales. Like his brother Frederick Stokes, after captaining h ...

(1856–1933), former captain of the

. *

Henry Taylor (rugby union) Henry Taylor was a rugby union international who represented England from 1879 to 1882. Early life Henry Taylor was born on 21 September 1858 in Greenwich. He attended Merchant Taylors' School. Rugby union career Taylor made his internationa ...

Rob Webber Rob Webber (born 1 August 1986) is a former rugby union player. Webber's position of choice was as at hooker and he could also play in the back-row. He is currently head coach at Jersey Reds. Club career He played for Leeds Carnegie in the 2 ...

. * Jack Kendall. England under 18 England deaf London Irish.

Fictional players

Dr. Watson John H. Watson, known as Dr. Watson, is a fictional character in the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Along with Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson first appeared in the novel ''A Study in Scarlet'' (1887). The last work by Doyle f ...

, character from the

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...

stories

Honours

Middlesex Sevens The Middlesex Sevens was a Rugby Sevens tournament held annually at Twickenham stadium in London, England until 2011. It was first held in 1926, and started by Dr J.A. Russell-Cargill, a London-based Scot.Bath, ''Scotland Rugby Miscellany'', p82 Th ...

(2): 1932, 1958 *

Gala Sevens Gala Sevens is an annual rugby sevens event held by Gala RFC, in Galashiels, Scotland. The Gala Sevens was the second of the Border Sevens tournaments to be instated in 1884, just behind the Melrose Sevens in 1883. Held around the start of eve ...

(1): 1957 *

Kent Cup The Kent Rugby Challenge Cup is an annual rugby union knock-out club competition organised by the Kent Rugby Football Union. It was first introduced during the 1890-91 season, with the inaugural winners being R.N.C., Greenwich. It was discontin ...

(16): 1891, 1972, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1996, 2003, 2009, 2013 *

Main Event (1): 1982 *

Davenport Plate (1): 1983 * National Division Three South (1): 2003–04

References

External links

Official website
{{The Football Association 1858 establishments in England Blackheath, London Eltham English rugby union teams Rugby clubs established in 1858 Rugby union clubs in London Rugby union in Kent Sport in the Royal Borough of Greenwich