Herbert Brooks (born 1858), was an English

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 ...

footballer who played in the 1880s, who played in Scotland for

Edinburgh University RFC Edinburgh University Rugby Football Club is a leading rugby union side based in Edinburgh, Scotland which currently plays its fixtures in the Edinburgh Regional Shield competition and the British Universities Premiership. It is one of the eight ...

, and was selected to play at a representative level for the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...

on the

1888 British Lions tour to New Zealand and Australia The 1888 British Isles tour to New Zealand and Australia was a tour by a British rugby union team, known at the time as the "English Footballers", throughout New Zealand and Australia. Although a private venture not organised by any official b ...

, the first tour by a team representing the British Isles.Lions rugby official site – profile of Herbert Brooks
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Early life and career

Herbert Brooks was born on 1 July 1858 in

Holmfirth Holmfirth is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England, on the A635 and A6024 in the Holme Valley, at the confluence of the River Holme and Ribble, south of Huddersfield and west of Barnsley. It mostly consist ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

, EnglandCensus Returns of England and Wales, 1871, Class: RG10; Piece: 4883; Folio: 50; Page: 33; GSU roll: 848002 to Henry Brooks and Mary. His father was from

Nailsea Nailsea is a town in Somerset, England, southwest of Bristol, and northeast of Weston-super-Mare. The nearest village is Backwell, which lies south of Nailsea on the opposite side of the Bristol to Exeter railway line. Nailsea had a populatio ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, whilst his mother was born in

Longbenton Longbenton is a district of North Tyneside, England. It is largely occupied by an extensive estate originally built as municipal housing by Newcastle City Council in the 1930s and extended in the 1950s. It is served by the Tyne and Wear Metro st ...

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

. Herbert had three older brothers, John, Thomas and Frederick, and an older sister Catherine, as well as a younger sister, Florence. His father was a school master and from 1876 ran his own private school in

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...

called ''Cleveland College'' on Milbank Road, near the junction with Carmel Road. The buildings housing the school later became St Joseph's Home. Henry Brook died on 18 March 1897 and the school closed in 1900.

Domestic career

Herbert Brooks started playing rugby at the age of 16 for

Darlington RFC Darlington RFC are a rugby union team that are situated in the North East town of Darlington, County Durham. They play at Blackwell Meadows on the south side of the town running parallel to the town's A66 by-pass. The first XV plays in Durham/ ...

as a fullback, and when he was just 17 was selected to play for his county side, Durham County, against Northumberland. The following year he represented Durham once again against Yorkshire at three-quarter back and then retired from the game for a while. Whilst studying medicine at

Edinburgh University The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 1582 ...

(from 1878 to 1883) he took up rugby once more and was elected captain of the university side in 1882–83. In that season he was chosen on the East v. West in Scotland. In all, he played six times in the venerable Edinburgh v. Glasgow match, and in the other inter-university matches. In 1884 he was selected to play for the North of England vs the South and was once again called up for Durham County. His career took him abroad but when he returned from Burmah in 1887 he played

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

as a right wing forward for

Darlington F.C. Darlington Football Club is an association football club based in Darlington, County Durham, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team competes in the National League North, at the sixth tier of English football. The club was founded in 1 ...

and played in the final of the Durham Cup, and was in the winning side of the Cleveland Association Cup. He took up rugby once more in 1887/1888 and was immediately selected for the Durham County team, and was chosen captain. His professional duties prevented him playing against Yorkshire and Middlesex, but he was able to play against Cheshire and Northumberland.

British Isles

Brooks played 17 times on the 1888 Lions Tour on the wing or at centre, scoring three tries, while he also refereed several matches.

Later life

For a time Herbert lived in

Salford Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...

, working as a General Practitioner there in 1891. By 1901, Herbert was living his wife, Bessie, in

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

where he was a surgeon.1901 England Census, Class: RG13; Piece: 3837; Folio: 23; Page: 10

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brooks, Herbert 1858 births Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Association football forwards British & Irish Lions rugby union players from England Darlington F.C. players Darlington RFC players Durham County RFU players Edinburgh University RFC players English footballers English rugby union players Rugby union fullbacks Rugby union players from Darlington Year of death missing