Lausanne was a 19th-century football club that fielded teams playing both the

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 ...

and

rugby football Rugby football is the collective name for the team sports of rugby union and rugby league. Canadian football and, to a lesser extent, American football were once considered forms of rugby football, but are seldom now referred to as such. The ...

codes. It is notable for being one of the twenty-one founding members of 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 ...

History

Lausanne was established in 1867 with about sixty members. It fielded two teams of twenty aside for rugby matches but also played by Association rules. The derivation of the club's name appears to have been lost. The team's colours were violet with an amber stripe on the left arm. On 26 January 1871, they sent representation to a meeting of twenty-one London and suburban football clubs that followed

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 ...

rules (Wasps were invited but failed to attend) assembled 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 res ...

Regent Street Regent Street is a major shopping street in the West End of London. It is named after George, the Prince Regent (later George IV) and was laid out under the direction of the architect John Nash and James Burton. It runs from Waterloo Place ...

. E.C. Holmes, captain of the Richmond Club assumed the presidency. It was resolved unanimously that the formation of a Rugby Football Society was desirable and thus the

was formed. A president, a secretary and treasurer, and a committee of thirteen were elected, to whom was entrusted the drawing-up of the laws of the game upon the basis of the code in use at Rugby School. Although Lausanne was considered prominent enough to have been invited, they did not gain any of the thirteen places on the original committee.Marshall, Francis, ''Football; the Rugby union game'', p68, (1892) (London Paris Melbourne, Cassell and company, limited) The club played its football at the Rosemary Branch Grounds (once east of the current Blake's Road, and now covered by the vast

North Peckham Estate Peckham () is a district in southeast London, within the London Borough of Southwark. It is south-east of Charing Cross. At the 2001 Census the Peckham ward had a population of 14,720. History "Peckham" is a Saxon place name meaning the vil ...

). Lausanne were known to have used the pub called the "Rosemary Branch", on Southampton Street, Peckham, to change. In 1874 the club relocated to

New Cross Gate New Cross is an area in south east London, England, south-east of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Lewisham and the SE14 postcode district. New Cross is near St Johns, Telegraph Hill, Nunhead, Peckham, Brockley, Deptford and Greenwi ...

and then in 1875 to

Dulwich Dulwich (; ) is an area in south London, England. The settlement is mostly in the London Borough of Southwark, with parts in the London Borough of Lambeth, and consists of Dulwich Village, East Dulwich, West Dulwich, and the Southwark half of ...

, and whilst there they changed at the Greyhound pub in

Dulwich Village Dulwich Village is an affluent area of Dulwich in South London. It is located in the London Borough of Southwark. History "Dulwich Village" is also the name of the village High Street. Residents in Dulwich Village have to pay ground rent to t ...

Disbandment

The club disbanded in 1881 after just fourteen seasons.

Notable players

Despite their apparent prominence, the club produced no international players.

References

{{Rugby Football Union Founding Clubs Rugby union teams in England Rugby union clubs in London Defunct rugby union teams in England Defunct football clubs in London Association football clubs established in 1867 Association football clubs disestablished in 1881 Defunct football clubs in England Rugby clubs established in 1867 1867 establishments in England 1881 disestablishments in England Dulwich