Robert William Bell (19 December 1875 – 9 June 1950) was an English international

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 ...

forward who played club rugby for

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

and

Northern Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ra ...

. Bell played international rugby for

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 ...

Personal history

Bell was born in

Newcastle-upon-Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is als ...

in 1875 to John Robinson Bell. He was educated at

Durham School Durham School is an independent boarding and day school in the English public school tradition located in Durham, North East England and was an all-boys institution until 1985, when girls were admitted to the sixth form. The school takes pupils a ...

before matriculating to

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes fr ...

in 1896. He received his BA in 1899, and in 1901 he entered the church when he was ordained as a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

. The following year he was ordained as a priest at Newcastle. Bell took a number of positions in the Anglican church, and was Curate of

Benwell Benwell is an area in the West End of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. History The place-name 'Benwell' is first attested in the ''Historia de Sancto Cuthberto'' circa 1050 AD, where it appears as ''Bynnewalle'', from the Old English ''bionnan ...

(1901–06),

Alnwick Alnwick ( ) is a market town in Northumberland, England, of which it is the traditional county town. The population at the 2011 Census was 8,116. The town is on the south bank of the River Aln, south of Berwick-upon-Tweed and the Scottish bor ...

(1906–07), Whittingham (1907–08), Christchurch (1908–11) and St. Andrews (1911–15). In 1915 he was made

perpetual curate Perpetual curate was a class of resident parish priest or incumbent curate within the United Church of England and Ireland (name of the combined Anglican churches of England and Ireland from 1800 to 1871). The term is found in common use mainly du ...

of St. Hilda's in Darlington, a position he held until 1931, his longest post. In 1931 he became vicar of

Stamfordham, Northumberland Stamfordham is a village and civil parish in Northumberland, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2001 Census was 1,047, rising to 1,185 at the 2011 Census. The place-name ''Stamfordham'' is first attested in the Pipe Rolls for ...

Rugby career

Bell came to note as a rugby player when he represented Cambridge University, playing in three Varsity Matches. His first season with Cambridge began well, though when he suffered a shoulder injury in the December game against

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

, his team lost the match they were leading before he left the field. Bell played in his first Varsity match in 1897, which Cambridge lost two tries to nil. Bell played in the next two Varsity encounters with Oxford University, both of these matches were wins for Cambridge. In 1900, just a few weeks after the successful 1899 Varsity Match, Bell was selected to represent the England national team in the opening game of the

1900 Home Nations Championship The 1900 Home Nations Championship was the eighteenth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 6 January and 17 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Table Results ...

. The England team contained just two players with any prior international experience, and the eight members of the pack, which included Bell, were all first caps. In the opening game England played at home against

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 ...

, but lost the match 13–3. Despite the loss, Bell was reselected for the next match, played against

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. Bell had a good match and led the dribble which enabled

Tot Robinson George Carmichael "Tot" Robinson (1876–1940) was a rugby union international who represented England from 1897 to 1901. After retiring from playing rugby he became a sports administrator and rugby selector, eventually serving as president for ...

to score his second

try Try or TRY may refer to: Music Albums * ''Try!'', an album by the John Mayer Trio * ''Try'' (Bebo Norman album) (2014) Songs * "Try" (Blue Rodeo song) (1987) * "Try" (Colbie Caillat song) (2014) * "Try" (Nelly Furtado song) (2004) * " Try (Ju ...

. England finished comfortable winners, and Bell returned for his third and final international for England in the last English match of the Championship, against

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 ...

. The game ended in a scoreless draw, which allowed the Scots to retain the

Calcutta Cup The Calcutta Cup is the trophy awarded to the winner of the rugby match between England and Scotland played annually in the Six Nations Championship. Like the match itself (England–Scotland), the Calcutta Cup is the oldest trophy contested be ...

as the current holders. After leaving Cambridge, Bell continued to play rugby, and turned out for both

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 ...

and Northern, and in the 1897/98 season was selected for the invitational touring team, the Barbarians.

Bibliography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Robert William 1875 births 1950 deaths English rugby union players Rugby union forwards Rugby union players from Newcastle upon Tyne England international rugby union players Cambridge University R.U.F.C. players Barbarian F.C. players Blackheath F.C. players People educated at Durham School Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge 20th-century English Anglican priests Rugby union players from Darlington People from Stamfordham Rugby union players from Northumberland