Blackheath FC is the oldest independent rugby team that continues to compete today. They are based in London, south of the River Thames near Greenwich. The club currently plays in the third tier of English rugby, the National League 1. On the day in which this was written, they sit at 11th of 15 teams in the table, with a record of 6-0-17 for a total of 46 points. They have scored 462 points while giving up 553, amounting to a -91 point differential. Blackheath is managed today by James Shanahan, who is also the head coach of Cambridge Rugby Union Football Club.
The club began its play in Blackheath in 1858 at Blackheath Proprietary School (Our History, 2022, para. 1). It was founded by William Burnett, their first captain, brothers Alex and John Sinclair and R.E. Gower. However, despite its efforts to operate as a proprietary school, they became a self-declared open club in 1862, changing its name to Blackheath Football Club; they were formerly known as the Old Blackheathens (Milestones, 2022, pg. 1). Although Blackheath is the oldest independent club, they played rugby squads connected to institutions that had been formed prior to 1858. The nickname still referring to Blackheath today, “The Club,” has been used since its origin (Our History, 2022, para. 6).
There have been a few different venues on which the first team has competed. Originally, the club played on a heath opposite the Princess of Wales pub until spectators rushed the field in 1877, injuring some players and themselves. This caused a move to Richardson’s Field for a few years until they moved to Rectory Field, their home from 1883 to 2016. Rectory Field is at the Blackheath Cricket Football & Lawn Tennis Club, which was created in 1885 to accommodate the new and often used facilities (Milestones, 2022, pg. 3). In addition to rugby, the field is still used today for cricket, squash and tennis (Mead, 2022, para. 16). Therefore, rugby, the most popular of the four, had been earning the most revenue but had been unable to retain all of it. This led to a move to Well Hall in Eltham in 2016 (Our History, 2022, para. 9-11). Although the historic Rectory Field was a source of nostalgia and history for fans, Well Hall allows for the club to have a proper field for them to compete on professionally while also allowing for more earning opportunities. Managing director Russ Ticchurst emphasized how if they had “‘been able to stay there and realise the income, [they] would have stayed. It wasn’t an option though, and [they] couldn’t carry on watching that revenue go out the door’” (Mead, 2022, para. 16). Despite the change in venue, fans continue to come to matches to watch the team; Well Hall is much more modern than Rectory Field and has great facilities- it only lacks the history of the former stadium. It is also home to the University of Greenwich and helps their rugby club’s efforts.
In addition to their own club history, they have shaped the sport of rugby in the United Kingdom itself. Blackheath was a founding member of the Football Association, the governing body of football in England. However, they walked “out of [a] meeting [for the] Football Association…which caused the schism in football that divided it into two codes - soccer and rugby” (Our History, 2022, para. 7). The reason for this was because Francis Maule Campbell, representative and treasurer of Blackheath FC (and treasurer for the Football Association), “expressed outrage at the banning of the rules that allowed hacking – kicking of shins – and carrying the ball” (Mead, 2022, para. 9). This adoption of rules was known as the Cambridge rules as opposed to the Blackheath favored rugby school rules. Therefore, only a few months after the Football Association was formed in 1863, Blackheath left and played by rules they had formed themselves in 1862 (Milestones, 2022, pg. 2). Ironically, hacking was banned in 1866 in rugby as well, and in 1871 the Rugby Football Union was formed with 21 clubs, Blackheath being one of them (Milestones, 2022, pg. 2). Blackheath Football Club is special in this way because they were one of the clubs to found both the Football Association and the Rugby Football Union, the latter of which is the governing body of rugby for the United Kingdom.
Blackheath has also been a pioneer for rugby on the international stage. Fred Stokes, captain of both Blackheath FC and the England national team, led the English national team in a match against Scotland in 1871, the first international rugby match. The invitation to compete was sent out by Scottish rugby clubs and the Secretary of Blackheath, Benjamin Burns, accepted the challenge (1871, 2022, para. 2). The match was played at 20-a-side, as opposed to the 15 we know today, while 4,000 spectators in Edinburgh watched Scotland defeat England by a goal (1871, 2022, para. 2). This began competitions on an international stage, which plays a large role today, as there are competitions such as the Rugby World Cup and the Six Nations. England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, France and Italy are involved in the latter competition, almost all of whom are generally in the top 10 rankings for rugby.
A decade after the first international rugby match, England hosted Wales for the first time at Richardson’s Field (Blackheath’s home ground). England dominated the match, winning “by eight goals and five tries to nothing” (Open, 2015, para. 4). Although Wales struggled initially, they have become a respectable rugby country today. This match between the two set a precedent for years to come, and their involvement in the Six Nations speaks to their strength in the sport.
There have been many other events which have shaped Blackheath FC and rugby in the United Kingdom as a whole. Both World Wars impacted rugby heavily because many of the players were enlisted in the wars. Sadly, the first World War resulted in over 50 casualties for Blackheath’s club. However, immediately after the war in the 1919-20 season, Blackheath performed very well and won 23 out of 25 matches (Milestones, 2022, pg. 6). Rugby continued after this until the 1939-40 season, when World War II stopped its operations. When rugby resumed after this war, Blackheath were forced to temporarily move from Rectory Field and joined forces with Richmond FC. Rectory Field had been damaged during the war and was “used as an anti-aircraft barrage balloon site, part of the defences of London” (Milestones, 2022, pg. 7). They were not able to return to Rectory Field until 1946, when they became their own individual club again. The involvement of players on rugby squads across the country was indicative of the impact that each world war had on sports.
Blackheath’s recent history has failed to live up to the expectations of the oldest independent rugby club. Becoming a professional club in 1996 (the professional era began in 1995-96), Blackheath hoped to join the Premiership, the top flight of English football. They had planned to combine with a New Zealand club, the Auckland Blues, which would allow them to play rugby year-round. However, New Zealand backed out of the deal. Additionally, top funder and former player of Blackheath, Frank McCarthy, died in 1999. Blackheath was not able to raise the 1,000,000 pounds required for the Premiership and have not been able to push their way to the top league since (Milestones, 2022, pg. 8). Similarly to the Premier League, without a millionaire owner (or billionaire, in many team’s cases), it is difficult to succeed in English sport. Blackheath’s goal has been to play at the highest level possible under their current financial situation. This is a rather uninspiring goal; however, Russ Ticchurst explains that “we’re very boring at Blackheath…But that’s why we’ve been around for a long time” (Mead, 2022, para. 50). Although this does not excite anyone from a fan and player’s perspective, their rather lack of risk taking does contribute to their longevity.
Blackheath dropped from the second tier of rugby to the third tier in the 1998-99 season before McCarthy died. However, after his death they dropped to tier 4 the next season and stayed there until the 2002/03 season, making their way back up to National League 1, where they have stayed ever since.
Today, Blackheath operates at a low level for a professional club. Although they have recently moved to a more modern stadium in West Hall, their attendance ranges from 250 to 1000, averaging around 800 fans, according to Ticchurst. This is why they use Well Hall for other purposes, such as training grounds for the Millwall Academy (Mead, 2022, para. 21). Additionally, they still use the grounds at Rectory Field for their amateur and youth level teams, in addition to other events. For the First XV matches at Well Hall, they charge 15 pounds for non-members while members go free. Matches generally take place at 3 pm on Saturdays.
Unfortunately, the relatively small operation level that Blackheath performs at is quite obvious. Even with the move, Well Hall only has 2 seated stands and terracing with 2 small bars by the ground (one of which, the Greene King Bar, is the go-to fan area pre and post-match). By looking at their website, it is clear that they have not updated their results or fixtures since 4 September 2021. Wikipedia and the National League 1 table, on the other hand, are both updated as of today. This is concerning for Blackheath considering their professional status. Additionally, Well Hall itself is smaller than many high school stadiums in the United States, which is also cause for concern. Blackheath uses volunteers to help their day-to-day operations and have few full-time staff. Even their head coach has a second job as Cambridge’s head coach, proving his focus cannot solely be on one or the other.
Still, the organization is able to host a large variety of teams. Blackheath has their first XV, a social side called the Bandits XV and an even lower-level squad named the Buccaneers. Additionally, they have two women’s teams, one which plays in the league Championship South 1 and the other in the Challenge League. Then, at a youth level, there are girls, minis (U6-U11), juniors (U12-U15) and colts (U16-U18) teams. As an open club, anyone is encouraged to attend training sessions and play in matches. Through the lower-level teams, one can rise up to the first XV teams for both the men and women’s sides. This is a concept that is unknown to me, as players are not generally invited to participate, but instead have trained their entire lives to be recruited by scouts. Regardless, despite the lack of success Blackheath has seen, they have been able to stay consistent in National League 1.
The emphasis placed on youth sports and community involvement is an honorable aspect of the club. They have a Director of Youth and Development and host a large number of youth events in which anyone can attend and participate. They work in schools in the area and hold competitions between these schools at Rectory Field (Milestones, 2001, pg. 10). Additionally, in the 2007/08 season, “Blackheath also became a Community Amateur Sports Club (C.A.S.C.) to give the club the ability to raise funds in a tax-deductible manner” (Milestones, 2022, pg. 10).
Although they are involved in charitable work and have a rich history, the club still struggles for a large fanbase. Instead, Blackheath is composed of a small, dedicated fanbase, likely due to their inability to raise sustainable funds and reach the RFU Championship, the second tier or English rugby, let alone the Gallagher Premiership Rugby, the top tier. There are few events that bring large amounts of fans to the grounds; one successful match is their annual competition against Richmond FC, who currently competes in the RFU Championship. This event began in 1864, which was the first match between the two (Milestones, 2022, pg. 3). However, they have few other revenue sources with their lack of large attendance. They have 12 sponsors listed on their website; however, only Mizuno is recognizable to me. These are likely their main source of revenue, despite the contracts' relatively low value. A partnership with Blackheath starts at 250 pounds for a player specific sponsorship and goes up to 20,000 pounds per season for the headline front of shirt sponsor for the first XV. Other sponsor space includes PA announcements, adverts in their matchday web programme, apparel sponsorships ranging from training tees to official kits, advertising boards/banners and various packages which promise a certain amount of exposure based on which level a company purchases. However, these offers would only reach, at a maximum, about 1,000 people per match. Therefore, my guess is that the club struggles to find sponsors, which is why their sponsorship presentation is placed directly on their official website. Still, Blackheath depends on these funds for their operation.
To their benefit, though, Blackheath F.C. is able to use their history as a selling point. From Fred Stokes achievements on the field to Frank McCarthy’s contributions off the field, there have been many important people in their organization. Although you would not be able to tell by looking at them today, “Blackheath [held] the record for the most international caps gained by its players until the Professional era started in 1995-96” (Our History, 2022, para. 8). They have also had 17 of their players go on to become president of the Rugby Football Union (Milestones, 2022, pg. 2). Additionally, some of Blackheath’s players have been influential in their international careers, both in rugby and sometimes in other sports as well. Andrew Earnest Stoddart captained the English national team in both rugby and cricket in the 1890s. Charles Burgess Fry played “cricket, soccer, rugby, and was holder of the world long jump record for 25 years” (Our History, 2022, para. 6). C.H. “Cherry” Pillman was an English international who captained Blackheath after World War I and helped guide them to success, both on-the-field and through financial hardship. Cyril Nelson Lowe played for the English national side “25 consecutive times between 1913 and 1923” (Our History, 2022, para. 17). Unfortunately, most of the influential players are well in the past, and Blackheath is in need of a household name to help propel them to a higher status in the rugby world.
There are other stories regarding The Club as well, which have less to do with their history and are more relevant to pop culture. Dr. John Watson in Sherlock Holmes was said to play for Blackheath Football Club in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s novels. Watson would have played on the heath based on the time frame of these novels. (Milestones, 2022, pg. 12) Additionally, a potential Jack the Ripper suspect, M.J. Druitt, was secretary for Blackheath FC (Milestones, 2022, pg. 12). Therefore, the squad plays nearly as large of a role in popular culture as they do in the world of sports.
The history and current status of Blackheath FC has been outlined throughout this essay, and they carry on as a rugby squad today. Their ultimate goal is to rise through the ranks; they finished 4th in the National League 1 rugby table in the 2019/20 season before the pandemic struck and rugby, as all other sports, was halted. Although it does not look like they are going to be promoted this season, Blackheath FC will continue on their journey as a long-lasting rugby club. However, promotion will be extremely difficult unless their financial status increases and some risks are taken.
References
Match report: The first England v Wales Rugby International. Open.edu. (2015, September 16). Retrieved March 13, 2022, from https://www.open.edu/openlearn/health-sports-psychology/health/sport-and-fitness/sport/match-report-the-first-england-v-wales-rugby-international
Mead, A. (2022, February 28). Blackheath FC. Rugby Journal. Retrieved March 12, 2022, from https://www.therugbyjournal.com/rugby-blog/blackheath-fc
Milestones from the 150 years of History of the Oldest Independent Rugby Club of the World. charltonparks.co.uk. (2022). Retrieved March 12, 2022, from https://www.charltonparks.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Blackheath-Rugby-Club-1851-2001.pdf
NCA Rugby. (2022, March 12). National 1 table. National League Rugby. Retrieved March 12, 2022, from https://www.ncarugby.com/national-1-table/
Our History. Blackheath Rugby. (2022). Retrieved March 12, 2022, from https://blackheathrugby.co.uk/our-history/
1871 - Scotland and England play first international. Raeburn Place Foundation. (2022). Retrieved March 13, 2022, from https://www.raeburnplacefoundation.org/rugby-beginnings/interactive-timeline/scotland-and-england-play-first-international#:~:text=The%20first%20rugby%20international%20took,goal%20to%20England's%20single%20try.
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