Rugby in Tadcaster

2026-02-26T14:29:44+00:00

Tadcaster, a small town between Leeds and York, no longer has a rugby club, but between 1880 and 1969 there were six Tadcaster clubs that played rugby union and one that played Northern Union.

Tadcaster Football Club 1880 – 1882 – Rugby Union

Tadcaster Football Club 1882 – 1897 – Rugby Union

Tadcaster Church Institute 1890 - 1891 – Rugby Union

Tadcaster Clarence 1890 -1897 – Rugby Union

Tadcaster Albion 1897 – 1903 – Northern Union

Tadcaster RUFC 1932 – 1935 – Rugby Union

Tadcaster RUFC 1964 – 1969 – Rugby Union

In the 19th century football was the name used for both rugby and association football (soccer). Some football clubs played both games while others concentrated on either rugby or association football.

The first Tadcaster Football Club intended to just play association football when it was formed on Wednesday 24th January 1877 at a meeting held at the Londesborough Hotel. The club played its first game under Football Association rules on the following Saturday the 27th of January 1877. According to contemporary reports there was a pretty good attendance at the game and the play was ‘first rate’. However, it isn’t clear whether the game was against another club or just a practice match involving Tadcaster players.

Tadcaster Football Club continued to play association football for the next two seasons, but due to the popularity of rugby, it became increasingly difficult for the new club to find other local clubs that were willing to play association football.

In 1880 Tadcaster decided that in order to organise more regular fixtures it would have to become a rugby club. In the early 1880s there were more football clubs in North and West Yorkshire playing rugby than association football.

Tadcaster Football Club 1880 – 1882

Tadcaster’s first season playing rugby began on Saturday the 2nd of October 1880 with a home game against York Melbourne.

In its first season as a rugby club Tadcaster, along with thirty three other clubs, entered the prestigious Yorkshire Cup. Tadcaster was probably fortunate to be included in the draw as due to thirty four clubs having entered the competition a ballot was needed to reduce the number to thirty two. Earlsheaton St Peters and Heckmondwike Union Jacks were the two unfortunate clubs excluded from the 1881 Yorkshire Cup. The draw was made and in the first round, scheduled for the 5th March 1881, Tadcaster was drawn away to Ossett.

During its first season playing rugby Tadcaster arranged fixtures against clubs from Leeds, York and some of the other small towns in West Yorkshire. Tadcaster was also able to field a second team.

In the weeks leading up to the Yorkshire Cup first round some of the local newspapers speculated that, despite being away from home, Tadcaster could prove too strong for Ossett. The first round ties took place on the 12th of March as heavy snow on the 5th of March had resulted in all the ties being postponed. Tadcaster didn’t progress into the second round of the cup as, in a very one sided game, they were well beaten by Ossett.

Tadcaster decided not to enter the Yorkshire Cup the following season, but did continue to play regularly and turn out a second team. The Tadcaster rugby club appeared to have become well established, but then didn’t re-appear at the beginning of the 1882/83 season. It is difficult to find the reason for the club’s sudden demise, but towards the end of the 1881/82 season a club also called Tadcaster began playing association football, so it is possible that the club that began life playing association football may have reverted back to playing the round ball game.

Tadcaster Football Club 1884 – 1897

At the beginning of September 1884 a number of advertisements appeared in local newspapers announcing a meeting to be held on the 9th of September at the Railway Hotel with the purpose of forming a new Tadcaster Football Club. The club was duly formed and began advertising for fixtures against other rugby clubs.

The fixtures that Tadcaster arranged for the new season were against clubs such as York Free Wanderers, South Milford, Halton and Hunslet Nelson. Two clubs with unusual names, Leeds Middle Class School and Good Shepherds also featured in the fixture list. Results in the first season were mixed, but it was during that season that the name Bromet first appeared in the team lists and match reports. The Bromet family was associated with the second Tadcaster Football Club throughout its existence with two members of the family, William and Edward achieving national recognition. William Bromet, who captained Tadcaster Football Club in the early 1890s, made twelve England appearances between 1891 and 1896 and during the summer of 1891 both brothers toured South Africa with the British Lions.

William Bromet

Tadcaster didn’t enter the Yorkshire Cup during the 1880s, but did improve its fixture list and field two teams regularly. Most of its fixtures continued to be against local clubs. The contribution of the Bromet family was significant both on and off the field. William and Edward were undoubtedly stars on the field, but a number of other family members also played regularly and some of the club’s leading officials in the 1890s were members of the Bromet family.

In the 1890/91 season, with William Bromet as captain, the Tadcaster 1st XV had an impressive playing record:

Played 25 Won 16 Lost 7 Drawn 2

Tadcaster re-entered the Yorkshire Cup in 1890/91 beating Dudley Hill in the qualifying round before losing to Hull in the first round.

In 1993 Tadcaster Football Club became a founder member of the Yorkshire No3 competition. This was a league that included clubs such as Bingley, Skipton and Idle.

Unfortunately, despite a promising first season Tadcaster’s involvement in the Yorkshire No3 competition only lasted two seasons as following its refusal to play a re-arranged fixture the Tadcaster club was expelled from the league in 1895.

Tadcaster entered the Yorkshire Cup in the 1895/96 season and lost to Morley in the first round, but as it was no longer in a league the club struggled to find regular fixtures and field a competitive team.

The following season was even worse. Tadcaster entered the Yorkshire Cup again, but lost to Featherstone in the first round by 38 points to nil. The two seasons of struggle following its expulsion from the Yorkshire No3 competition resulted in the club folding in the summer of 1897.

Tadcaster had been able to field two teams for most of the early 1890s, a period when rugby obviously dominated the sporting scene in the town. Tadcaster Clarence and Tadcaster Church Institute were two other rugby clubs operating in the 1890s. The Church Institute appears to have only played a few local fixtures at the beginning of the decade whereas Tadcaster Clarence played regular fixtures from 1890 until it folded in 1897.

Tadcaster Clarence 1890 – 1897

This was a junior club that catered for young players under the age of eighteen. However, as there were no hard and fast rules in the 1890s it often fielded older players and played against adult teams.

There doesn’t appear to be a direct connection between Tadcaster Clarence and Tadcaster Football Club, but the better Clarence players would often move on to play for the Tadcaster Football Club.

Tadcaster Albion 1897 – 1903

When both Tadcaster Football Club and Tadcaster Clarence folded a new club emerged. However, as this club played Northern Union it seems unlikely that it involved many players and officials from the rugby union clubs.

The Tadcaster Albion Northern Union club soon became established and was very competitive against clubs from Leeds and the Castleford District. However, despite being able to field a strong Northern Union team that was also able to compete successfully against other clubs in the strong York and District League, Tadcaster Albion decided to switch to association football in 1904 and joined the Barkston Ash League.

Tadcaster RUFC 1932 – 1935

This club emerged when, despite very difficult economic times, rugby union was thriving in Yorkshire. The new Tadcaster club was based at the Londesborough Hotel the headquarters of the first Tadcaster Football Club. Tadcaster played at Golf Links Farm and used the Londesborough Hotel for changing.

The new club played its first game on Wednesday the 7th of September 1932 against a Headingley XV. Tadcaster lost the game by 29 points to nil, but the players received praise for their enthusiasm and the way they competed against a very experienced team. After that first game, Tadcaster had a good season winning thirteen of the twenty four games it played. The second season was equally successful with seventeen wins from twenty eight games. It appeared that even though most of its opponents were ‘A’ teams Tadcaster was playing regularly and holding its own. The club published a fixture list for the 1935/36 season, but didn’t fulfil any of its fixtures disbanding in October 1935 due to a shortage of players

Tadcaster RUFC 1964 – 1969

This sixth and final Tadcaster rugby union club played its first game on Saturday the 5th of September 1964 against Selby Old Boys ‘A’ team winning by 11 points to 5. On the same Saturday Tadcaster was also able to field an ‘A’ XV that drew 6-6 with Selby ‘B’.

For its first season the club had arranged a full fixture list for two teams mainly playing against clubs from North and West Yorkshire.

In the 1964/65 season Tadcaster played home games at Church Fenton, a village, six miles away, but in September 1965 was able to move to a new ground in the town. Auster Bank Sports Field on York Road was Tadcaster’s home ground for the next four seasons. The club had ambitious plans to improve the pitch and develop the ground. When the club first used Auster Bank the members had just begun work on building a pavilion, but unfortunately that work wasn’t completed in time for the start of the 1965/66 season. However, during the next three years the changing rooms were completed and Tadcaster finally had a permanent home ground.

The club had a successful first season. The 1st XV was very competitive winning regularly and had an ‘A’ XV that fulfilled all of its fixtures. An Easter Tour to Scotland was organised and the one of the guests at club’s end of season dinner was Major A. Bromet, a member of the Bromet family that had been mainstays of the Tadcaster Football Club in the 1890s.

The club’s first three seasons seemed to suggest that after five previous attempts to establish rugby in the town this Tadcaster rugby club was here to stay. The club officials in the photo below, taken in May 1967, were perhaps reflecting on another good season and looking forward to many more years of success.

Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, the sixth Tadcaster rugby union club soon went into decline and by 1968 despite having a ground, a pavilion and a good fixture list the club was struggling.

The fixture list for 1968/69, the club’s final season, reflects the decline.

Tadcaster didn’t have sufficient players to field two teams and as a result only eight ‘A’ team fixtures were listed, most of which weren’t fulfilled. The 1st XV was no longer competitive struggling both to find players and win games and towards the end of its final season Tadcaster had to call off first team games because it couldn’t raise a team. Tadcaster rugby union club folded at the end of the 1968/69 season. The story of what happened to the sixth Tadcaster rugby club is very similar to what happened to all the others. Initial enthusiasm, a competitive team that was successful on the field and then rapid decline.

Since 1969 there appear to have been no further attempts to form a Tadcaster rugby club. Soccer now dominates the sporting scene in the town and anyone from Tadcaster who wants to play rugby has to travel to either Wetherby or York.

References:

West Yorkshire’s Long Lost Rugby Clubs by Rob Grillo

The British Newspaper Archive

The Skyrack Express

Yorkshire Rugby Football Union handbooks:

1932/33 – 1935/36

1964/65 – 1968/69