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History: A look back at Bramley RLFC’s historic blue plaque

By Leeds Civic Trust

This week Leeds Civic Trust revisits its 109th Blue Plaque, erected in November 2007 for Bramley RLFC – Bramley Buffaloes.

Bramley RLFC was founded in 1879 and has a history of foundational importance to the establishment of Rugby League in the UK and beyond. The Bramley Mow Inn ground was the home of Bramley Rugby League Football Club (now Bramley Buffaloes) from 1891 until its move to McLaren Field in 1965. Bramley played New Zealand All Golds here in 1907 in the Northern Union’s first ever tour game.

Bramley RLFC made the first challenge to the rule that all rugby players should be amateurs when it sought to reimburse international player, Harry Bradshaw for the time he would be missing from work for international duties. This challenge failed, but in 1895 the northern clubs broke away from Twickenham Rugby Football Union control, forming the Northern Union, over the issue of compensating players for time off work.

In 1907 in Canterbury New Zealand, postal clerk Albert Baskerville announced that a professional New Zealand rugby side would tour England to play the Northern Union clubs. New Zealand players were not paid for playing. An uproar ensued: there were calls to ban professional sport , Baskerville was banned by the New Zealand Rugby Union and the English RFU denounced the initiative. However, leading players supported Baskerville, who formed a 28 man squad. En route to England, the players stopped in Australia and formed the New South Wales Rugby Football League, joined by the most famous Australian player, H.H. (Dally) Messenger.

The New Zealand team arrived in Leeds in October 1907 and were greeted by thousands of enthusiastic fans, who were treated to a performance of the famous Maori war dance, the Haka.

The first game of the New Zealand All Golds tour was played at Bramley’s Bar Mow Ground on 9 October 1907, the visitors winning 25-6 in front a crowd of over 6000. The dressing rooms were part of the pub, opening directly onto the pitch (now modern housing.) ]

This tour helped establish Rugby League as we now know it in New Zealand and Australia and pioneered the tradition of rugby League tours. The Australian Rugby League Kangaroos toured England the following year.

The plaque can be found on the front of the Barley Mow Pub, Town Street, Bramley, LS13 3EW. The plaque was unveiled by sports historian Tony Collins.

Do you have any memories of going to the rugby at the old Barley Mow Inn ground used until 1965? Did you know how important Bramley RLFC was to the formation of Rugby League? Feel free to comment below.

If you enjoy learning about our Blue Plaques, why not take a look at our online shop where you can find, among other publications, Blue Plaques of Leeds Volume One and Two: https://zurl.co/kv05.

1 COMMENT

  1. I supported Huddersfield Rugby League Club in about 1960 and went to several away matches on the bus with a couple of mates of similar age. I was about 12yrs old. Parents allowed things like that in those days.
    It’s a distant memory but I think the players got changed in a stone shed. We were very close to the players unlike places like odsell where Bradford Northern played.

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