Chandos Park, Roundhay R.U.F.C., 1932-2007

Union has long been regarded as a ‘minority’ sport in the north since the division of the two codifications in 1895, but there was once a time when Roundhay RUFC, the minnows of Yorkshire, produced international players and competed with some of the very best from their little old home at Chandos Park.

Roundhay officially formed in April 1924 after a meeting was held at the Mansion Hotel, a regal establishment situated in the middle of Roundhay Park. The club’s first secretary was a man named Eric Bleakley, who is credited as being one of the main driving forces behind the formation of the side, organising fixtures for the initial five years of its existence. In their first season, they rented a field at Talbot Road for £8, half a mile from their eventual home. Regular fixtures were against the likes of Bradford D, Ilkley C and Headingly B.

The first eight years of existence were nomadic as the club made two moves before settling at the small, suburban ground of Chandos Park in 1932, off the back of a season in which they won 28 of 35 fixtures and scored more than 700 points. The grounds were purchased by the President at the time, one Stanley Wilson. The focus was on becoming a stable club with a reputation for attractive rugby. Despite the challenge posed by the Second World War, to which half of the club’s members were called up, Roundhay RUFC continued in its endeavour to compete as one of the best in the county.

By the end of the war, the debts to Mr Wilson had been repaid, and the ground had a small, wooden stand and basic clubhouse. But the premises seemed to be forever in development and before long, the original stand known as the archer’s hut had been replaced by a more permanent, concrete and steel structure.

Along with the facilities at Chandos Park, the profile of the players at the club began to grow. Jack Best became the first Roundhay player to represent Yorkshire and many followed in his footsteps, including Dennis Wilkins, who went on to represent England thirteen times, participating in every Five Nations game between 1951 and 1953. He was known as the Squire and had started playing rugby for the club’s B team.

During the period that Wilkins was a regular fixture for the national team, the standard of the club remained on an upward curve. In the 1950-51 season, they won 27 of 33 matches, and in 1954, reached the Yorkshire Cup final for the first time, although the silverware would allude them for another thirteen years. Throughout the sixties and seventies there were developments both on and off the field. In 1968, six new changing rooms were built, kitted out with plunge baths, showers, and a physio room. A kitchen and tearoom were built as extensions to the clubhouse.

Bev Dovey, a man who had propped for England against Ireland and Wales, made his way back to Leeds after a series of moves around the country and became the club captain in 1973. It was under his guidance that they went on to win the County cup for the first time, narrowly beating Headingly 20 points to 16. Despite the elation of this win, it would take them another five years to regain the trophy.

In 1981, Chandos Park welcomed possibly the largest attendance it had seen in its history, when Roundhay came up against the might of Leicester in the third round of the John Player Cup. There were more than 3,000 in attendance as they packed in to watch the likes of Clive Woodward and Dusty Hare in action against the home side. Unfortunately, the Tigers were too strong for Roundhay on the day, beating them 34 points to 3, and going on to win the cup that year.

In 1985, Brian Moore was invited to play for Roundhay by the club captain at the time and England centre, Richard Cardus. Although Roundhay were the less fashionable of the Leeds clubs at the time, Moore was thrilled and accepted the invite, leaving behind his Crossleyans, to move up the rugby ladder, which he did, going on to win 64 caps for England and five for the British Lions. Two years later, another significant player to grace the Chandos Park turf moved to the club from Crossleyans: Jim Mallinder spent two seasons at Roundhay, before moving on to Sale Sharks.

Following the introduction of competitive leagues in 1987, Roundhay gained a single promotion, during the 1988-89 season. They finished 3rd in National League 4 North, but a draw against Lichfield at the end of the season threatened to derail their hopes for promotion, but their rivals, Broughton Park, lost that day and so Roundhay made their way into National 3.

They remained at that level for four years, during which the likes of Exeter, Richmond, and London Scottish all had to venture north to play at Chandos Park. But in 1992, Roundhay RUFC amalgamated with Headingly to form Leeds RUFC. The final game in Rondhay’s existence was played against Richmond on the 11th of April that year. The team finished that season with only eight points under their belt but were proud to have made it to that standard in the first place.

Chandos Park became the property of Leeds RUFC, who used the ground for friendly matches while playing their competitive fixtures at Kirkstall until 1996, when they moved to Headingly Stadium to share the ground with Leeds Rhinos. In 1998, the club joined forces with the rugby league outfit to form Leeds Rugby Limited, the world’s first dual code partnership. It was at this point that the team were renamed Leeds Tykes for the start of the season that year.

Following the sale of Kirkstall, Chandos Park was used for all non 1st xv games as well as training facilities for the whole of Leeds Tykes. Until April 2007, the ground hosted many a quality game played by the Leeds Tykes Academy, under 21s and ‘A’ teams who would regularly play national opposition.

The grounds were demolished to make way for a new housing estate, and the remnants now sit beneath the residential streets somewhere between Chandos Avenue and Chandos Gardens. However, the spirit of Roundhay lives on in the memories of everyone who was involved in the club, which will forever be recognised as one of the cornerstones of Leeds Tykes.