Memorial Ground, Bristol RFC, 1921-2013

Bristol is a place famous for many things, and high on that list is its contribution to English rugby. For a long time, the Memorial Ground in Horfield was the rugby epicentre of this great city.

The formation of Bristol Rugby Club, who now play as the Bears, dates to 1888. The team started as Bristol United, when players drawn from various local clubs played against Cardiff Harlequins on the 6th of October. They were absolutely decimated with a score of 24 points to nil, which under modern scoring values would have been 80-0. Despite this tough start to life, the club persevered and within four seasons, had found winning form, inspired by their first notable captain, W ‘Tommy’ Thomson. In 1902, they won 20 out of 24 matches, establishing themselves as a team to be taken seriously.

In the same year that the rugby club was founded, the Gloucestershire County Cricket Ground also opened. This was home for both Bristol and Clifton, who to this day remain one of the oldest clubs in the world. The two clubs played alternate Saturdays until the First World War, when the ground was transferred to the now defunct chocolate company, J S Fry & Sons.

After the war, a six-and-a-half-acre plot of land in Horfield, known as ‘Buffalo Bill’s Field’, was purchased by Frank Cowlin, the Sheriff of Bristol at the time. Cowlin donated the land to the rugby club, who needed a permanent home. The field was named after Colonel William Cody, an American soldier, bison hunter and showman who had brought his Wild West Show there in 1891. Since then, it had been used as a public showground for air displays and various sports, as well as allotment plots for the provision of vegetables in wartime.

Three hundred Bristol rugby players had lost their lives during the First World War, so it was decided that the new ground was to be built at Buffalo Bill’s Field would be called the Memorial Ground. It was designed by a local architect named James Hart, who had been a member of the club’s committee for many years. Funds to build stands and a dressing room were donated by key benefactors such as J S Fry & Sons as well as the people of the city.

In the development of the field, large amounts of limestone were found just beneath the surface, which had to be excavated and removed so that the pitch could be drained, levelled, and turfed. The Memorial Ground was formally opened on the 24th of September 1921, by the mayor at the time, G.B. Britton.

The opening game was played against Cardiff and a huge crowd turned out to watch from the newly built wooden terraces and stands. It was reported as a thrilling game which was equally matched for much of it, but towards the end Bristol moved into the ascendancy with four tries and two conversions. The final score was 19-3.

The Second World War once again forced many of the club’s players to leave, but this time a Bristol Supporters team kept rugby union going in the city. This meant that when peacetime rugby resumed in 1945, the club had readily available players. 

Into the 1950s, the club had established itself as one of the very best in the country. The captaincies of Bert Macdonald and Dick Hawkes brought huge improvements to the team, and the 1956 to ’57 season was a record breaking one. With fly-half John Blake at the helm, Bristol went on to win more games and score more points than they had ever done previously. 

The ground hosted several international sides over the years, including Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. In 1957, a Western Counties side captained by John Blake beat the Wallabies 9-8. The All Blacks were victorious there in 1963, although the match was never a foregone conclusion and the tourists trailed at the break.  That same year, floodlights were installed to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the club which had been the year previous. In 1965, the club had its best season yet, scoring a thousand points for the first time and winning 39 fixtures under the captaincy of Derek Neate.

In 1983, Bristol achieved one of their greatest successes, when they beat Leicester 28-22 in the John Player Cup final. Although the club had long been regarded as one of the best in the country, they had very little silverware to show for it, so this win was a huge moment. In the same period, Alan Morley established a world record of 479 tries in senior rugby.

South Africa visited the Memorial Ground to play England B in 1992. The Springboks won the game 20-16, but the occasion was perhaps more memorable for the anti-apartheid protests that took place. Activists descended on the entrances to the ground before the game kicked off, armed with signs opposing apartheid and the tour that the South African team were on.

As rugby entered the professional era in the 90s, Bristol faced challenges both on and off the field. In 1996, Bristol Rovers moved to the Memorial Ground as tenants of the rugby club to boost its financial position. However, Bristol RFC were relegated into Premiership Two in 1998. This would have been the end of the club it wasn’t for the financial intervention of Malcom Pearce, the owner at the time.

This tumultuous period saw the rugby club lose control of the Memorial Stadium Company to Bristol Rovers. Despite everything that was going on, they were able to win the Premiership Two title and gained promotion back into the topflight.

2001 brought a new name to the club as a five-year sponsorship deal with Mitsubishi was signed and Bristol Rugby became Bristol Shoguns. The Shoguns finished the season with the most bonus points in the Zurich Premiership and a place in the Heineken Cup final for the following season.

When the sponsorship deal ran out in 2005, the club returned to their former moniker. In that season, they elected to play two games at Ashton Gate, where the capacity of 21,500 was almost double the 11,750 of the Memorial Ground. One match was played against local rivals, Bath, and the other against Leicester. Despite the efforts to better the financial position of the club, they were relegated from the Premiership again in 2008.

That year, Stephen Lansdown began financing the team and his ownership was formalised in 2012. Following on from his takeover, Lansdown injected funds to secure several high-profile internationals including David Lemi, who to this day holds the record for points scored at the club.

In that same season, Bristol finalised a move from the Memorial Ground to Ashton Gate, ending a 92-year spell at the ground, leaving it in the hands of Bristol Rovers who have retained ownership of it to this day.

While many memories remain attached to the Memorial Ground for the supporters of Bristol Rugby, the main physical reminders of that past era are the gates to the stadium which achieved listed status in 2011. They have plaques mounted on them to commemorate the soldiers lost in both the First and Second World Wars and will remain standing for many decades to come.