The Old Beccehamian Rugby Football Club was formed on 18th July 1933 by former pupils of Beckenham County School, which later became Langley Park School for Boys. The school had only introduced the playing of rugby to the curriculum two years earlier. In common with most “Old Boys” clubs at the time, membership was restricted to former pupils of the school. The decade saw the running of two sides on a regular basis until the playing of rugby ceased due to the outbreak of the Second World War. The Club’s first president, headmaster Sidney Gammon, who had kindly allowed the Club to use the school pitches at Park Langley, was to lose his life during the conflict.

Battered but with unbridled enthusiasm, the Club returned to the playing field in 1946. Membership slowly increased, enhanced when the Club began to accept playing members who had not attended the school, and by the middle of the 1950s, four sides regularly took the field on a Saturday afternoon. In 1954, permission was acquired from Kent County Council to play home matches at Sparrows Den, a ground located at the bottom of Corkscrew Hill in West Wickham. Following matches, players would adjourn to the local chippie for tea and the local pubs for a beer. Behind the scenes, officials worked tirelessly to develop the Club and to ultimately secure the long-desired goal
of having its own clubhouse. With financial support from the RFU, this was achieved in 1960 when members helped to build a pavilion with a licensed bar at the top of Corkscrew Hill.

Fortunes on the field improved considerably during the 1960s and the Club was blessed with a number of outstanding players, some of whom received county recognition. Indeed, the end of the decade heralded a golden age for the Club (1966-1971) during which the 1 st XV achieved a win success rate of 71%. A year later, a move to a newly-built clubhouse at Sparrows Den was completed, thereby consolidating the playing and social aspects of the Club.

In 1972, under the guidance of Dennis Oakley, mini and junior rugby was introduced to the Club, the first in the county to do so and an early adopter at a national level. The first session attracted some 50 boys. It has continued to flourish to this day with around 350 participants. A number of boys have gained county recognition over the years whilst at least seven have played in the Premiership.

On the field, the Club tasted success on the Sevens circuit when they won the Kentish Times Shield in 1975; the feat was repeated five years later. Greater triumphs came later on when, on four occasions, the Club competed in the finals (1988 and 1991) and County Clubs Competition (1985 and 1987) of the Middlesex Sevens at Twickenham.

By the 1980s, the Club were running six senior teams on a regular basis and undertaking ground-breaking tours to the United States, Spain and France. The Jubilee Season of 1983-84 saw the 1st XV win 28 of their 36 matches, secure the Radio Kent Merit Table championship and receive the Rugby World Team of the Month Award for November. An appearance in the Kent Cup semi-final followed two years later. With the introduction of League Rugby in 1987, the Club was assigned to London Division 3: South East. For the most part, the 1 st XV struggled with consistency in the early years and only once (1992-93) challenged for top honours.

In 1997, the Club took the momentous decision to remove its “Old Boy” status, to become just Beccehamian Rugby Football Club. Two years later, the Club introduced a ladies team for the first time although it took a further two years before a Beccs side eventually took the field in a 15-a-side match. Since then, the team has been crowned champions of their respective league on three occasions, most notably in 2019-20 when they remained unbeaten. Over the years, several players have gone onto play in the Ladies Premiership. In recognition of his contribution to and coaching of the Ladies team, Robbie Broadhurst was awarded Kent Rugby’s "Women's Rugby Volunteer of the Year“ for 2017. To supplement the ladies game, age-grade rugby for girls was introduced in 2005.

Following two relegations during the early 2000s, the men’s 1st XV bounced back to take the Kent Division 1 title in 2005-06, winning 16 of 18 matches. The stay in the London 4 South East Division lasted three years before another demotion. In 2012-13, the team secured another promotion only to be relegated the following season. In losing just twice during the 2017-18 season, the team again took the Kent League title as well as the Kent Cup Vase and performed even better the following year, the Club’s 85th anniversary, when promotion was gained to London 2: South East. This would represent the Club’s highest ever league standing in the national pyramid system.

Today (2026-27):

the men’s 1st XV compete in Counties 1 Kent (Level 7)
whilst the 2nd XV, who were triumphant in last season’s Kent Shield, play in Kent Counties 5 league.
the men's 3rd XV will play in Kent Metropolitan Group A.
The Ladies lock horns with opposition in the South East (East) division of the Women National Challenge 2 league.