History 1 of 3

1. History 1


Local legend tells of a Berry Hill side as far back as 1889 from the village of that name.However, official recognition came in 1892, so it was not until the 1992/93 season that Berry Hill R.F.C celebrated their centenary.
There are instances shown in both records and local folklore of teams from Berry Hill and the surrounding areas playing as early as 1883, when in the spring of that year Berry Hill ‘boys’ played Mile End ‘boys’. The team played at Wynols Hill until 1898, then in1899/1900 the club moved to the new headquarters at The Globe Inn, Berry Hill under the presidency of the Landlord Mr J.S.Gwilliam and the Captaincy of Mr E.Dohwr.
The ground at this time was located in an area in the village known as ‘Crow Ash’, where the team played as the Crescents.
In 1905 this club moved to its present ground at Lakers Road with the opening game against local rivals Drybrook.
In 1910 the club officially became Berry Hill R.F.C. and is the only village club in England to have played in the National Leagues.
As with many other sports there was no rugby played throughout the First World War.
In 1918 the club started playing again and were soon bringing success to the village by winning the Forest of Dean Combination Cup during 1921 and 1923.
These successful years between the wars continued for Berry Hill R.F.C winning the Forest of Dean Cup four years in succession between 1932 and 1935.

Unfortunately war once again brought rugby playing to a standstill until October 1945.

After the war success did not come so easily echoing the upheavals of post war Britain.

The Forest of Dean Cup was only seen once in 1948, with the next 10 years seeing a steep decline in the clubs fortunes. Luckily in 1958 the club was saved by a very strong junior section, this prevented the club disappearing altogether. A gradual build upon the junior success in the 1960’s saw the club once more moving towards success.
This flourishing of the club saw an enormous influx of players and in the early 1970’s the club was able to field 5 or 6 senior teams every week.
Success returned yet again in 1973 the Forest of Dean Combination Cup made it to the Trophy cabinet where it also returned in 1975. The First XV finished as runners up in the 1976 Gloucestershire County Cup. This influx of players and honours increased the financial stability of the club, always a struggle in an amateur sport made even more difficult in a village with a population of 2000.