That history started in 1958, just down the road at The Polish War Memorial, where the Acton based engineering company Lucas CAV had some of the best-conditioned sports grounds in West London. CAV RFC ran for 30 years until Lucas CAV moved out of the area to Haddenham, in Buckinghamshire.
As the CAV grounds were technically inside Northolt, the rugby club changed its name to Northolt RFC, and moved temporarily to Lord Halsbury playing fields, just behind Northolt station. Unfortunately the planned stay only lasted the summer, as the promised changing rooms and pitches never arrived, but a quick last minute switch to the Kensington & Chelsea Playing Fields, in the heart of Northolt by the Target Roundabout, saved the club. Northolt RFC stayed there for 6 years until the grounds were closed down, at which point we moved to our present location in Cayton Green Park, Cayton Road, Greenford, where we have been ever since. We registered in 2006 as a Community Amateur Sports Club (CASC).
The club had 3 months of the summer of 1994 in which to convert a brick school changing room block and a half demolished wooden changing room block into fully functioning changing rooms and bars, but with great effort shown from all members they succeeded.
To give you an idea of the work involved, the wooden changing room block had 2 walls standing out of 4 and part of a roof, the rest being roughly erect but very dilapidated. It was transformed into a 4 changing-room block with showers, Gents toilets and a garage and delivery unit. The main building was originally a series of small changing rooms with a reception area in the middle, and a small bath and WCs. This had to be transformed into 2 bars, with the bar itself built from scratch, Ladies toilets, a beer cellar and storage rooms. Both buildings needed total rewiring with the installation of alarm systems and central heating and hot water, and both roofs needed full or partial replacement.
The external patio area and 2 car parks were refurbished and resurfaced, with a new lighting system installed including floodlights. Pitches then needed creating together with drainage being installed on half of the pitch area.
Northolt RFC hold a 60 year lease on the sports grounds at Cayton Green Park, in Cayton Road, Greenford, which we use with various other local sports clubs who are associate members of Northolt RFC, Sharing grounds with other clubs is nothing new to us, though being leaseholders and having responsibility of all aspects of managing those grounds is new since coming here. Throughout the club’s history at these grounds we have shared facilities with 2 other rugby clubs and many other sports, including Gaelic football (male and female), soccer, cricket, Aussie rules, rugby league, cycling, tug of war, softball, darts. Many of these sports are still played here. We have also housed a nursery school, provided shelter for workers on the neighboring railway, and recently acted as host for the season for a local school using the grounds as their sports pitches, while the school is being rebuilt.
Early in 2006, and with a great deal of help and encouragement from the RFU, from Middlesex County RFU, from Active Ealing (local authority) and from the local education authorities, we established mini rugby. This has quickly developed into mini and youth rugby, and we now host an annual tag tournament for local schools (hopefully starting a 2nd annual tournament up soon).
We have hosted our own 7-a-side tournaments in the past, and at the end of the 2005/6 season we held the first of which we hope will become an annual tournament co-organised with another local club.
The 2009/10 season is therefore the 16th at this ground, 22nd as Northolt RFC, and the 52nd of the club’s existence overall. In that time Northolt have fielded between 1 and 4 sides at various different times, and have produced rugby players for Middlesex and for various senior clubs both at home and abroad, we have hosted Middlesex training courses and provided rugby coaches for various clubs, including the current High Wycombe club coach, we have provided a number of referees in different societies, provided rugby league players for New Zealand, and England (ladies) rugby players. We have won 3 league titles, 2 x 7’s tournaments, a 15’s tournament in Belgium, and have run our own ladies rugby team, and recently provided training facilities for Yorkshire Under 20’s. We also have a budding social club, including 2 Northolt RFC (mixed) darts teams.
We hope to grow again from running 1 adult side, and the signs are there that we could do this. Why not join us in our quest to provide a good and successful, sociable club providing good rugby (and other sports) and coaching facilities for the local community. See the contacts page on our website www.northoltrfc.co.uk for someone to ring or write to, or e-mail Northolt.rugby@virgin.net, or better still come down to the Clubhouse.