1.
Rugby Football League
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The Rugby Football League is the governing body for professional rugby league in England. The name Rugby Football League previously also referred to the league competition run by the organisation. This has since been supplanted by Super League, the Championship, based at Red Hall in Leeds, it administers the England national rugby league team, the Challenge Cup, Super League and the Rugby League Championships. The social and junior game is administered in association with the British Amateur Rugby League Association, the Rugby Football League is a member of the Rugby League European Federation and as a senior Full Member has a combined veto power over the Council with France. The RFL is part of the Community Board, which also has representatives from BARLA, Combined Services, English Schools Rugby League, eventually the Northern was dropped from its name at the beginning of the 1980s. The turnover of the RFL was reported as £27m in 2011, two days later, on Thursday 29 August 1895, representatives of 21 clubs met in the George Hotel, Huddersfield to form the Northern Rugby Football Union. Twenty clubs agreed to resign from the Rugby Football Union, the Cheshire club, Stockport, had telegraphed the meeting requesting admission to the new organisation and was duly accepted with a second Cheshire club, Runcorn, admitted at the next meeting. The 22 clubs and their years of foundation were, In 1908 the Northern Unions brand of rugby was taken up in Australia, the Union hosted touring sides from both countries before assembling a Great Britain representative team for a 1910 tour of Australia and New Zealand. These nations, particularly Australia, would go on to excel in the sport, the British Amateur Rugby League Association was created in 1973 in Huddersfield by a group of enthusiasts concerned about the dramatic disappearance of many amateur leagues and clubs. Fewer than 150 amateur teams remained with a mere 30 youth rugby league teams, the breakaway from the RFL was acrimonious and was strongly contested, with a vote 29-1 against recognising BARLA. Thanks to Tom Mitchell, this changed to a vote of approval for BARLA within 12 months. Maurice Lindsay became the Chief Executive of the RFL in 1992, proposing the Super League, Lindsay returned to Wigan in 1999 for his second stint at the club after Sir Rodney Walker, then chairman of the RFL, sacked him after a campaign to unseat him failed. The RFL accumulated losses of £1.9 million at the end of 2001, shortly before a restructuring of the governing body. Within a year of joining the RFL, he oversaw reunification with BARLA after nearly 30 years of division, Lewis left in 2012 to become Chief Executive of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. The RFL net value has been every year since 2004. The regional leagues may include winter competitions in addition, in 2012, the Rugby Football League were awarded the Stonewall Sport Award in recognition of their work in embracing inclusivity and tackling homophobia. They also became the first UK sporting organisation to make the top 100 employers in the Stonewall Index that measures attitudes towards lesbian, gay and bisexual staff. The RFL operates a system and is responsible for running the top three professional divisions as well as the National Conference League and various regional leagues below that
2.
England national rugby league team
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The England national rugby league team represent England in international rugby league football tournaments. The team has now seen a revival, having formed from the Great Britain team. The team is run under the auspices of the Rugby Football League, as of 2008, the team now participates in all World Cups, Four Nations and test matches. The team dates back to 1904 when they played against a mixture of Welsh and Scottish players in Wigan, since then, and until the 1950s, they regularly toured Australia and New Zealand and played both home and away matches against neighbours Wales and France. But when it was decided that Great Britain would tour the Southern Hemisphere instead of England, France, even then though, there are some long periods where England barely played any matches. Their first appearance in the Rugby League World Cup was in 1975, and since then they have become runners-up in 1975 and 1995, in 2008, they competed in the 2008 World Cup in Australia. For many years England also competed in the European Nations Cup and in 2006, in the past Englands main rivals have been Wales and France, with the rivalry stretching back to 1908 and 1934 respectively. However, Englands main rivals would now be Australia, New Zealand and, to a lesser extent, traditionally a predominantly white kit is worn including white shorts and socks. However the jersey usually features some form of red, like red stripes, crosses or chevrons and these colours are similar to other English sporting teams and are the colours used on the national flag. In 2008 a new kit was introduced featuring a red cross on the front and red strips down the sides of the jersey, shorts and socks were white too with red strips. Also in 2008, the Rugby Football League chose to abandon the traditional English lion on the badge in favour of a simpler shield. Currently the team is ranked third in the world, behind Australia, wayne Bennett is the head coach and Sam Burgess is the current captain. In 1895 twenty-one clubs split with the Rugby Football Union, citing that they wanted to play professionally, the twenty-one clubs were all from Northern England and the players were largely working class. However it was not just English players who made the switch, Scottish and Welsh players also switched allegiance to the new code, switching heightened in the early 20th century with more Scottish and Welsh players leaving the RFU than ever before. At the start of 1903 season the Northern Union thought about international matches, on that day though, the ground was frosty and the match was cancelled and it was rescheduled for April. On 5 April 1904 England competed against a team called Other Nationalities and it was a period of experimentation for the Northern Union and each team had twelve players, not thirteen. At Central Park, Wigan the ground was muddy and in poor condition, England steamed into a 3–0 lead, from a try by Warringtons Jackie Fish. This is despite Salfords James Lomas arriving late and causing England to start the match with eleven players, Fish missed the conversion and so the Other Nationalities were able to level the scores a little later, Welshman Thomas crashing over for a try
3.
Rugby League World Cup
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The idea of a rugby league world cup tournament was first mooted in the 1930s with the French proposing holding a tournament in 1931, and again in 1951. The fourteen tournaments held to date have been at intervals ranging from two to eight years, and have featured a number of different formats, so far three nations have won the competition. Australia, France and New Zealand are the teams to have played in all tournaments. Since 2000, the RLIF has also organised World Cups for women, students, the 2013 Rugby League World Cup was held in England and Wales and won by Australia. The Rugby League World Cup was an initiative of the French who had been campaigning for a competition since 1935, the idea was raised in 1951 by Paul Barrière, the President of the French Rugby League. In 1952, Rugby Football League secretary Bill Fallowfield persuaded the Rugby League Council to support the concept, in addition to the hosts, the tournament featured teams from Britain, Australia and New Zealand. The 1954 Rugby League World Cup was won by Great Britain who defeated France in Paris on 13 November to claim the title, the World Cup was initially contested by the four Test nations, Australia, Great Britain, France and New Zealand. The teams played each other in a league format, Australia proved victorious on their home ground. After the successful 1960 competition, in which Great Britain won the title for the second time, the competition had been scheduled to be held in France in 1965, this time with the inclusion of the South African team. However, after a tour of Australia, the French withdrew. The tournament was held in 1968, and followed a two-year cycle until the mid-1970s. The 1972 World Cup final ended in a 10-all draw, Great Britain were captained by Welshman, Clive Sullivan who was the first black player to captain any British national sports team. In 1975, the competition underwent a radical overhaul and it was decided to play matches on a home and away basis around the world instead of in any one host nation and the Great Britain team was split into England and Wales. Australia won that tournament and in 1977 it was decided that Great Britain should once more compete as a single entity, from 1985 to 1988, each nation played each other a number of times on a home and away basis. At the end of period, Australia met New Zealand at Eden Park. The match was an encounter, and Australian captain Wally Lewis played part of the match with a broken arm. The Kangaroos won the competition 25-12 and this format was repeated from 1989–1992 and Australia won again, defeating Great Britain 10-6 at Wembley Stadium in front of 73,361 people. This crowd remained a Rugby League World Cup record until beaten by the 74,468 crowd which attended the 2013 World Cup Final at Old Trafford, in 1995, the competition was once again restructured, returning to the traditional host format with ten teams entering
4.
Rugby League Four Nations
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France accepted an invitation to play in the inaugural tournament in 2009. The tournament is sponsored by Ladbrokes and therefore known as the Ladbrokes Four Nations. No tournament was contested in 2012 to allow teams to prepare for the 2013 Rugby League World Cup, the Four Nations replaced the Tri-Nations tournament that was contested between Australia, New Zealand and Great Britain. The competition ceased in 2006 with the RLIF wanting more nations to play in tournaments with the Big Three. The inaugural Four Nations was played in England and France in 2009 with France qualifying to be the nation via winning the 2005 European Championship. The big three dominated the tournament with Australia beating England in the final, the next tournament was played the following year in 2010 with Australia and New Zealand hosting the tournament. PNG qualified as the nation through the 2009 Pacific Cup. The big three again dominated and New Zealand beat Australia in the final for their first title,2011 was the third consecutive tournament being held in England and Wales, Wales qualified by winning the 2010 European Championship. The final was a repeat of 2009 with Australia beating England, the tournament was not played in 2012 to give teams a rest before the 2013 World Cup. The next Four Nations was played in 2014 after the World Cup, the competition was played in the Southern Hemisphere for the first time since 2010 with Samoa qualifying as the fourth nation. Samoa impressed, although they did not win a game they had close games against the big three, New Zealand beat Australia in the final. The next tournament is due to be played in England in 2016, the fourth nation alternates between Europe and the Pacific and to date each tournament has seen a different team take part. Rugby League European Cup decides the qualifier from Europe and the Pacific Rugby League International decides the qualifier from the Pacific, in 2009 a qualifying tournament was held, the Pacific Cup, involving Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga, Fiji and the Cook Islands. The winners, Papua New Guinea, qualified for the 2010 Four Nations, likewise in 2010, the European Nations Cup decided the fourth participant in the 2011 tournament, Wales. In 2014, a game was staged to decide the fourth team for that year with Samoa beating Fiji 32-16. The tournament is organised in round-robin format, each team plays the others once, before the top two teams play each other in a tournament final. The top two teams are calculated using a league table, teams receive,2 points for a win 1 point for a draw 0 points for a loss For and against then separates teams on equal points. To date no fourth nation has appeared in the final of the Four Nations, furthermore, no fourth nation has even won a single game however Scotland managed to draw 18-18 against New Zealand in 2016
5.
Super League
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Super League is the top-level professional rugby league club competition in Europe. The league has twelve teams, eleven from England and one from France, canadian and Welsh clubs that also compete in the Rugby Football League can also qualify. Commonally known in the UK as the Super League it is referred to internationally as the European Super League, the current champions are Wigan Warriors. Super League began in 1996, replacing the RFL Championship and switching from a winter to a summer season, each team plays 23 games between February and July,11 home games,11 away games and a Magic Weekend game at a neutral venue. After 23 games, teams enter a Super 8 stage, the top eight play each other once more, the top four then enter the play-off series leading to the Grand Final which determines the champions. The bottom four teams go on to play the top four Championship teams in The Qualifiers to determine who will play in Super League the following season, Leeds Rhinos are the most successful club in the Super League era, having won 7 titles. However, Wigan Warriors are the most successful overall, having won 21 British Championships. The Super League champions play the National Rugby League champions from Australasia in the World Club Challenge at the start of the season, murdoch also approached the British clubs to form Super League. A large sum of money aided the decision, and the competition got under way in 1996, part of the deal saw rugby league switch from a winter to a summer season. The 12 founding teams of Super League were, Bradford Bulls Castleford Tigers Halifax Leeds Rhinos London Broncos Oldham Roughyeds Paris Saint-Germain Sheffield Eagles St. C, however this proved so unpopular that only existing clubs were selected for the competition. London Broncos, who had come fourth in the Second Division, were fast-tracked in on commercial grounds, a new team, Paris Saint-Germain, was created to give a French dimension. Between 1998 and 2000 there was no relegation from Super League, after two years Paris were dropped from the competition. In 2006, French side Catalans Dragons from Perpignan joined the league, Super League licences were announced in May 2005 by the RFL as the new determinant of the Super League competitions participants from 2009 in place of promotion and relegation. The licences were awarded after consideration of more factors than just the performance of a club. After 2007 automatic promotion and relegation was suspended for Super League with new teams to be admitted on a basis with the term of the licence to start in 2009. The RFL stated that applying to compete in Super League would be assessed by criteria in four areas with the final evaluations and decisions being taken by the RFL board of directors. Points attained by each application are translated into licence grades A, B or C. First licensing period In June 2008, the RFL confirmed that Super League would be expanded from 12 teams to 14 in 2009, the teams announced were the 12 existing Super League teams along with National League 1 teams, Celtic Crusaders and Salford
6.
League 1 (rugby league)
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League 1, formerly Championship 1 and currently known as Kingstone Press League 1 for sponsorship reasons, is a professional rugby league competition based in England. The competition also features clubs from Canada and Wales and it is the RFLs third-tier competition, below the Championship, with which it has promotion and relegation. The league was inaugurated in 2003 when the Northern Ford Premiership was divided two separate leagues, initially named National League One and National League Two. In 2009, the names were changed to the Championship and Championship 1 respectively. Third-division rugby league competitions in the United Kingdom have existed periodically since 1991, the current incarnation was created in 2003 when the second-division competition below Super League, the Northern Ford Premiership, was split into National Leagues One and Two. At the end of the 2005 Super League season, a team was relegated to National League One in order to accommodate French side Catalans Dragons entry to the competition. In order to even up the numbers, the Welsh team Celtic Crusaders were admitted to the competition in 2005, first playing in the 2006 season, in 2009 Super League was expanded to 14 teams, with two additional teams being promoted from National League One. In turn, two teams were promoted from National League Two to National League One at the end of the 2008 season. National Leagues One and Two were then rebranded as Championship and Championship 1 respectively, south Wales Scorpions were admitted to Championship 1 for the 2010 season, increasing the number of teams in the league to 11. Blackpool Panthers left the league in 2011, once again reducing the number of teams to 10, in 2013, three new teams were admitted to the league, Hemel Stags, Gloucestershire All Golds and Oxford Rugby League. In 2014 expansion and restructure took place with 5 teams relegated from the Championship and Coventry Bears added to expand the league to 14 teams, a new playoff structure was also introduced with two teams being promoted to the Championship. In 2015 the League 1 Cup was introduced as a competition for League 1 clubs. In 2016 Toulouse Olympique joined the league, bringing the number of teams to 15. Toronto Wolfpack will join the league from 2017, taking the number of teams to 16. In 2016, the Super 8s format that had used in the Super League. Under the amended structure, the 16 League 1 clubs play a season of 15 rounds. They play each other once to determine which five clubs will compete in the playoffs, the remaining League 1 clubs compete for the League 1 Shield. The team finishing bottom collects the wooden spoon, *capacity for Rugby League games may differ from official stadium capacity
7.
Challenge Cup
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The Challenge Cup is a knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, with the exception of 1915–1919 and 1939–1940. It involves amateur, semi-professional and professional clubs, the final of the Challenge Cup at Wembley Stadium, London, is one of the most prestigious matches in world rugby league and is broadcast around the world. Abide with Me, sung before the game, has become a rugby league anthem, the current holders of the Challenge Cup are Hull F. C. who defeated Warrington 12–10 on 27 August 2016 at Wembley Stadium, the very first time they have won at Wembley. Wigan are the most successful club in the history of the competition, the clubs that formed the Northern Union had long been playing in local knock-out cup competitions under the auspices of the Rugby Football Union. However, the rugby union authorities refused to sanction a nationwide tournament, after the schism of 1895, the northern clubs were free to go-ahead, and they instigated the Northern Rugby Football Union Challenge Cup. In 1896 Fattorinis of Bradford were commissioned to manufacture the Challenge Cup at a cost of just £60, Fattorinis also supplied three-guineas winners medals then valued at thirty shillings. The first competition was held during the 1896–97 season, and 56 clubs entered to compete for the trophy, the first final was held at Headingley in Leeds, on 24 April 1897. Batley defeated St. Helens 10–3 in front of a crowd of 13,492 and it is interesting to note that the St Helens side did not play in a standardised team jersey. The competition was interrupted by the Great War, although it was held in 1915. It was then suspended until the end of hostilities, the first final held at Wembley was in 1929 when Wigan beat Dewsbury 13–2 in front of a crowd of 41,500. The Challenge Cup finals, which place in the game’s Northern heartland, got big crowds as the game raised money for prisoners of war. In 1946, the Lance Todd Trophy was introduced and awarded to the man of the match, the first winner was Billy Stott of Wakefield Trinity the first winner of the trophy on the losing team was Frank Whitcombe of Bradford Northern in 1948. In itself, it is a trophy presented only at the Challenge Cup Final. The winner is selected by the members of the Rugby League Writers Association present at the game and the trophy was presented at a dinner at the Willows. 1954 saw the Challenge Cup final drawn and the set the record for a rugby league match attendance. The match was on 5 May and 102,569 was the attendance at Odsal Stadium. Wigan are well known for their successes in the Challenge Cup competition, until the 1993–94 season there were very few amateur clubs included in the cup, typically two. For part of the 1980s, and the 1992–93 season the cup was solely for professional clubs, in 1997, a Challenge Cup Plate took place for teams knocked out in the early rounds of the competition
8.
League 1 Cup
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The League 1 Cup, known as the iPro Sport Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knockout cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League for the third division of rugby league in Britain. The cup is contested by the British League 1 teams, as well as two teams from the National Conference League, the final takes place on the same weekend as The Summer Bash, and is the first game of the weekend to be played. In 2013 the Championship Cup was decommissioned after 12 seasons and the Challenge Cup became the cup competition available to the Championships. In 2015, as part of the new structure a new cup competition was to be introduced, the first final was played as the opening game of The Summer Bash at Bloomfield Road in Blackpool. The first round of the League 1 Cup is split into two pools, Northern regions and South and Midlands regions, all 14 League 1 clubs, a draw is made at the beginning of each round to determine fixtures
9.
Rugby league
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Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field. One of the two codes of football, it originated in England in 1895 as a split from the Rugby Football Union over the issue of payments to players. Its rules gradually changed with the aim of producing a faster, in rugby league, points are scored by carrying the ball and touching it to the ground beyond the opposing teams goal line, this is called a try, and is the primary method of scoring. The opposing team attempts to stop the side scoring points by tackling the player carrying the ball. In addition to tries, points can be scored by kicking goals, after each try, the scoring team gains a free kick to try at goal with a conversion for further points. Kicks at goal may also be awarded for penalties, and field goals can be attempted at any time. Rugby league is a sport in Northern England, the states of Queensland and New South Wales in Australia, New Zealand. The European Super League and Australasian National Rugby League are the club competitions. Rugby league is played internationally, predominantly by European, Australasian and Pacific Island countries, the first Rugby League World Cup was held in France in 1954, the current holders are Australia. The first of these, the Northern Rugby Football Union, was established in 1895 as a faction of Englands Rugby Football Union. Similar breakaway factions split from RFU-affiliated unions in Australia and New Zealand in 1907 and 1908, renaming themselves rugby football leagues, in 1922, the Northern Union also changed its name to the Rugby Football League and thus over time the sport itself became known as rugby league football. In 1895, a schism in Rugby football resulted in the formation of the Northern Rugby Football Union, within fifteen years of that first meeting in Huddersfield, more than 200 RFU clubs had left to join the rugby revolution. In 1897, the line-out was abolished and in 1898 professionalism introduced, in 1906, the Northern Union changed its rules, reducing teams from 15 to 13 a side and replacing the ruck formed after every tackle with the play the ball. A similar schism to that which occurred in England took place in Sydney, There, on 8 August 1907 the New South Wales Rugby Football League was founded at Batemans Hotel in George Street. Rugby league then went on to rugby union as the primary football code in New South Wales. On 5 May 1954 over 100,000 spectators watched the 1953–54 Challenge Cup Final at Odsal Stadium, Bradford, England, also in 1954 the Rugby League World Cup, the first for either code of rugby, was formed at the instigation of the French. In 1966, the International Board introduced a rule that a team in possession was allowed three play-the-balls and on the tackle a scrum was to be formed. This was increased to six tackles in 1972 and in 1983 the scrum was replaced by a handover,1967 saw the first professional Sunday matches of rugby league played
10.
Northern England
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Northern England or the North of England, also known as the North Country or simply the North, is the northern part of England, when considered as a single cultural area. The area roughly spans from the River Trent and River Dee to the Scottish border in the north, Northern England roughly comprises three statistical regions, the North East, North West and Yorkshire and the Humber. These have a population of around 14.9 million as of the 2011 Census. The region has been controlled by groups from the Brigantes. After the Norman conquest in 1066, the Harrying of the North brought destruction, a Council of the North was in place during the Late Middle Ages until the Commonwealth after the Civil War. The area experienced Anglo–Scottish border fighting until the unification of Britain under the Stuarts, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the economy of the North was dominated by heavy industry such as weaving, shipbuilding, steelmaking and mining. The deindustrialisation that followed in the half of the 20th century hit Northern England hard. For government and statistical purposes, Northern England is defined as the covered by the three statistical regions of North East England, North West England and Yorkshire and the Humber. This definition will be used in article, except when otherwise stated. Using historic county boundaries, the North is generally taken to comprise Cumberland, Northumberland, Westmorland, County Durham, Lancashire and Yorkshire, the Isle of Man is occasionally included in definitions of the North, although it is politically and culturally distinct from England. Additionally, some areas of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire have been associated with the North. The geographer Danny Dorling includes most of the West Midlands and part of the East Midlands in his definition of the North, conversely, more restrictive definitions also exist, typically based on the extent of the historical Northumbria, which exclude Cheshire and Lincolnshire. Personal definitions of the North vary greatly and are sometimes passionately debated, when asked to draw a dividing line between North and South, Southerners tend to draw this line further south than Northerners do. Various towns have been described as or promoted themselves as the gateway to the North, including Crewe, Stoke-on-Trent, through the North of England run the Pennines, an upland chain often referred to as the backbone of England. This stretches from the Cheviot Hills on the border with Scotland to the Peak District, the geography of the North has been heavily shaped by the ice sheets of the Pleistocene era, which often reached as far south as the Midlands. On the other side of the Pennines, a glacial lake forms the Humberhead Levels, a large area of fenland which drains into the Humber. This has left the North a region of contrasts, the Lake District includes Englands highest peak, Scafell Pike, which rises to 978 m, its largest lake, Windermere, and its deepest lake, Wastwater. However, dense areas have emerged along the coasts and rivers
11.
Yorkshire
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Yorkshire, formally known as the County of York, is a historic county of Northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Due to its size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been undertaken over time by its subdivisions. Throughout these changes, Yorkshire has continued to be recognised as a geographical territory, Yorkshire has sometimes been nicknamed Gods Own County or Gods Own Country. Yorkshire Day, held on 1 August, is a celebration of the culture of Yorkshire. Yorkshire is now divided between different official regions, most of the county falls within Yorkshire and the Humber. The extreme northern part of the county falls within North East England, Small areas in the west of the historic county now form part of North West England, following boundary changes in 1974. Yorkshire or the County of York was so named as it is the shire of the city of York local /ˈjɔːk/ or Yorks Shire, York comes from the Viking name for the city, Jórvík. Shire is from Old English, scir meaning care or official charge, the shire suffix is locally pronounced /-ʃə/ shuh, or occasionally /-ʃiə/, a homophone of sheer. Early inhabitants of Yorkshire were Celts, who formed two tribes, the Brigantes and the Parisi. The Brigantes controlled territory which later became all of the North Riding of Yorkshire, the tribe controlled most of Northern England and more territory than any other Celtic tribe in England. That they had the Yorkshire area as their heartland is evident in that Isurium Brigantum was the town of their civitas under Roman rule. Six of the nine Brigantian poleis described by Claudius Ptolemaeus in the Geographia fall within the historic county, the Parisi, who controlled the area that would become the East Riding of Yorkshire, might have been related to the Parisii of Lutetia Parisiorum, Gaul. Their capital was at Petuaria, close to the Humber estuary, initially, this situation suited both the Romans and the Brigantes, who were known as the most militant tribe in Britain. Queen Cartimandua left her husband Venutius for his bearer, Vellocatus. Cartimandua, due to her relationship with the Romans, was able to keep control of the kingdom. At the second attempt, Venutius seized the kingdom, but the Romans, under general Petillius Cerialis, the fortified city of Eboracum was named as capital of Britannia Inferior and joint-capital of all Roman Britain. During the two years before the death of Emperor Septimius Severus, the Roman Empire was run from Eboracum by him, another emperor, Constantius Chlorus, died in Yorkshire during a visit in 306 AD. This saw his son Constantine the Great proclaimed emperor in the city, in the early 5th century, the Roman rule ceased with the withdrawal of the last active Roman troops
12.
Lancashire
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Lancashire is a non-metropolitan ceremonial county in north west England. The county town is Lancaster although the administrative centre is Preston. The county has a population of 1,449,300, people from Lancashire are known as Lancastrians. The history of Lancashire begins with its founding in the 12th century, in the Domesday Book of 1086, some of its lands were treated as part of Yorkshire. The land that lay between the Ribble and Mersey, Inter Ripam et Mersam, was included in the returns for Cheshire, when its boundaries were established, it bordered Cumberland, Westmorland, Yorkshire, and Cheshire. Lancashire emerged as a commercial and industrial region during the Industrial Revolution. Liverpool and Manchester grew into its largest cities, dominating global trade, the county contained several mill towns and the collieries of the Lancashire Coalfield. By the 1830s, approximately 85% of all cotton manufactured worldwide was processed in Lancashire, Accrington, Blackburn, Bolton, Burnley, Bury, Chorley, Colne, Darwen, Manchester, Nelson, Oldham, Preston, Rochdale and Wigan were major cotton mill towns during this time. Blackpool was a centre for tourism for the inhabitants of Lancashires mill towns, the detached northern part of Lancashire in the Lake District, including the Furness Peninsula and Cartmel, was merged with Cumberland and Westmorland to form Cumbria. Lancashire lost 709 square miles of land to other counties, about two fifths of its area, although it did gain some land from the West Riding of Yorkshire. Today the county borders Cumbria to the north, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south and North and West Yorkshire to the east, with a coastline on the Irish Sea to the west. The county palatine boundaries remain the same with the Duke of Lancaster exercising sovereignty rights, including the appointment of lords lieutenant in Greater Manchester, the county was established in 1182, later than many other counties. During Roman times the area was part of the Brigantes tribal area in the zone of Roman Britain. The towns of Manchester, Lancaster, Ribchester, Burrow, Elslack, in the centuries after the Roman withdrawal in 410AD the northern parts of the county probably formed part of the Brythonic kingdom of Rheged, a successor entity to the Brigantes tribe. During the mid-8th century, the area was incorporated into the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Northumbria, in the Domesday Book, land between the Ribble and Mersey were known as Inter Ripam et Mersam and included in the returns for Cheshire. Although some historians consider this to mean south Lancashire was then part of Cheshire and it is also claimed that the territory to the north formed part of the West Riding of Yorkshire. It bordered on Cumberland, Westmorland, Yorkshire, and Cheshire, the county was divided into hundreds, Amounderness, Blackburn, Leyland, Lonsdale, Salford and West Derby. Lonsdale was further partitioned into Lonsdale North, the part north of the sands of Morecambe Bay including Furness and Cartmel
13.
Cumbria
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Cumbria is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbrias county town is Carlisle, in the north of the county, the county of Cumbria consists of six districts, and in 2008 had a population of just under half a million. Cumbria is one of the most sparsely populated counties in the United Kingdom, a large area of the south east of the county is within the Yorkshire Dales National Park while the east of the county fringes the North Pennines AONB. Much of Cumbria is mountainous, and it contains every peak in England over 3,000 feet above sea level, with Scafell Pike at 3,209 feet being the highest point of England. An upland, coastal, and rural area, Cumbrias history is characterised by invasions, migration, notable historic sites in Cumbria include Carlisle Castle, Furness Abbey, Hardknott Roman Fort, Brough Castle and Hadrians Wall, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. D. Based on inscriptional evidence from the area, the Roman civitas of the Carvetii seems to have covered portions of Cumbria, the names Cumbria, Cymru, Cambria, and Cumberland are derived from the name these people gave themselves, *kombroges in Common Brittonic, which originally meant compatriots. In the Early Middle Ages, Cumberland formed the core of the Brittonic kingdom of Rheged, for the rest of the first millennium, Cumbria was contested by several entities who warred over the area, including the Brythonic Kingdom of Strathclyde and the Anglian kingdom of Northumbria. Most of modern-day Cumbria was a principality in the Kingdom of Scotland at the time of the Norman conquest of England in 1066, in 1092 Cumberland was invaded by William II and incorporated into England. There were at least three sieges of Carlisle fought between England and Scotland, and two sieges during the Jacobite risings. In particular, the west-coast towns of Workington, Millom and Barrow-in-Furness saw large iron and steel mills develop, Kendal, Keswick and Carlisle all became mill towns, with textiles, pencils and biscuits among the products manufactured in the region. Later, the childrens writer Beatrix Potter also wrote in the region and became a major landowner and its strategic authority is Cumbria County Council. Local papers The Westmorland Gazette and Cumberland and Westmorland Herald continue to use the name of their historic county, other publications, such as local government promotional material, describe the area as Cumbria, as do the Lake District National Park Authority and most visitors. Cumbria is the most northwesterly county of England, the northernmost and southernmost points in Cumbria are just west of Deadwater, Northumberland and South Walney respectively. Kirkby Stephen and St Bees Head are the most easterly and westerly points of the county, at 978 metres Scafell Pike is the highest point in Cumbria and in England. Windermere is the largest natural lake in England, the Lancaster Canal runs from Preston into South Cumbria and is partly in use. The Ulverston Canal which once reached to Morecambe Bay is maintained although it was closed in 1945, the Solway Coast and Arnside and Silverdale AONBs lie in the lowland areas of the county, to the north and south respectively. Cumbria is bordered by the English counties of Northumberland, County Durham, North Yorkshire, Lancashire, the boundaries are along the Irish Sea to Morecambe Bay in the west, and along the Pennines to the east
14.
Rugby union
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Rugby union, known in some parts of the world simply as rugby, is a contact team sport which originated in England in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its most common form, a game is between two teams of 15 players using a ball on a rectangular field with H-shaped goalposts on each try line. Historically an amateur sport, in 1995 restrictions on payments to players were removed, World Rugby, originally the International Rugby Football Board and from 1998 to 2014 the International Rugby Board, has been the governing body for rugby union since 1886. Rugby union spread from the Home Nations of Great Britain and Ireland, early exponents of the sport included Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and France. Countries that have adopted rugby union as their de facto national sport include Fiji, Georgia, Madagascar, New Zealand, Samoa, Tonga, Rugby union is played in over 100 countries across six continents, there are 101 full members and 18 associate members of World Rugby. The Rugby World Cup, first held in 1987, takes place four years with the winner of the tournament receiving the Webb Ellis Cup. The Six Nations Championship in Europe and The Rugby Championship in the Southern Hemisphere are major annual competitions. The origin of football is reputed to be an incident during a game of English school football at Rugby School in 1823. Although the evidence for the story is doubtful, it was immortalised at the school with a plaque unveiled in 1895, despite the doubtful evidence, the Rugby World Cup trophy is named after Webb Ellis. Rugby football stems from the form of game played at Rugby School, Old Rugbeian Albert Pell, a student at Cambridge, is credited with having formed the first football team. During this early period different schools used different rules, with pupils from Rugby. Other important events include the Blackheath Clubs decision to leave the Football Association in 1863, despite the sports full name of rugby union, it is known simply as rugby throughout most of the world. The first rugby football international was played on 27 March 1871 between Scotland and England, by 1881 both Ireland and Wales had representative teams, and in 1883 the first international competition, the Home Nations Championship had begun. 1883 is also the year of the first rugby tournament, the Melrose Sevens. During the early history of union, a time before commercial air travel. The first two notable tours both took place in 1888—the British Isles team touring New Zealand and Australia, followed by the New Zealand team touring Europe, All three teams brought new styles of play, fitness levels and tactics, and were far more successful than critics had expected. After Morgan began singing, the crowd joined in, the first time a national anthem was sung at the start of a sporting event, in 1905 France played England in its first international match
15.
Association football
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Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball. It is played by 250 million players in over 200 countries and dependencies making it the worlds most popular sport, the game is played on a rectangular field with a goal at each end. The object of the game is to score by getting the ball into the opposing goal, players are not allowed to touch the ball with their hands or arms while it is in play, unless they are goalkeepers. Other players mainly use their feet to strike or pass the ball, the team that scores the most goals by the end of the match wins. If the score is level at the end of the game, the Laws of the Game were originally codified in England by The Football Association in 1863. Association football is governed internationally by the International Federation of Association Football, the first written reference to the inflated ball used in the game was in the mid-14th century, Þe heued fro þe body went, Als it were a foteballe. The Online Etymology Dictionary states that the word soccer was split off in 1863, according to Partha Mazumdar, the term soccer originated in England, first appearing in the 1880s as an Oxford -er abbreviation of the word association. Within the English-speaking world, association football is now usually called football in the United Kingdom and mainly soccer in Canada and the United States. People in Australia, Ireland, South Africa and New Zealand use either or both terms, although national associations in Australia and New Zealand now primarily use football for the formal name. According to FIFA, the Chinese competitive game cuju is the earliest form of football for which there is scientific evidence, cuju players could use any part of the body apart from hands and the intent was kicking a ball through an opening into a net. It was remarkably similar to football, though similarities to rugby occurred. During the Han Dynasty, cuju games were standardised and rules were established, phaininda and episkyros were Greek ball games. An image of an episkyros player depicted in low relief on a vase at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens appears on the UEFA European Championship Cup, athenaeus, writing in 228 AD, referenced the Roman ball game harpastum. Phaininda, episkyros and harpastum were played involving hands and violence and they all appear to have resembled rugby football, wrestling and volleyball more than what is recognizable as modern football. As with pre-codified mob football, the antecedent of all football codes. Non-competitive games included kemari in Japan, chuk-guk in Korea and woggabaliri in Australia, Association football in itself does not have a classical history. Notwithstanding any similarities to other games played around the world FIFA have recognised that no historical connection exists with any game played in antiquity outside Europe. The modern rules of football are based on the mid-19th century efforts to standardise the widely varying forms of football played in the public schools of England
16.
History of rugby league
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Similar schisms occurred later in Australia and New Zealand in 1907. Gradually the rugby played in these breakaway competitions evolved into a separate sport that took its name from the professional leagues that administered it. Rugby league in England went on to set attendance and player payment records, the game also developed a significant place in the culture of France, New Zealand and several other Pacific Island nations, such as Papua New Guinea, where it has become the national sport. Although many forms of football had been played across the world, in 1871, English clubs playing the version of football played at Rugby School which involved much more handling of the ball than in association football, met to form the Rugby Football Union. Many new rugby clubs were formed, and it was in the Northern English counties of Lancashire and Yorkshire that the game really took hold, here rugby was largely a working class game, whilst the south eastern clubs were largely middle class. Rugby spread to Australasia, especially the cities of Sydney, Brisbane, Christchurch, here too there was a clear divide between the working and more affluent upper class players. England teams of the era were dominated by Lancashire and Yorkshire players, however these players were forbidden to earn any of the spoils of this newly-rich game. Predominantly working class found it difficult to play to their full potential because in many cases their time to play. A further limit on the ability of working class teams was that working class players had to be careful how hard they played. If injured, they had to pay their own bills and possibly take time off work. In 1892, charges of professionalism were laid against rugby football clubs in Bradford and Leeds, by implication they were arguing that this affected the RFUs decisions on the issue of broken time payments to the detriment of northern clubs, who made up the majority of English rugby clubs. Payment for broken time was a proposal put forward by Yorkshire clubs that would allow players to receive up to six shillings when they missed work because of match commitments, the idea was voted down by the RFU, and widespread suspensions of northern clubs and players began. Two days later, on 29 August 1895, representatives of clubs met in the George Hotel, Huddersfield to form the Northern Rugby Football Union. Twenty clubs agreed to resign from the Rugby Union, but Dewsbury felt unable to comply with the decision. The Cheshire club, Stockport, had telegraphed the meeting requesting admission to the new organisation and was accepted with a second Cheshire club, Runcorn. The rugby union authorities took action, issuing sanctions against clubs, players. This extended even to amateurs who played with or against Northern Union sides, consequently, northern clubs that existed purely for social and recreational rugby began to affiliate to the Northern Union, whilst retaining amateur status. By 1904 the new body had more affiliated to it than the RFU
17.
Batley Bulldogs
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Batley Bulldogs R. L. F. C. are an English professional rugby league club in Batley, West Yorkshire who play in the Kingstone Press Championship. Batley were one of the original twenty-two rugby football clubs formed the Northern Rugby Football Union in 1895. They were League Champions in 1924 and have won three Challenge Cups, Batley Cricket Club decided to have a rugby football side merge with them at their ground under the name Batley Cricket Athletic and Football Club. Both sides claimed victory but the club chose Batley Athletic to join them. The new clubs first game was at home against Bradford Zingari which they won by 2 goals,3 touchdowns,2 dead balls, jacob Parker scored the first touchdown. The first season finished with Batley having won 15 games and drawn 5 out of 26 matches played, Batley were one of the original twenty-two clubs that met at the George Hotel, Huddersfield on 29 August 1895 and formed the Northern Rugby Football Union. Batley’s first match under the new union was on 7 September 1895 against Hull F. C. at Mount Pleasant with Batley winning 7 –3, sixth in the Yorkshire Senior Competition of 1896/97, they battled their way to third spot come the end of the next season. Where knock-out competitions was concerned, they were peerless, in 1897, the Gallant Youths became the first winners of the Challenge Cup beating St. Helens 10-3, in front of a crowd of 13,492 at Headingley. Batley retained the trophy by beating Bradford Northern on the weekend the following year at Headingley in front of 27,941 spectators. The club were Yorkshire League winners in 1898/99 and in 1900/01 won the Challenge Cup for the third and last time to date, wharton Wattie Davies set club records for most appearance, goals and points between 1896-1912. Batleys next cup triumph came on 23 November 1912 when Hull were defeated 17–3 at Headingley in Batley’s one, the Gallant Youths reached the semi-final of the Yorkshire Cup and led the league in November 1923. Batley were crowned champions on Saturday 3 May 1924, lifting the Rugby League Championship Trophy for the time in the club’s history. The club were also Yorkshire League winners that season, the record attendance was set at 23,989 for the visit of Leeds for a third round Challenge Cup match on 14 March 1925. 1952 saw a Yorkshire Cup final appearance against Huddersfield on 15 November, the clubs name was changed from Batley Cricket, Athletic & Football Club Ltd to its present official name of Batley Football Club Ltd in June 1979. The club celebrated its centenary in 1981 with a win over the leagues new London team, Fulham, in the 1960s the league was restructured into two divisions for two seasons before the single-division format was finally ditched in 1973. Batley are one of only a few teams never to make it into the top flight, the local council suggested that Dewsbury and Batley ground share at Crown Flatt after refusing a grant towards safety repairs to Mount Pleasant in February 1987. Batley looked set to join the elite in 1995 when they held off Huddersfield to finish in second place, the club succeeded in winning the Second Division Championship in the 1994–95 season. However, when the Super League was created for the following year, the club estimated that the decision cost them around £500,000
18.
St Helens R.F.C.
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St Helens Rugby Football Club is a professional rugby league club in St Helens, Merseyside currently competing in the Super League, the top tier of competition for rugby league in Europe. Formed in 1873, St Helens are one of the 22 original members of the Northern Rugby Football Union and have been champions on 13 occasions. St Helens are also the third most successful side in the Challenge Cup with 12 wins in 21 Final appearances, St Helens are founding members of the Super League and are one of only four teams to have appeared in every season since its creation in 1996. Since 1961 the clubs colours have been white, with a red V on the jersey. St Helens play their games at the Totally Wicked Stadium in St Helens, having moved from their previous home, Knowsley Road. St Helens are one of the oldest members of the Rugby Football League, founded as St Helens Football Club on 19 November 1873 at the Fleece Hotel by William Douglas Herman, they played their first ever match on 31 January 1874 against Liverpool Royal Infirmary. They became known as St Helens Rangers up until the 1880s, the club moved from the City Ground in 1890 where they had shared with St Helens Recs when neither were members of the Northern Rugby Football Union. They defeated Manchester Rangers in the first match played at Knowsley Road, in 1895 the club were one of 22 clubs that resigned from the Rugby Football Union and established the Northern Union. The first match of the new code was an 8—3 win at home to Rochdale Hornets before 3,000 spectators and they played in a vertically striped blue and white jersey—a stark contrast to the well known broad red band which would become the kit for the club later. The club reverted to this kit for one season during the rugby league season in 1995. The Challenge Cup was launched in 1897 and it was St Helens who contested its first final with Batley, at Headingley, the Gallant Youths of Batley emerged victorious 10—3, with Dave Red Traynor scoring the lone St Helens try. Between 1897 and 1901, St Helens were not successful, even considered a mid—table side. They finished second to bottom in the 1900—01 Lancashire League season, in the 1901—02 season, however, they did finish third in the Lancashire league. In 1902–03, the combined Lancashire and Yorkshire leagues saw St Helens enter for the first time, St Helens were placed in Division 1 but finished next to bottom and suffered relegation. Promotion was gained at the 1st attempt, only for another year to see them finish once again in a relegation position. However the two Divisions became one League to save the club from a 2nd relegation, on 14 June 1913, St Helens Recs joined the Northern Union after defecting from rugby union and association football. The Recs were based individually at the City Road ground, after previously sharing with St Helens, before their move to Knowsley Road, the Recs played their first game on 6 September 1913. St Helens now had two rugby league teams
19.
Rugby football
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Rugby is a type of football developed at Rugby School in Rugby, Warwickshire, one of many versions of football played at English public schools in the 19th century. The two main types of rugby are rugby league and rugby union, although rugby league initially used rugby union rules, they are now wholly separate sports. Following the 1895 split in rugby football, the two rugby league and rugby union differed in administration only. Soon the rules of rugby league were modified, resulting in two different forms of rugby. After 100 years, in 1995 rugby union joined rugby league, the Greeks and Romans are known to have played many ball games, some of which involved the use of the feet. These games appear to have resembled rugby football, the Roman politician Cicero describes the case of a man who was killed whilst having a shave when a ball was kicked into a barbers shop. Roman ball games already knew the air-filled ball, the follis, episkyros is recognised as an early form of football by FIFA. In 1871, English clubs met to form the Rugby Football Union, in 1892, after charges of professionalism were made against some clubs for paying players for missing work, the Northern Rugby Football Union, usually called the Northern Union, was formed. The existing rugby union authorities responded by issuing sanctions against the clubs, players, after the schism, the separate clubs were named rugby league and rugby union. Rugby union is both a professional and amateur game, and is dominated by the first tier unions, Argentina, Australia, England, France, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Scotland, South Africa and Wales. Rugby Union is administered by World Rugby, whose headquarters are located in Dublin and it is the national sport in New Zealand, Wales, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga and Madagascar, and is the most popular form of rugby globally. The Olympic Games have admitted the seven-a-side version of the game, known as Rugby sevens, there was a possibility sevens would be a demonstration sport at the 2012 London Olympics but many sports including sevens were dropped. In Canada and the United States, rugby union evolved into gridiron football, during the late 1800s, the two forms of the game were very similar, but numerous rule changes have differentiated the gridiron-based game from its rugby counterpart. Rugby league is also both a professional and amateur game, administered on a level by the Rugby League International Federation. International Rugby League is dominated by Australia, England and New Zealand, in Papua New Guinea it is the national sport. Other nations from the South Pacific and Europe also play in the Pacific Cup, distinctive features common to both rugby codes include the oval ball and throwing the ball forward is not allowed, so that players can gain ground only by running with the ball or by kicking it. As the sport of rugby league moved further away from its counterpart, rule changes were implemented with the aim of making a faster-paced. League players may not contest possession after making a tackle, play is continued with a play-the-ball, in league, if the team in possession fails to score before a set of six tackles, it surrenders possession
20.
Working class
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The working class are the people employed for wages, especially in manual-labour occupations and in skilled, industrial work. Working-class occupations include blue-collar jobs, some jobs, and most service-work jobs. As with many terms describing social class, working class is defined and used in different ways. The most general definition, used by Marxists and socialists, is that the class includes all those who have nothing to sell but their labor-power. When used non-academically in the United States, however, it refers to a section of society dependent on physical labor. For certain types of science, as well as scientific or journalistic political analysis, for example. Working-class occupations are then categorized into four groups, Unskilled laborers, artisans, outworkers, a common alternative, sometimes used in sociology, is to define class by income levels. The cut-off between working class and middle class here might mean the line where a population has discretionary income, some researchers have suggested that working-class status should be defined subjectively as self-identification with the working-class group. This subjective approach allows people, rather than researchers, to define their own social class, in feudal Europe, the working class as such did not exist in large numbers. Instead, most people were part of the class, a group made up of different professions, trades. A lawyer, craftsman and peasant were all considered to be part of the social unit. Similar hierarchies existed outside Europe in other pre-industrial societies, the social position of these laboring classes was viewed as ordained by natural law and common religious belief. This social position was contested, particularly by peasants, for example during the German Peasants War, wealthy members of these societies created ideologies which blamed many of the problems of working-class people on their morals and ethics. In The Making of the English Working Class, E. P, starting around 1917, a number of countries became ruled ostensibly in the interests of the working class. Since then, four major states have turned towards semi-market-based governance. Other states of this sort have either collapsed, or never achieved significant levels of industrialization or large working classes, since 1960, large-scale proletarianisation and enclosure of commons has occurred in the third world, generating new working classes. Additionally, countries such as India have been slowly undergoing social change, karl Marx defined the working class or proletariat as individuals who sell their labour power for wages and who do not own the means of production. He argued that they were responsible for creating the wealth of a society and he asserted that the working class physically build bridges, craft furniture, grow food, and nurse children, but do not own land, or factories
21.
Southern England
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Southern England, or the South of England, also known as the South, refers roughly to the southern counties of England. The extent of area can take a number of different interpretations depending on the context, including geographical, cultural, political. Geographically, the extent of the south of England may vary from the southern one-third of the country, to the southern half, the South is often considered a principal cultural area of England, along with the Midlands and Northern England. Many consider the area to have a distinct identity from the rest of England, however without universal agreement on cultural, political. For statistical purposes, Southern England is divided into four regions, South West England, South East England, London, combined, these have a total area of 62,042 square kilometres, and a population of 28 million. People often apply the term loosely, without deeper consideration of the geographical identities of Southern England. This can cause confusion over the depth of affiliation between its areas, as in much of the rest of England, people tend to have a deeper affiliation to their county or city. Thus, residents of Essex are unlikely to feel much affinity with people in Oxfordshire, similarly, there is a strong distinction between natives of the south-west and south-east. The sport of rugby experienced a schism in 1895 with many based in Yorkshire, Lancashire and surrounding areas breaking from the Rugby Football Union. The disagreement that led to the split was over the issue of professional payments, there is a perception that league is the code of rugby played in the north, whilst union is the code played in the south. In most definitions, Southern England includes all the counties on/near the English Channel, the exact northern extent varies and as with most geographical regions, people sometimes debate the boundaries. Despite these definitions, the boundary is generally taken to correspond to an imaginary line from the Severn Estuary to the Wash
22.
Upper class
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The upper class in modern societies is the social class composed of the wealthiest members of society, who also wield the greatest political power. According to this view, the class is generally distinguished by immense wealth which is passed on from generation to generation. Prior to the 20th century, the aristocracy was widely used. The term is used in conjunction with terms like upper-middle class, middle class. Upper-class status commonly derived from the position of ones family. Much of the population that composed the upper consisted of aristocrats, ruling families, titled people. These people were born into their status and historically there was not much movement across class boundaries. This is to say that it was harder for an individual to move up in class simply because of the structure of society. The Transatlantic Slave Trade also helped create a class of white Europeans while maintaining a lower class of black Europeans, Americans and Africans. This fact is often edited out of academic research both in publications and online ones such as Wikipedia. In many countries, the upper class was intimately associated with hereditary land ownership. Political power was often in the hands of the landowners in many pre-industrial societies despite there being no legal barriers to land ownership for other social classes. Upper-class landowners in Europe were often members of the titled nobility, though not necessarily. Some upper classes were almost entirely untitled, for example, the Szlachta of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, in England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, the upper class traditionally comprised the landed gentry and the aristocracy of noble families with hereditary titles. The vast majority of post-medieval aristocratic families originated in the merchant class and were ennobled between the 14th and 19th centuries while intermarrying with the old nobility and gentry. Since the Second World War, the term has come to encompass rich, members of the English gentry organized the colonization of Virginia and New England and ruled these colonies for generations forming the foundation of the American upper class or East Coast Elite. In this respect, the US differs little from such as the UK where membership of the upper class is also dependent on other factors. The American upper class is estimated to less than 1% of the population
23.
Amateur sports
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Amateur sports are sports in which participants engage largely or entirely without remuneration. The distinction is made between amateur sporting participants and professional sporting participants, who are financially remunerated for the time they spend competing and training, the majority of worldwide sporting participants are amateurs. Modern organized sports developed in the 19th century, with the United Kingdom, sporting culture was especially strong in private schools and universities, and the upper and middle class men who attended these institutions played as amateurs. Opportunities for working classes to participate in sport were restricted by their long six-day work weeks, in the UK, the Factory Act of 1844 gave working men half a day off, making the opportunity to take part in sport more widely available. Working class sportsmen found it hard to top level sport due to the need to turn up to work. On occasion, cash prizes, particularly in competitions, could make up the difference. Proponents of the amateur ideal deplored the influence of money and the effect it has on sports, working class sportsmen didnt see why they shouldnt be paid to play. Hence there were competing interests between those who wished sport to be open to all and those who feared that professionalism would destroy the Corinthian spirit and this conflict played out over the course of more than one hundred years. Corinthian has come to describe the most virtuous of amateur athletes—those for whom fairness, to that end, club rules ensured that crews consisted of amateurs, while no professional or paid hand is allowed to touch the tiller or in any way assist in steering. The earlier origins of the term are somewhat murky, though it must certainly be linked to the Isthmian games of ancient Corinth, it more proximately originates from common slang usage in early 19th century England. The Seawhanaka Yacht Club—founded in 1874—added Corinthian to its name in 1881, the Corinthian Football Club was founded in 1882. The Corinthian Yacht Club was founded in 1886 in Tiburon, California in the United States, the Yale Yacht Club was renamed the Yale Corinthian Yacht Club in 1893. By the early 21st century the Olympic Games and all the team sports accepted professional competitors. However, there are some sports which maintain a distinction between amateur and professional status with separate competitive leagues. The most prominent of these are golf and boxing, in particular, only amateur boxers could compete at the Olympics up to 2016. This may jeopardise their status as amateurs, and if allowed to let slide, where professionals are permitted, it is hard for amateurs to compete against them. Whether this is a triumph of capitalism or an example of corruption depends on the viewers perspective, to some an amateur means an incompetent or also-ran, and to others it means an idealist. To say that the athlete should not be paid can prevent performances only possible for an athlete who is free to pursue the sport full-time without other sources of income, the term shamateurism is used to describe state-sponsored athletes
24.
Rugby Football Union
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The Rugby Football Union is the governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby in 1886. It promotes and runs the sport, organises international matches for the England national team and it is based at Twickenham Stadium, London. In September 2010 the equivalent womens rugby body, the Rugby Football Union for Women, was able to nominate a member to the RFU Council to represent women, the RFUW was integrated into the RFU in July 2012. On 26 January 1871 a meeting attended by representatives from 21 clubs was held in London at the Pall Mall Restaurant on Regent Street. C, kings College Hospital, St Pauls, Queen’s House, Lausanne, Addison, Mohicans, and Belsize Park. The one notable omission was the Wasps, as a result of this meeting the Rugby Football Union was founded. Algernon Rutter was elected as the first president of the RFU, three lawyers who were Rugby School alumni drew up the first laws of the game, which were approved in June 1871. The RFU took strong action against the involved in the formation of the NRFU, all of whom were deemed to have forfeited their amateur status. A similar interpretation was applied to all players who played either for or against such clubs and these players were barred indefinitely from any involvement in organised rugby union. The RFU long resisted competitions and leagues fearing that they would encourage foul play, the first club competition, then known as the R. F. U. Club Competition, took place in 1972, following a sponsorship agreement it became known as the John Player Cup in 1976. The RFU agreed to the formation of a pyramid in 1987. In 2005 the RFU began talks about a merger with the body for womens rugby union the RFUW. In September 2010 the RFUW was able to nominate a member to the RFU Council to represent women, the RFUW was integrated into the RFU in July 2012. Andrew also had the task of building bridges with the premiership clubs, on 6 January 2011 his role of Director of Elite Rugby was scrapped in an overhaul of the organisations structure. Official website Official RFU Clubs Website Army Rugby Union
25.
George Hotel, Huddersfield
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The George Hotel in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, is a Grade II listed building famous as the birthplace of rugby league football in 1895. The 60 bed hotel was built in 1851 and closed in January 2013, the three-star rated George Hotel, which has an Italianate façade, was designed by William Walker. The Victorian era hotel was built around 1851, in 1922 this became the Rugby Football League. Stockport was also accepted into the league via telephone to the hotel, memorabilia recalling the meeting can be found throughout the hotel as well as in the Heritage Centre. The British Amateur Rugby League Association was also founded at the George Hotel in 1973, the Rugby League Heritage Centre was located in the basement of the George. It was the UK’s only rugby league heritage museum and it was the brainchild of sports presenter Mike Stephenson. The Rugby League Heritage centre was opened on 30 August 2005 by former players Billy Boston, Neil Fox, within the centre were displays of memorabilia, including rare jerseys, medals, caps, programmes and photographs. There was also played on several plasma screens. The British Rugby League Hall of Fame is now located in the Heritage Centre, Official George Hotel site Official Rugby League Heritage Centre site 360° view of the Founders Room, George Hotel, Huddersfield
26.
Huddersfield
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Huddersfield is a large market town in West Yorkshire, England. It is the 11th largest town in the United Kingdom, with a population of 162,949 at the 2011 census, halfway between Leeds and Manchester, it lies 190 miles north of London, and 10.3 miles south of Bradford. Huddersfield is near the confluence of the River Colne and the River Holme, within the historic county boundaries of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is the largest urban area in the metropolitan borough of Kirklees and the administrative centre of the borough. The town is known for its role in the Industrial Revolution, and for being the birthplaces of rugby league, Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson, and the film star James Mason. Huddersfield is home to rugby league team Huddersfield Giants, founded in 1895, who play in the European Super League, and Championship football team Huddersfield Town F. C. founded in 1908. The town is home to the University of Huddersfield and the sixth form colleges Greenhead College, Kirklees College, Huddersfield railway station is a Grade I listed building described by John Betjeman as the most splendid station façade in England, second only to St Pancras, London. The station in St Georges Square was renovated at a cost of £4 million, there has been a settlement in the area for over 4,000 years. The remains of a Roman fort were unearthed in the mid 18th century at Slack near Outlane, Castle Hill, a major landmark, was the site of an Iron Age hill fort. Huddersfield was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Oderesfelt, Huddersfield has been a market town since Anglo-Saxon times. The market cross is on Market Place, the manor of Huddersfield was owned by the de Lacy family until 1322, at which it reverted to royal ownership. In 1599, William Ramsden bought the manor, and the Ramsden family continued to own the manor, Huddersfield was a centre of civil unrest during the Industrial Revolution. Luddites began destroying mills and machinery in response, one of the most notorious attacks was on Cartwright — a Huddersfield mill-owner, the government campaign that crushed the movement was provoked by a murder that took place in Huddersfield. William Horsfall, a mill-owner and a prosecutor of Luddites, was killed in 1812. Although the movement faded out, Parliament began to increase welfare provision for those out of work, Two Prime Ministers have spent part of their childhood in Huddersfield, Harold Wilson and Herbert Asquith. Wilson is commemorated by a statue in front of the railway station, Kirklees Council was the first in the UK to have a Green Party councillor, Nicholas Harvey who was instrumental in protesting against the intended closure of the Settle and Carlisle Railway line. The town has substantial Conservative Party, Liberal Democrats and UKIP presences, centre-right and rightist groups are also active. Huddersfield was incorporated as a borough in the ancient West Riding of Yorkshire in 1868. The borough comprised the parishes of Almondbury, Dalton, Huddersfield, Lindley-cum-Quarmby, when the West Riding County Council was formed in 1889, Huddersfield became a county borough, exempt from county council control
27.
Central Park (Wigan)
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Central Park was a rugby league stadium in Wigan, England, which was the home of Wigan RLFC before the club moved to the JJB Stadium in 1999. The site is now a Tesco supermarket car park, on 6 September 1902, Wigan played at Central Park for the first time in the opening match of the newly formed First Division. An estimated crowd of 9,000 spectators saw Wigan beat Batley 14–8, the visit of St. Helens on 27 March 1959 produced Central Parks record attendance of 47,747, and set a record for a rugby league regular season league game in Britain. Wigan won the game 19–14, holding off a Saints comeback after having led 14–0, floodlights were installed on 120 ft high pylons in summer 1967 so that the club could play in the BBC2 Floodlit Trophy. On 7 October 1987, Central Park was the first English venue used for the World Club Challenge between the English champions and the Winfield Cup premiers from Australia, manly fullback Dale Shearer and second-rower Ron Gibbs were the main villains of the parochial Wigan crowd. Despite the ugly on-field play, the success of the match, with twelve players who played in the WCF playing the challenge, the Broncos became the first Australian side to win the challenge in England with a 22-8 victory in front of 17,764 fans. Showing the loyalty of the fans, several thousand travelled to Brisbane to support the team. Two months later however, the Warriors chairman Jack Robinson accepted a bid from Tesco. The final game at Central Park was on Sunday 5 September 1999, Wigan beat St Helens by 28 points to 20,96 years and 364 days after the first game against Batley was played. The Central Park site later became a car park for a Tesco supermarket, list of rugby league test matches played at Central Park. List of Rugby League World Cup matches played at Central Park, results are from the 1960,1970,1975, 1985–1988, 1989–1992 and 1995 World Cups. English rugby league stadia by capacity Wigan Warriors Official Central Park History Page @ Cherry & White. co. uk Wigan-Warriors
28.
Wigan
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Wigan /ˈwɪɡən/ is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It stands on the River Douglas,7.9 miles south-west of Bolton,10 miles north of Warrington and 16 miles west-northwest of Manchester, Wigan is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its administrative centre. The town of Wigan had a population of 97,000 in 2011. Historically in Lancashire, Wigan during classical antiquity was in the territory of the Brigantes, the Brigantes were subjugated in the Roman conquest of Britain during the 1st century, and it is asserted that the Roman settlement of Coccium was established where Wigan lies. Wigan is believed to have incorporated as a borough in 1246 following the issue of a charter by King Henry III of England. At the end of the Middle Ages it was one of four boroughs in Lancashire established by Royal charters, the others were Lancaster, Liverpool, during the Industrial Revolution Wigan experienced dramatic economic expansion and a rapid rise in the population. Although porcelain manufacture and clock making had been major industries in the town, Wigan subsequently became known as a mill town. The first coal mine was established at Wigan in 1450 and at its peak there were 1,000 pit shafts within 5 miles of the town centre, mining was so extensive that one town councillor remarked that a coal mine in the backyard was not uncommon in Wigan. Coal mining ceased during the part of the 20th century. Wigan Pier, a wharf on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, was famous by the writer George Orwell. In his book, The Road to Wigan Pier, Orwell highlighted the poor working and living conditions of the inhabitants during the 1930s. Following the decline of activities in the region, Wigan Piers collection of warehouses and wharfs became a local heritage centre. On 24th November 2016, on his 80th birthday, a statue of Dave Whelan was unveiled outside the stadium. Wigan had a population of 99,391 in 2011 but its Urban Subdivision had a population of 103,608, the name Wigan has been dated to at least the 7th century and probably originally meant a village or settlement. It has also suggested that the name is Celtic, named after a person called Wigan. This may have linked with Tre to give an original name of Trewigan. The name of the town has been recorded variously as Wigan in 1199, Wygayn in 1240, the first people believed to have settled in the Wigan area were the Brigantes, a Celtic tribe who controlled most of northern Britain. In the 1st century, the area was conquered by the Romans, the late 2nd-century Antonine Itinerary mentions a Roman settlement called Coccium 17 miles from the Roman fort at Manchester and 20 miles from the fort at Ribchester
29.
Other Nationalities rugby league team
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The Other Nationalities rugby league team regularly played international, and also county, rugby league football teams in Europe from 1904 to 1975. The team, created in 1904 to play England in the first ever rugby international match, was at first made up of Welsh and Scottish players. England were the most regular opponents for the Other Nationalities team, but in the 1950s, on entry to the European Nations Cup, they also played Wales and France. In 1964 Other Nationalities played their match in the Southern Hemisphere in a one-off match vs Sydney Colts at the Sydney Cricket Ground. The match was played as a curtain-raiser to the Australia vs France 3rd Test and was arranged in order to boost the attendance due to Frances poor form on tour. The team was made up of players from the NSWRL competition that year plus two Frenchmen that missed selection in Frances 3rd Test team. In 1965, Other Nationalities also played New Zealand in a Kiwi tour match at Crystal Palace, in 1974 and 1975 the team competed in the County Championship, facing Lancashire, Yorkshire, and Cumbria, twice each over both years. Since 1975 the team became redundant, with Wales, Scotland and Ireland now having their own national teams. † The 5th of April 1904 match, against England, was a 12-a-side game without a Loose forward/Lock, †† Although originally from South Africa, David Dave Barends also represented Great Britain. Exiles rugby league team British Empire XIII Rugby League XIII Rest of the world RL1895 - The First International France defeated in Battle of the Boulevard
30.
New Zealand national rugby league team
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The New Zealand national rugby league team has represented New Zealand in rugby league since 1907. Administered by the New Zealand Rugby League, they are known as the Kiwis. The teams colours are majority black with white and the players perform a haka before every match they play as a challenge to their opponents. The New Zealand Kiwis won the most recent Four Nations competition in 2014 and, since the 2015 Anzac Test, since the 1980s, most New Zealand representatives have been based overseas, in the professional National Rugby League and Super League competitions. Before that players were selected entirely from clubs in domestic New Zealand leagues, since then the Kiwis have regularly competed in international competition, touring Europe and Australia throughout the 20th century. New Zealand have competed in every Rugby League World Cup since the first in 1954, in 2008 New Zealand won the World Cup for the first time. They also contest the Baskerville Shield against England, and play an annual Anzac Test against Australia, Rugby football was introduced into New Zealand by Charles John Monro, son of the then speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives, Sir David Monro. He had been sent to Christs College, East Finchley in north London and he brought the game back to his native Nelson, and arranged the first rugby match between Nelson College and Nelson Football Club, played on 14 May 1870. When New Zealands national rugby team toured Britain in 1905 they witnessed the growing popularity of the breakaway non-amateur Northern Unions games, on his return in 1906, All Black George William Smith met the Australian entrepreneur J J Giltinan to discuss the potential of professional rugby in Australasia. The first New Zealand team to play rugby was known as the All Blacks. To avoid confusion, the terms professional All Blacks or All Golds are used, in the meantime, a lesser known New Zealand rugby player, Albert Henry Baskerville was ready to recruit a group of players for a Great Britain pro tour. It is believed that Baskerville became aware of the profits to be made such a venture while he was working at the Wellington Post Office in 1906. A colleague had a fit and dropped a British newspaper. Baskerville picked it up and noticed a report about a Northern Union match that over 40,000 people had attended, Baskerville wrote to the NRFU asking if they would host a New Zealand touring party. The 1905 All Blacks tour was still fresh in English minds, thus the NU saw the upcoming competitive New Zealand tour as exceptional opportunity to raise the profile, the NU agreed to the tour provided that some of those original All Blacks were included in the New Zealand team. George Smith arrived back in New Zealand and after learning of Baskervilles plans, the New Zealand Rugby Union became aware of the tour and promptly applied pressure to any All Black or New Zealand representative player it suspected of involvement. They had the New Zealand Governments Agent General in London deliver a statement to the British press in an effort to undermine the tours credibility. This had little effect and by time the professional All Blacks were already sailing across the Tasman to give Australia its first taste of professional rugby
31.
Emerald Headingley Stadium
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Headingley Stadium is a sporting complex in the suburb of Headingley in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is the home of Yorkshire County Cricket Club, Leeds Rhinos rugby league team, there are two separate grounds, Headingley Cricket Ground and Headingley Rugby Stadium with a two-sided stand housing common facilities. Initially owned by the Leeds Cricket, Football and Athletic Company, in December 2005 Yorkshire County Cricket Club obtained a loan of £9 million from Leeds City Council towards the cost of purchasing the cricket ground for £12 million. Shortly afterwards,98. 37% of members who participated in a vote backed the deal, on 11 January 2006, the club announced plans to rebuild the stand next to the rugby ground with 3,000 extra seats, taking capacity to 20,000. The club also announced plans to redevelop the Winter Shed stand on 25 August 2006 providing a £12.5 million pavilion complex, the cricket ground sits to the Northern side of the complex. It opened in 1891 and has used for test matches since 1899. It is the home ground of Yorkshire County Cricket Club. The ground last held The Ashes in 2009, since 2015 the cricket ground has been floodlit. The ground has a capacity of 17,500, executive facilities. All but the stand at the ground end have been rebuilt since 2000. The rugby ground sits to the Southern side of the complex, historically a rugby league ground it now hosts both codes. It is home to Leeds Rhinos rugby league team and Yorkshire Carnegie rugby union club, the ground consists of three stands and an open terrace at one end, one stand is completely seated, one standing and one mixed. It has a capacity of 21,000, Yorkshire County Cricket Club have shown keen interest in redeveloping the northern side of the ground. If Headingley is to retain Test Ground Status it is likely that further improvements will need to be made to the ground, on 5 June 2014 Yorkshire CCC announced the Headingley Masterplan. The phased redevelopment costing around £50 million will take place over the next 20 years, phase One Erection of four permanent floodlight pylons. The work should start for the start of the 2015 season, - The floodlights are now complete. The head is built in the shape of the Yorkshire Rose, the first game to be played under them was the T20 against Derbyshire Falcons on Friday 15 May 2015. Phase Four The development of a new Pavilion located in the North West area of the stadium complex, built on five levels, the Pavilion will be adjacent to the existing Carnegie Pavilion
32.
Leeds
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Leeds /liːdz/ is a city in West Yorkshire, England. Historically in Yorkshires West Riding, the history of Leeds can be traced to the 5th century when the name referred to an area of the Kingdom of Elmet. The name has applied to many administrative entities over the centuries. It changed from being the appellation of a small borough in the 13th century, through several incarnations. In the 17th and 18th centuries Leeds became a centre for the production. During the Industrial Revolution, Leeds developed into a mill town, wool was the dominant industry but flax, engineering, iron foundries, printing. From being a market town in the valley of the River Aire in the 16th century Leeds expanded and absorbed the surrounding villages to become a populous urban centre by the mid-20th century. The city has the third largest jobs total by local authority area with 480,000 in employment and self-employment at the beginning of 2015. Leeds is also ranked as a world city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network. Leeds is served by four universities, and has the fourth largest student population in the country and has the fourth largest urban economy. After London, Leeds is the largest legal and financial centre in the UK, with over 30 national and international banks located in the city. Leeds is also the UKs third largest manufacturing centre with around 1,800 firms and 39,000 employees, the largest sub-sectors are engineering, printing and publishing, food and drink, chemicals and medical technology. Outside of London, Leeds has the third busiest railway station, Public transport, rail and road communications networks in the region are focused on Leeds and there are a number of twinning arrangements with towns and cities in other countries. The name Leeds derives from the old Brythonic word Ladenses meaning people of the fast-flowing river and this name originally referred to the forested area covering most of the Brythonic kingdom of Elmet, which existed during the 5th century into the early 7th century. An inhabitant of Leeds is locally known as a Loiner, a word of uncertain origin, the term Leodensian is also used, from the citys Latin name. Leeds developed as a town in the Middle Ages as part of the local agricultural economy. Before the Industrial Revolution it became a centre for the manufacture of woollen cloth. Leeds handled one sixth of Englands export trade in 1770, growth, initially in textiles, was accelerated by the building of the Aire and Calder Navigation in 1699 and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal in 1816
33.
Australia national rugby league team
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The Australian national rugby league team have represented Australia in senior mens rugby league football competition since the establishment of the Northern Union game in Australia in 1908. Administered by the Australian Rugby League, the Kangaroos are ranked second in the RLIF World Rankings. The team are the most successful in Rugby League World Cup history, having contested all 14 and winning 10 of them, failing to reach the only once. Only four nations have beaten Australia in test matches, and Australia have a win percentage of 67%. Dating back to 1908, Australia are the fourth oldest national side after England, New Zealand, the team was first assembled in 1908 for a tour of Great Britain. The majority of the Kangaroos games since then have played against Great Britain. In the first half of the 20th century, Australias international competition came from alternating tours to Great Britain and New Zealand, on tours to Great Britain, Australia was known as the Kangaroos. Great Britain dominated in the years, and Australia did not win a Test against the Lions until 11 November 1911 under captain Chris McKivat. Australia did not win a series at home against Great Britain until 1920 or abroad until 1958, since 7 July 1994 the teams official nickname has been the Kangaroos, though they had unofficially been referred to as such since 1908. Previously, the Australian team was referred to as the Kangaroos when on tours of Great Britain or France. In 1997 Australia was also represented by a Super League Australia team, Rugby football has been played in Australia since the 1860s. In 1863 Sydney University became the first rugby club to be formed in Sydney, the Sydney Football Club and the Wallaroos followed, and inter-club competition commenced. By 1880, there were 100 clubs across the country, in 1888 an English team visited Australasia, playing rugby rules in Queensland, New South Wales and New Zealand, and Australian rules football in Victoria and South Australia. In 1899, an Australian team was formed for the first time using players from Queensland and they played a series of Tests against a British team. By 1907, Sydney club rugby games were attracting up to 20,000 people, with all going to the Southern Rugby Football Union. This caused discontent among players, and in 1908 the New South Wales Rugby Football League, an Australian national rugby league team was first formed during the first season of rugby league in Australia, the 1908 NSWRFL Premiership season. Later that year the Australian team arranged to go on a tour of its own, the first Kangaroos arrived in England on 27 September 1908, and played their first ever test against the Northern Union in December in London. It finished 22 all in front of a crowd of 2,000, the second test in Newcastle in January 1909 attracted a crowd of 22,000, and the Northern Union won 15–5
34.
Dewsbury Rams
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Dewsbury Rams R. L. F. C. are a professional English rugby league club based in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire which currently competes in the Kingstone Press Championship. They play their games at the Tetleys Stadium, on Owl Lane. The Rams main fanbase comes from their hometown of Dewsbury but also hold a strong following in Shaw Cross as well as neighbouring Gawthorpe and Ossett, prior to the 1997 season, the club was known simply as Dewsbury R. L. F. C. The club won a title in 1972–73 after finishing the regular season in 8th place. The club has won the Challenge Cup twice. The idea of establishing a football club in Dewsbury originated among a few friends at a meeting at the Little Saddle Inn in 1875. Established with immediate effect, Dewsbury Athletic and Football Club enrolled between 30 and 40 members, the first home game, it is generally held, took place on 4 December 1875 in a field off Sugar Lane, opposite the future Crown Flatt. In a 13-a-side scratch game, the two outfits – one selected by the Captain and the other by the Vice-Captain – fought out a draw, the club soon realised they needed a ground and the following year secured a sub tenancy at Crown Flatt for £200. During the course of the 1879–80 season the colours changed from blue and cardinal to black, crimson. 1881 saw the clubs first success in the Yorkshire Challenge Cup beating Huddersfield, Bradford, when York paid a visit to Crown Flatt on 25 September 1886, the home team took to the field wearing white jerseys that incorporated the boroughs coat of arms. Crown Flatt was rapidly gaining the reputation as one of the ground in Yorkshire. This was further enhanced when the club purchased the famous Noahs Ark stand at a cost of £250, in 1888, the club amalgamated with Savile Cricket Club and United Clerks Cricket Club to form Dewsbury and Savile Cricket and Football Club. The Yorkshire Senior Competition was formed in 1892 and Dewsbury immediately became members and they made their Senior Competition début at Liversedge on 10 September 1892, Dewsbury were beaten 2–10. The club struggled and finished in the three due to financial problems. The arrival of competitive leagues meant that attendances were increasing connected to on-field success, Dewsbury failed to adapt to the new era, attendances from then onwards topped 2,000 only on rare occasions. By 1895, Dewsbury were sporting blue and white, at a special meeting convened at the Kings Arms Hotel, Market Place, on 2 September, they elected to remain in the Senior Competition. It was not a popular decision, a local journalist reported that there wasnt a single supporter who wouldnt say Let us have the Northern Union and the sooner the better. Dewsbury marginally improved their position in the league to 10th, next season however they were back at the bottom
35.
Wembley Stadium (1923)
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The Original Wembley Stadium was a football stadium located in Wembley Park, London. It stood on the now occupied by its successor, the new Wembley Stadium. The great Brazilian footballer Pelé once said of the stadium, Wembley is the cathedral of football and it is the capital of football and it is the heart of football in recognition of its status as the worlds best-known football stadium. It also hosted music events, including the 1985 Live Aid charity concert. The twin towers were an icon for England and Wembley, debris from the Original Wembley Stadium was used to make the award-winning Northala Fields in Northolt, Ealing. The stadiums first turf was cut by King George V, much of Humphrey Reptons original Wembley Park landscape was transformed in 1922–23 during preparations for the British Empire Exhibition of 1924–25. First known as the British Empire Exhibition Stadium or simply Empire Stadium, the stadium cost £750,000, and was constructed on the site of an earlier folly called Watkins Tower. The architects were Sir John Simpson and Maxwell Ayrton and the Head Engineer Sir Owen Williams, the stadium had gone into liquidation, after it was pronounced financially unviable. Elvin offered to buy the stadium for £127,000, using a £12,000 downpayment and they then immediately bought it back from Elvin, leaving him with a healthy profit. Instead of cash he received shares, which gave him the largest stake in Wembley Stadium, the electric scoreboard and the all-encircling roof, made from aluminium and translucent glass, were added in 1963. The stadiums distinctive Twin Towers became its trademark and nickname, also well known were the 39 steps needed to be climbed to reach the Royal box and collect a trophy. Wembley was the first pitch to be referred to as Hallowed Turf, in 1934, the Empire Pool was built nearby. The Wembley Stadium Collection is held by the National Football Museum, the stadium closed in October 2000, and demolition commenced in December 2002, completing in 2003 for redevelopment. The top of one of the towers was erected as a memorial in the park on the north side of Overton Close in the Saint Raphaels Estate. Wembley is best known for hosting football matches, having hosted the FA Cup Final annually as well as numerous England International fixtures, the Empire Stadium was built in exactly 300 days at the cost of £750,000. Described as the worlds greatest sporting arena, it was ready only 4 days before the White Horse Final in 1923, the FA had not considered admission by ticket, grossly underestimating the number of fans who arrived at the 104 gates on match day. However, after the game, every event, apart from the 1982 replay, was ticketed, the first event held at the stadium was the FA Cup Final on 28 April 1923 between Bolton Wanderers and West Ham United. This is known as the White Horse Final, the crowds overflowed onto the pitch as there was no room on the terraces
36.
World War I
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World War I, also known as the First World War, the Great War, or the War to End All Wars, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history and it was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, and paved the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved. The war drew in all the worlds great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances, the Allies versus the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. These alliances were reorganised and expanded as more nations entered the war, Italy, Japan, the trigger for the war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, by Yugoslav nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. This set off a crisis when Austria-Hungary delivered an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia. Within weeks, the powers were at war and the conflict soon spread around the world. On 25 July Russia began mobilisation and on 28 July, the Austro-Hungarians declared war on Serbia, Germany presented an ultimatum to Russia to demobilise, and when this was refused, declared war on Russia on 1 August. Germany then invaded neutral Belgium and Luxembourg before moving towards France, after the German march on Paris was halted, what became known as the Western Front settled into a battle of attrition, with a trench line that changed little until 1917. On the Eastern Front, the Russian army was successful against the Austro-Hungarians, in November 1914, the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers, opening fronts in the Caucasus, Mesopotamia and the Sinai. In 1915, Italy joined the Allies and Bulgaria joined the Central Powers, Romania joined the Allies in 1916, after a stunning German offensive along the Western Front in the spring of 1918, the Allies rallied and drove back the Germans in a series of successful offensives. By the end of the war or soon after, the German Empire, Russian Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, national borders were redrawn, with several independent nations restored or created, and Germanys colonies were parceled out among the victors. During the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, the Big Four imposed their terms in a series of treaties, the League of Nations was formed with the aim of preventing any repetition of such a conflict. This effort failed, and economic depression, renewed nationalism, weakened successor states, and feelings of humiliation eventually contributed to World War II. From the time of its start until the approach of World War II, at the time, it was also sometimes called the war to end war or the war to end all wars due to its then-unparalleled scale and devastation. In Canada, Macleans magazine in October 1914 wrote, Some wars name themselves, during the interwar period, the war was most often called the World War and the Great War in English-speaking countries. Will become the first world war in the sense of the word. These began in 1815, with the Holy Alliance between Prussia, Russia, and Austria, when Germany was united in 1871, Prussia became part of the new German nation. Soon after, in October 1873, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck negotiated the League of the Three Emperors between the monarchs of Austria-Hungary, Russia and Germany
37.
World War II
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World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
38.
Bradford Bulls
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Bradford Bulls R. L. F. C. are a professional rugby league club in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, which currently plays in the Championship. They have won the Challenge Cup five times, the championship six times. Bradford play their games at Odsal Stadium. The team jersey is white with red, amber and black chevrons, in 1907, founder member of the Rugby Football League Bradford F. C. switched codes to association football, and Bradford Northern was formed by members who wished to continue rugby. Bradford Northern were renamed Bradford Bulls in 1996, at the start of Super League, Bradfords main rivalry was with Leeds, they also had rivalries with Huddersfield and Halifax. The club entered administration in 2012, and again in 2014 and 2016, despite several bids to take over the club, none of the bids were accepted by the administrators and on 3 January 2017 the club went into liquidation. Due to the administration and liquidation, the club started the 2017 season with a 12-point deduction, the original Bradford Football Club was formed in 1863 and played rugby football, subsequently joining the Rugby Football Union. Initially the club played at Horton Cricket Ground, All Saints Road but were asked to leave because of damage to the pitch and they then moved to Laisteridge Lane and later North Park Road in Manningham. A nomadic existence continued as they went on to Peel Park, then Girlington. Bradford Football Club and Bradford Cricket Club bought Park Avenue in 1879, the clubs headquarters were at the Talbot Darley Street, and later The Alexandra, Great Horton Road. The club achieved its first major success by winning the Yorkshire Cup in 1884, in 1895, along with cross-town neighbours Manningham F. C. These 22 clubs formed the Northern Rugby Football Union and rugby football was born. Bradford enjoyed some success in the new competition, in the 1903–04 Northern Rugby Football Union season, the team finished level on points with Salford at the top of the league and then won the resulting play-off 5–0. In 1905–06, Bradford beat Salford 5–0 to win the Challenge Cup and were runners-up in the Championship, in 1906–07, Bradford won the Yorkshire County Cup 8–5 against Hull Kingston Rovers. The creation of Bradford City led to demands for association football at Park Avenue too, the ground had already hosted some football matches including one in the 1880s between Blackburn Rovers and Blackburn Olympic F. C. In 1895, a Bradford side had beaten a team from Moss Side, Manchester, following the change at Bradford City, a meeting was called of the Bradford FC members on 15 April 1907 to decide the rugby clubs future. This act, sometimes referred to as The Great Betrayal, led to Bradford FC becoming the Bradford Park Avenue Association Football Club, Bradford Northerns first home ground was the Greenfield Athletic Ground in Dudley Hill, to the south of the city. They based themselves at the Greenfield Hotel, Northern moved to Birch Lane in 1908
39.
Cumberland
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Cumberland is a historic county of North West England that had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. It was bordered by Northumberland to the east, County Durham to the southeast, Westmorland and Lancashire to the south and it formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974 and now forms part of Cumbria. The first record of the term Cumberland appears in 945, when the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle recorded that the area was ceded to Malcolm I by King Edmund of England, in 1092 King William Rufus of England invaded the Carlisle district, settling it with colonists. He created an Earldom of Carlisle, and granted the territory to Ranulf Meschyn, in 1133 Carlisle was made the see of a new diocese, largely identical with the area of the earldom. However, on the death of King Henry I in 1135 and he was able to consolidate his power and made Carlisle one of his chief seats of government, while England descended into a lengthy civil war. The lead and silver-mining area of Alston, previously associated with the Liberty of Tynedale was later added to the new county of Carliol for financial reasons. By 1177 the county of Carliol was known as Cumberland, the border between England and Scotland was made permanent by the Treaty of York in 1237. The boundaries formed in the 12th century did not change substantially over the countys existence and it bordered four English counties and two Scottish counties. These were Northumberland and County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south, to the west the county was bounded by the Solway Firth and the Irish Sea. The northern boundary was formed by the Solway Estuary and the border with Scotland running east to Scotch Knowe at Kershope Burn, the boundary ran south from Scotch Knowe along the Cheviot Hills, then followed a tributary of the River Irthing and crossed Denton Fell to the River Tees. From Tees Head the boundary crossed the Pennines to descend Crowdundale Beck, from where it followed the rivers Eden, the line then followed the Glencoin Beck to the top of the Helvellyn ridge, thence to Wrynose Pass and along the River Duddon to the sea near Millom. The highest point of the county was Scafell Pike, at 3,208 feet the highest mountain in England, the Earldom of Carlisle was divided into baronies, but on the creation of the county these were replaced by wards. These took the place of hundreds found in most other English counties, each ward was composed of a number of parishes, areas originally formed for ecclesiastical administration. In common with other counties of northern England, many parishes in Cumberland were very large, often consisting of a number of distinct townships, many of these subdivisions were eventually to become civil parishes and form the lowest level of local government. The wards and their constituent parishes in 1821 were, Parts or all of parishes and townships constituted the City of Carlisle. The ward of Cumberland was one of the ancient divisions of the county of Cumberland, England. In most other counties these divisions were called hundreds or Wapentakes, the ward included Carlisle and Wigton and took in parts of Inglewood Forest. It was bounded on the north and east by Eskdale Ward, on the south by Leath Ward, the parish of Stanwix just to the north of Carlisle was partly in both Eskdale and Cumberland wards
40.
West Riding of Yorkshire
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The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of the three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county, County of York, the lieutenancy at that time included the City of York and as such was named West Riding of the County of York and the County of the City of York. The West Riding encompasses 1,771,562 acres from Sheffield in the south to Sedbergh in the north and from Dunsop Bridge in the west to Adlingfleet in the east. Unlike most English counties that were divided into hundreds, Yorkshire, being so large, was divided first into thrithjungar, each riding was then divided into wapentakes, a division comparable to the hundreds of Southern England and the wards of Englands four northern-most historic counties. The wapentakes of the West Riding were Agbrigg and Morley, Barkston Ash, Ewcross, Claro, Osgoldcross, Skyrack, Staincliffe, Staincross, Strafforth, major centres elsewhere in the riding included Harrogate and Ripon. Outside the industrial region were Goole, Ilkley, Knaresborough and Selby, the West Riding also contained a large rural area to the north including part of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Initially there were five in number, Bradford, Leeds, Huddersfield, Halifax, the City of York was included in the county for census and lieutenancy purposes. The number of county boroughs increased over the years, Rotherham gained this status in 1902, Barnsley and Dewsbury in 1913, Wakefield in 1915, the boundaries of existing county boroughs were also widened. Beginning in 1898, the West Riding County Council was based at the County Hall in Wakefield, the Local Government Act 1888 included the entirety of Todmorden with the West Riding administrative county, and also in its lieutenancy area. Other boundary changes in the county included the expansion of the county borough of Sheffield southward in areas historically in Derbyshire such as Dore, fingerposts erected in the West Riding until the mid-1960s had a distinctive style. At the top of the post was a roundel in the form of a circle with a horizontal line across the middle, displaying Yorks W. R. the name of the fingerposts location. Other counties, apart from Dorset, did not display a grid reference, from 1964, many fingerposts were replaced by ones in the modern style, but some of the old style still survive within the West Riding boundaries. By 19711,924,853 people lived in the administrative county, within the West Riding of Yorkshire there were ten wapentakes in total, four of which were split into two divisions, those were— Claro, Skyrack, Strafforth and Tickhill and Staincliffe. The wapentake of Agbrigg and Morley was created two divisions but was later split into two separate wapentakes
41.
Workington
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Workington is a town, civil parish and port at the mouth of the River Derwent on the west coast of Cumbria, England. Historically in Cumberland and lying in the Borough of Allerdale, Workington is 32 miles southwest of Carlisle,7 miles west of Cockermouth, at the 2011 Census it had a population of 25,207. Workington is the seat of Allerdale Borough Council, sue Hayman is the MP for the constituency of the same name that includes other towns in Workingtons hinterland. The area around Workington has long been a producer of coal, between AD79 and AD122, Roman forts, mile-forts and watchtowers were established along the Cumbrian coast. They were coastal defences against attacks by the Scoti from Ireland and by the Caledonii, the 16th-century Britannia, written by William Camden describes ruins of the coastal defences at Workington. A Viking sword was discovered at Northside, which is believed to indicate there was a settlement at the rivers mouth. In 2007, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors named Washington Square as the best commercial project in North West England, several works of public art were installed in the town centre, including, Glass Canopies designed by Alexander Beleschenko. The Hub by BASE Structures and Illustrious, the Grilles architectural metalwork at Central Car Park by Tom Lomax in association with pupils from St Patricks Primary School and Alan Dawson. by Paul Scott and Robert Drake. Lookout Clock, a town clock designed by Andy Plant. In 2011 a closed meeting of Allerdale councillors took place to discuss the sale of the site, Tesco stated that they were still seeking a site for a store of around 60,000 sq ft in Workington to replace the established store. Workington lies astride the River Derwent, on the West Cumbrian coastal plain and it is bounded to the west by the Solway Firth, part of the Irish Sea, and by the Lake District fells to the east. The town comprises various districts, many of which were established as housing estates, North of the river these districts include Seaton, Barepot, Northside, Port and Oldside. The Marsh and Quay, a working class area of the town around the docks. Much of the area of the Marsh is now covered by Clay Flatts Industrial Estate. The Cumbria iron ore field lies to the south of Workington, for the first 25 years of the process, until Gilchrist and Thomas improved upon it, phosphorus-free haematite was required. With Cumbria as the premier source, and the local coalfield providing energy for steel production. The Bessemer converter continued to work until July 1974, the Moss Bay Steelworks closed in 1982, despite having received significant infrastructural investment and improvements almost immediately prior to the closure. Workington was the home of Distington Engineering Company, the arm of British Steel Corporation
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Whitehaven
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Whitehaven is a town and port on the coast of Cumbria, England. Historically a part of Cumberland, it lies equidistant between Cumbrias two largest settlements, Carlisle and Barrow-in-Furness, and is served by the Cumbrian Coast Line and it is the administrative centre of the Borough of Copeland and an unparished area. The population of the town was 23,986 at the 2011 Census, the major industry is the nearby Sellafield nuclear complex, with which a large proportion of the population has links. Although there was a Roman fort at Parton, around 1.2 miles to the north, the area was settled by Irish-Norse Vikings in the 10th century. The area name of Copeland, which includes Whitehaven, indicates that the land was purchased from the Kingdom of Strathclyde, the Priory of St Bees owned the village of Whitehaven until Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries in 1539. The towns churches were chapels-of-ease of St Bees until 1835 when three districts were created in Whitehaven. The town was largely the creation of the Lowther family in the 17th century, Sir Christopher Lowther purchased the estate in 1630 and used Whitehaven as a port for exporting coal from the Cumberland Coalfield, particularly to Ireland. In 1634 he built a pier where ships could load and unload their cargo. Whitehaven’s prosperity during the 18th and 19th centuries was based on tobacco, by 1685, there were ships plying between the town and the American colonies of Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania. M. The tobacco would then be re-exported to Ireland, France, Holland, however, after the Acts of Union 1707 with Scotland the port of Glasgow began to take over Whitehavens tobacco trade. By the second half of the 18th century there was a decline in shipping tobacco via Whitehaven. By 1820 the Customs Collector did not mention tobacco in his report on Whitehaven, Whitehaven grew into a major coal mining town during the 18th and 19th centuries and also became a substantial commercial port on the back of this trade. They have of late fallen into some merchandising also, occasioned by the great number of their shipping, and there are now some considerable merchants. There is little evidence to suggest that Whitehaven was involved in the slave trade, due to the coal trade Whitehaven was, after London, the second port of England in terms of tonnage of shipping from 1750 to 1772. Even by 1835 Whitehaven was still the fifth placed port with 443 ships registered, Whitehaven was during the 19th century overtaken by Bristol, Liverpool and Glasgow. John Paul Jones led a raid upon the town in 1778 during the American War of Independence. Whitehaven was, with Falmouth, the first post medieval foundation in England and it is the most complete example of planned Georgian architecture in Europe and recently has been pursuing growth through tourism. Whitehavens planned layout was with streets in a right-angled grid, james Robinson is officially credited as the original architect but some contest the claim
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Doncaster
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Doncaster, is a large market town in South Yorkshire, England. Together with its suburbs and settlements, the town forms part of the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster. The town itself has a population of 109,805, the Doncaster Urban Area had a population of 158,141 in 2011 and includes Doncaster and the neighbouring small village of Bentley as well as some other villages. Possibly inhabited by people, Doncaster grew up at the site of a Roman fort constructed in the 1st century at a crossing of the River Don. The 2nd century Antonine Itinerary and the early 5th century Notitia Dignitatum called this fort Danum, julius Agricola during the late 70s. Doncaster provided a direct land route between Lincoln and York. The main route between Lincoln and York was Ermine Street, which required parties to break into smaller units to cross the Humber in boats, as this was not always practical, the Romans considered Doncaster to be an important staging post. The Roman road through Doncaster appears on two recorded in the Antonine Itinerary. The itinerary include the section of road between Lincoln and York, and list three stations along the route between these two coloniae. Routes 7 and 8 are entitled the route from York to London, several areas of known intense archaeological interest have been identified in the town, although many—in particular St Sepulchre Gate—remain hidden under buildings. The Roman fort is believed to have located on the site that is now covered by St Georges Minster. The Register names the unit as under the command of the Duke of the Britons, Doncaster is generally believed to be the Cair Daun listed as one of the 28 cities of Britain in the 9th century History of the Britons traditionally attributed to Nennius. It was certainly an Anglo-Saxon burh, during which period it received its present name, Don- from the Roman settlement, the settlement was mentioned in the 1003 will of Wulfric Spott. Shortly after the Norman Conquest, Nigel Fossard refortified the town, by the time of the Domesday Book, Hexthorpe in the wapentake of Strafforth was described as having a church and two mills. The historian David Hey says that these represent the settlement at Doncaster. He also suggests that the street name Frenchgate indicates that Fossard invited fellow Normans to trade in the town, as the 13th century approached, Doncaster matured into a busy town, in 1194 King Richard I granted it national recognition with a town charter. Doncaster had a fire in 1204, from which it slowly recovered. At the time, buildings were built of wood, and open fireplaces were used for cooking and heating, in 1248 a charter was granted for Doncaster Market to be held around the Church of St Mary Magdalene, built in Norman times
44.
Halifax R.L.F.C.
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Halifax R. L. F. C. is a semi-professional rugby league club in Halifax, West Yorkshire, which formed in 1873. Halifax were one of the original twenty-two rugby clubs formed the Northern Rugby Football Union in 1895. They have been Rugby League Champions four times and have won the Challenge Cup five times and they have rivalries with neighbours Bradford and Huddersfield and with fellow Championship side Featherstone Rovers. Known as Fax, the colours are blue and white hoops, white shorts and blue. They share the Shay stadium with the football club, Halifax Town. The club was founded as Halifax in 1873, after winning the first Yorkshire Cup in 1878, they went on to win it on another four occasions. Several players were picked for the Yorkshire County side in these years, in 1886, the club moved to Thrum Hall, which would be their home ground for the next 112 years. The first game there was played on 18 September 1886 against Hull F. C. Halifax were founding members of the breakaway Northern Rugby Football Union in 1895. In 1896, Halifax lost out on winning the first ever Rugby Football League Championship by a single point, in 1902–03, they achieved the double by winning the Challenge Cup and finishing top of Division One. They won the cup again the season, and were the first ever Championship play-off winners in 1906–07. Halifax won their first Wembley Challenge Cup final in 1931, beating York 22–8, an estimated 100,000 people lined the route to a civic reception at the town hall. Towards the end of the 1937 season, Streatham and Mitcham folded after just one season in the league. The club had made a number of signings from the New Zealand All Blacks, including George Nepia and Charles Smith. In 1938, Halifax reached the semi-final of the Challenge Cup, in 1939, Halifax became the last team to win the Challenge Cup final before the war. Favourites Salford were beaten 20–3 in front of a record 55,453 spectators, in 1947 Halifaxs Hudson Irving died from a heart attack while playing at Dewsbury. In 1949, Halifaxs David Craven died after breaking his neck playing against Workington Town, the 1949 Challenge Cup final was sold out for first time as 95,050 spectators saw Bradford Northern beat Halifax. In the 1950s, Halifax were Championship runners-up three times, beat Hull F. C. in Yorkshire Cup finals in 1954 and 1955, Halifax were unbeaten at their home ground of Thrum Hall between December 1952 and November 1956. After securing a Yorkshire league and cup double in 1955–56, the club was in sight of winning All Four Cups, Wembley was reached after a 11–10 Challenge Cup semi-final victory over Wigan at Odsal and Halifax beat St. Helens 23–8 in the Championship semi-final
45.
Warrington Wolves
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Warrington Wolves R. L. F. C. is a professional rugby league football club based in Warrington, England that competes in Super League. They play at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, having moved there from Wilderspool in 2003 and they are nicknamed The Wire in reference to the wire-drawing industry in the town. Warrington have local rivalries with Widnes, St. Helens and Wigan and they have won three League Championships and are the fourth most successful team in the Challenge Cup with eight victories, behind Wigan, St. Helens and Leeds. The current head coach at the club is Tony Smith, who joined in March 2009, under the heading Outdoor Sports – Football the Widnes Guardian of 25 January 1873 reports on a recent game between Warrington and Wigan at the unnamed ground of the former. On 6 December 1873 that same newspaper carried details of a derby between Warrington and Zingari and in subsequent weeks there were matches with Sale and Free Wanderers. This club folded after its ground was lost to development work, Warrington Zingari Football Club was formed in 1876 by seven young local men. When the earlier club folded, they decided to take the vacant Warrington Football Club name for the start of the 1877/8 season, another local club, Padgate Excelsior amalgamated with Warrington in 1881–82, and then Warrington Wanderers joined in 1884 to form a representative town side. In 1886, the club won its first silverware, the West Lancashire, on 28 August 1895, the Committee decided to join with 21 other clubs throughout Lancashire and Yorkshire to form a new Northern Union and resigned from the RFU. In 1900–01, Warrington reached the final of the Challenge Cup, a crowd of 29,000 turned out at Leeds to see Warrington battle hard but be beaten by two tries to nil. Warrington also appeared in the renamed South West Lancashire Cup against Leigh two days later, the strenuous game against Batley took its toll on the Warrington players and the match ended in a 0–0 draw, the replay never took place. In 1903–04, Warrington defeated Bradford Northern in a replay to earn a place in the final of the Challenge Cup. Warrington put up a performance against Halifax but lost 8–3. In 1904–05, Warrington beat Hull Kingston Rovers 6–0 to win the Challenge Cup final in front of a crowd of 19,638, in 1908,14 November the first touring Australian rugby league team visit Warrington. The Kangaroos embarked upon a massive six months tour of Britain taking in 45 matches and their timing was not good as the north of England was hit by strikes in the cotton mills, which badly affected attendances as fans could not afford to watch the pioneering Aussies. On Saturday 14 November 1908 Warrington played the Kangaroos, Warrington won the match 10-3, with Jackie Fish the hero scoring one try and Ike Taylor the other, Fish and George Dickenson kicked a goal each. A crowd of 5,000 watched the match at Wilderspool, the Australians came back to Wilderspool for revenge later in the tour but tries from Jack Fish, and John Jenkins earned the Wirepullers an 8-8 draw. Two members of the Kangaroo squad, Dan Frawley and Larry OMalley later signed for Warrington, Warrington have the best record of any club side against the touring Kangaroos with eight wins, one draw, and seven defeats from sixteen matches. In 1913, 5th challenge cup final, Warrington reached their fifth Challenge Cup Final, with wins over Keighley, Hull Kingston Rovers, Salford, the Final was lost 9–5 to the mighty Huddersfield team of All-Stars
46.
Odsal Stadium
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Odsal Stadium, is a sports stadium in Odsal, Bradford, West Yorkshire. Odsal has also been a venue for baseball, basketball, kabbadi, show jumping, tennis, live music, the stadium is used primarily as the home of Bradford Bulls Rugby League team. The current official capacity of the stadium is 26,019, formed in 1907, the Bradford Northern club had played at a number of venues including the Greenfield Athletic Ground in Dudley Hill and Bowling Old Lane Cricket Clubs ground in Birch Lane. By the early 1920s, however, Birch Lanes limitations were clear, on 20 June 1933 the club therefore signed a ten-year deal on the site, which was to become the biggest stadium in England outside Wembley. The site was a quarry which was then being used as a landfill tip. The Director of Cleansing for Bradford City Council devised a system of controlled tipping that saw 140,000 cart loads of waste deposited to form the characteristic banking at Odsal. The club were to be responsible for fencing, dressing rooms. To be able to turf the pitch, and other areas, a stand was erected at the cost of £2,000, which was paid by the Rugby Football League. It held 1,500 on a mixture of benches and tip-up seats, the ground was officially opened by Sir Joseph Taylor, President of Huddersfield on 1 September 1934. His club went on to beat the hosts 31–16, Australian winger Ray Markham scoring four tries in front of an estimated 20,000, the clubhouse and dressing rooms were officially opened before a match against Hull F. C. on 2 February 1935. Contemporary pictures show that as late as August 1935 the banking on the Rooley Avenue side was still being created. During the Second World War, the floor of the clubhouse was also used as an Air Raid Precautions centre. On 20 December 1947, the largest ever attendance for an international test at Odsal was set when 42,685 saw England defeated New Zealand 25–9, the first floodlit rugby match in the North of England was held at Odsal in 1951. In September 1951, Council Engineer Ernest Wardley drew up a plan for a 92,000 capacity European style stadium, eventually £50,000 was spent on terracing the Rooley Avenue end in 1964, before the Wardley plan was officially dropped the following year. The second test of the 1978 Ashes series was played at Odsal, the Lions team that day featured what was called a Dads Army front row with Jim Mills, Tony Fisher and Brian Lockwood all being over the age of 30. The grounds clubhouse had to be refurbished when it was condemned in the mid-1980s, the social facilities were also upgraded at the same time. On 23 September 1985, a Football League delegation visited Odsal to view the stadium to pass it fit to host Citys home games. Segregation fences were erected on the old Main Stand side and 1,000 uncovered seats were bolted onto the terracing – it was planned to install 7,000 in the future
47.
Bradford
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Bradford /ˈbrædfərd/ is in the Metropolitan Borough of the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, England, in the foothills of the Pennines 8.6 miles west of Leeds, and 16 miles northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897. Following local government reform in 1974, city status was bestowed upon the metropolitan borough. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, Bradford rose to prominence during the 19th century as a centre of textile manufacture. It was a boomtown of the Industrial Revolution, and amongst the earliest industrialised settlements, the textile sector in Bradford fell into decline from the mid-20th century. However, Bradford has faced challenges to the rest of the post-industrial area of Northern England, including deindustrialisation, social unrest. It was recorded as Bradeford in 1086, after an uprising in 1070, during William the Conquerors Harrying of the North, the manor of Bradford was laid waste and is described as such in the Domesday Book of 1086. It then became part of the Honour of Pontefract given to Ilbert de Lacy for service to the Conqueror, there is evidence of a castle in the time of the Lacys. The manor then passed to the Earl of Lincoln, John of Gaunt, The Crown and, ultimately, by the middle ages Bradford, had become a small town centred on Kirkgate, Westgate and Ivegate. In 1316 there is mention of a mill, a soke mill where all the manor corn was milled. During the Wars of the Roses the inhabitants sided with House of Lancaster, Edward IV granted the right to hold two annual fairs and from this time the town began to prosper. In the reign of Henry VIII Bradford exceeded Leeds as a manufacturing centre, Bradford grew slowly over the next two-hundred years as the woollen trade gained in prominence. During the Civil War the town was garrisoned for the Parliamentarians, Sir Thomas Fairfax took the command of the garrison and marched to meet the Duke of Newcastle but was defeated. The Parliamentarians retreated to Bradford and the Royalists set up headquarters at Bolling Hall from where the town was besieged leading to its surrender, the Civil War caused a decline in industry but after the accession of William and Mary in 1689 prosperity began to return. The launch of manufacturing in the early 18th century marked the start of the development while new canal. In 1801, Bradford was a market town of 6,393 people. Bradford was thus not much bigger than nearby Keighley and was smaller than Halifax. This small town acted as a hub for three nearby townships – Manningham, Bowling and Great and Little Horton, which were separated from the town by countryside
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