Whatever happened to Bramley?

[JF1]

Of all the clubs that have recently ceased playing professional rugby league,one of the least discussed appears to be Bramley.

How or why did it all end,could they have been saved or was the sale of the ground for housing too good to refuse?

They had a smashing ground,a decent team with reasonable support and competed in the first division quite successfully for a period.I recall them winning the Floodlit Trophy one afternoon!

They had at least one director who had previously helped resurrect Hunslet and appeared to be a well run club,living within its means.

I know they resigned and morphed into the Buffaloes,but the background to the whole thing intrigues me.

At Hunslet,we had some great derbies against them,although not with as much success as I would have liked.

Any thoughts?

 

[sam4731]

Read last months Rugby League World. Interesting story.

[Griff]

I suspect that they weren't living within their means as well as you think but they became Leeds Reserves for three seasons from 1997 before resigning in 1999.

[Griff]

48 minutes ago, sam4731 said:

Read last months Rugby League World. Interesting story.

It doesn't really say much about their demise, though.

[Barley Mow]

1 hour ago, JF1 said:

Of all the clubs that have recently ceased playing professional rugby league,one of the least discussed appears to be Bramley.

How or why did it all end,could they have been saved or was the sale of the ground for housing too good to refuse?

They had a smashing ground,a decent team with reasonable support and competed in the first division quite successfully for a period.I recall them winning the Floodlit Trophy one afternoon!

They had at least one director who had previously helped resurrect Hunslet and appeared to be a well run club,living within its means.

I know they resigned and morphed into the Buffaloes,but the background to the whole thing intrigues me.

At Hunslet,we had some great derbies against them,although not with as much success as I would have liked.

Any thoughts?

 

To the best of my memory 20+ years on:

McLaren Field was sold in 1995. I assume either 'too good to refuse' or through financial necessity.

We played at Headingley Rugby Union's Clarence Field (now Rhino's training facility) for a season before sharing at Headingley for two. Both being outside West Leeds didn't help. The fact that Clarence Field was a park and clubhouse with no stands, etc meant crowds fell and when we ended up at Headingley a lot of people decided they might as well watch Leeds instead.

The club resigned from the league after 1999 with the intention of keeping the Bramley name but effectively becoming Rhino's reserves - I'm not sure what competition that was supposed to be in.

When that fell through we tried to re-enter the league, but were told that the grounds we proposed (Throstle Nest, Farsley and Morley RU) were not up to standard - I assume Clarence Field had only been accepted previously for a single season as an emergency stopgap.

We retained full RFL membership for a number of years, without playing in any competition, in the hope that a solution could be found.

The Bramley Buffaloes were formed by some fans in 2001 and applied to enter the pro-hierarchy but were refused and entered National League 3 instead - amateur but with the stated intention that it may eventually be a route for clubs to enter the pro-divisions. They were regularly league leaders in that competition and won the play-offs a couple of times but promotion of NL3 clubs never materialised.

To me there was little attraction to the Buffaloes, although I appreciate recreational RL, my love was in standing on terraces with decentish crowds following a team with a heritage steeped in RL's (semi-)pro culture (rather than on the grass around the perimeter of a field). Without a ground like McLaren Field, the Buffaloes were never going to be that.

Once it became clear that NL3 was not going to be a route back to full RFL membership and competition and that they were going to just be a recreational club playing out of other local community clubs'/RU clubs' rented grounds, the drive behind that club disappeared and they now seem to be reasonably happy as a lower level Yorkshire League club.

Edited September 29, 2023 by Barley Mow

[ATLANTISMAN]

Not to mention Cliff miss him on this forum 

[Damien]

I remember watching Bramley lose in the Challenge Cup in 1999 against Leigh Miners at Headingley in front of barely anyone. It was a fairly depressing sight and the whole club just seemed a bit pointless at that time.

[daz39]

Mclaren field, that was a tidy little ground back in the day, great bar under the main stand too i recall.

Always enjoyed going there, they had a decent side in the early 90's along with us, shame they disappeared.

[Dave W]

17 minutes ago, daz39 said:

Mclaren field, that was a tidy little ground back in the day, great bar under the main stand too i recall.

Always enjoyed going there, they had a decent side in the early 90's along with us, shame they disappeared.

One of my favourite away trips. You're right about that little bar - a very nice pork pie and mushy peas too. 

Abiding memory: One of the floodlight stanchions on the side opposite the main stand was bent over a few degrees at the top for some inexplicable reason. 

[Gooleboy]

43 minutes ago, daz39 said:

Mclaren field, that was a tidy little ground back in the day, great bar under the main stand too i recall.

Always enjoyed going there, they had a decent side in the early 90's along with us, shame they disappeared.

Agreed. I always enjoyed a trip to Bramley. They had some good sides down the years.

[Moe syszlak]

I remember them playing at wilderspool in the late 80s. They had a winger(Peter Lewis I think his name was)who gave dessie a torrid time! Can't believe he didn't end up playing at a bigger club.

[Stirlin]

They turned up at York one sunday and the kitman had picked up the ' home bag ' , amber and black same as the Wasps so we played in red shirts and black shorts. One particular York supporter , if York were not playing very well during a match would always shout ' C'mon York , yer mekin em look good ' , back to the Bramley game , we went in early doors for a converted try.....up went the cry from misery guts and at least 6 blokes descended on him to point out we were the team in red , never heard from again.

[Archie Gordon]

2 hours ago, Barley Mow said:

To the best of my memory 20+ years on:

McLaren Field was sold in 1995. I assume either 'too good to refuse' or through financial necessity.

...

Just checked on Google maps - the Barley Mow is still there though!

[Yorks Tim]

I remember a few tasty games between Coventry Bears and Buffs.

Much like Hunslet, they had a section of supporters who were disowned by the majority. Nothing more than being noisy and annoying as far as I was aware.

They were playing at a union club at the time I seem to remember. Decent ground.  

[Griff]

38 minutes ago, Moe syszlak said:

I remember them playing at wilderspool in the late 80s. They had a winger(Peter Lewis I think his name was)who gave dessie a torrid time! Can't believe he didn't end up playing at a bigger club.

Ah - there's a story there.   He signed for Sheffield when they were in Division One.  Lasted four games.

[Barley Mow]

7 minutes ago, Archie Gordon said:

Just checked on Google maps - the Barley Mow is still there though!

It is. I don't live in the area any more, but I believe it was closed for some time before reopening a year or so ago.

[Chronicler of Chiswick]

1 hour ago, Dave W said:

One of my favourite away trips. You're right about that little bar - a very nice pork pie and mushy peas too. 

Abiding memory: One of the floodlight stanchions on the side opposite the main stand was bent over a few degrees at the top for some inexplicable reason. 

And you could get mint sauce with your pie as well - food of the Gods!

[Vyvyan]

Happy memories of McLaren Field and getting into games there for 80p back in the 1980s.

[OnStrike]

4 hours ago, Barley Mow said:

To the best of my memory 20+ years on:

McLaren Field was sold in 1995. I assume either 'too good to refuse' or through financial necessity.

We played at Headingley Rugby Union's Clarence Field (now Rhino's training facility) for a season before sharing at Headingley for two. Both being outside West Leeds didn't help. The fact that Clarence Field was a park and clubhouse with no stands, etc meant crowds fell and when we ended up at Headingley a lot of people decided they might as well watch Leeds instead.

The club resigned from the league after 1999 with the intention of keeping the Bramley name but effectively becoming Rhino's reserves - I'm not sure what competition that was supposed to be in.

When that fell through we tried to re-enter the league, but were told that the grounds we proposed (Throstle Nest, Farsley and Morley RU) were not up to standard - I assume Clarence Field had only been accepted previously for a single season as an emergency stopgap.

We retained full RFL membership for a number of years, without playing in any competition, in the hope that a solution could be found.

The Bramley Buffaloes were formed by some fans in 2001 and applied to enter the pro-hierarchy but were refused and entered National League 3 instead - amateur but with the stated intention that it may eventually be a route for clubs to enter the pro-divisions. They were regularly league leaders in that competition and won the play-offs a couple of times but promotion of NL3 clubs never materialised.

To me there was little attraction to the Buffaloes, although I appreciate recreational RL, my love was in standing on terraces with decentish crowds following a team with a heritage steeped in RL's (semi-)pro culture (rather than on the grass around the perimeter of a field). Without a ground like McLaren Field, the Buffaloes were never going to be that.

Once it became clear that NL3 was not going to be a route back to full RFL membership and competition and that they were going to just be a recreational club playing out of other local community clubs'/RU clubs' rented grounds, the drive behind that club disappeared and they now seem to be reasonably happy as a lower level Yorkshire League club.

Sounds like a classic case of once a club is separated from the ground, it's pretty much the end of the road

[Gooleboy]

It was always good to see them beat Leeds now and again!

[Gooleboy]

Just now, OnStrike said:

Sounds like a classic case of once a club is separated from the ground, it's pretty much the end of the road

Not necessarily, Oldham and Swinton have kept going, but not without a struggle. Being taken over by Leeds and playing at Headingley was the beginning of the end for Bramley.

[Damien]

5 minutes ago, Gooleboy said:

Not necessarily, Oldham and Swinton have kept going, but not without a struggle.

Yeah but they are shadows of the clubs they once were.

[Agbrigg]

3 hours ago, Archie Gordon said:

Just checked on Google maps - the Barley Mow is still there though!

I remember going to the Barley Mow ground a couple of times. Wakey had a top team back then and it was always a tough fixture. I remember one game at the Barley Mow that was packed out, I think the gate was around 7/8000 and a club record I seem to remember.

[Hopping Mad]

7 hours ago, Barley Mow said:

To the best of my memory 20+ years on:

McLaren Field was sold in 1995. I assume either 'too good to refuse' or through financial necessity.

We played at Headingley Rugby Union's Clarence Field (now Rhino's training facility) for a season before sharing at Headingley for two. Both being outside West Leeds didn't help. The fact that Clarence Field was a park and clubhouse with no stands, etc meant crowds fell and when we ended up at Headingley a lot of people decided they might as well watch Leeds instead.

The club resigned from the league after 1999 with the intention of keeping the Bramley name but effectively becoming Rhino's reserves - I'm not sure what competition that was supposed to be in.

When that fell through we tried to re-enter the league, but were told that the grounds we proposed (Throstle Nest, Farsley and Morley RU) were not up to standard - I assume Clarence Field had only been accepted previously for a single season as an emergency stopgap.

We retained full RFL membership for a number of years, without playing in any competition, in the hope that a solution could be found.

The Bramley Buffaloes were formed by some fans in 2001 and applied to enter the pro-hierarchy but were refused and entered National League 3 instead - amateur but with the stated intention that it may eventually be a route for clubs to enter the pro-divisions. They were regularly league leaders in that competition and won the play-offs a couple of times but promotion of NL3 clubs never materialised.

To me there was little attraction to the Buffaloes, although I appreciate recreational RL, my love was in standing on terraces with decentish crowds following a team with a heritage steeped in RL's (semi-)pro culture (rather than on the grass around the perimeter of a field). Without a ground like McLaren Field, the Buffaloes were never going to be that.

Once it became clear that NL3 was not going to be a route back to full RFL membership and competition and that they were going to just be a recreational club playing out of other local community clubs'/RU clubs' rented grounds, the drive behind that club disappeared and they now seem to be reasonably happy as a lower level Yorkshire League club.

Clarence Field did have a stand, with wooden bench seats. I remember watching Bramley play there a few times - and sat in the stand!

It seemed ridiculous the RFL deemed Farsley Celtic FC's Throstle Nest ground unsuitable. That had - still has - two stands, one all-seater.

Edited September 29, 2023 by Hopping Mad

[Hopping Mad]

A couple of McLaren Field pics, taken before a Division Two game against Whitehaven, on the first day of the 1986-87 season...