Our Heritage

A blog by club historian Keith Gregson

Aug 13
1 min

Lost E Mail Update

I have just been contacted by a descendant of Victorian club member 'Jack' Thompson filled with fascinating detail. Unfortunately I have...

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Keith Gregson

Aug 12
1 min

The Future of Our Heritage

Due to commitments outside of historical research over the next few months there will be no new articles. However the site remains a...

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Keith Gregson

Jun 28
1 min

Baseball at Ashbrooke

Folks crossing Ashbrooke's grounds during school time will have seen the pupils from St Aidan's playing baseball ( or softball/rounders)....

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Keith Gregson

Jun 13
1 min

Ashbrooke and the Americans

Folks may be a little surprised to find an international cricket competition being played partly in the United States - as it is with the...

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Keith Gregson

Jun 7
2 min

From the Bowls Board (3/3)

Our final First World War veteran to appear on the Bowls board is perhaps one of the finest amateur sportsmen Sunderland has seen. Read...

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Keith Gregson

May 31
2 min

From the Bowls Boards (2/3)

See the previous blog for the background to this blog which concerns - Thomas Reginald Sewell (SCFC/FWW 194). He was born in Crossdoney...

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Keith Gregson

May 24
2 min

From the Bowls Boards ( 1 of 3)

Bowlers new and long standing often declare an interest in the boards on the bowls pavilion walls. These boards list officials and...

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Ralph Milbanke Hudson - Founding Cricket Member ( 2 of 2)

Keith Gregson

May 8
2 min

Ralph Milbanke Hudson - Founding Cricket Member ( 2 of 2)

The previous blog took Ralph's story from his birth in 1813 up to the formation of our cricket club in 1834. At the time Ralph was only...

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Ralph Milbanke Hudson - Founding Cricket Member (1 of 2)

Keith Gregson

Apr 29
2 min

Ralph Milbanke Hudson - Founding Cricket Member (1 of 2)

It has been noted on a number of occasions that Sunderland C C can be proud of the fact that it is recognised by sport historians as the...

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Keith Gregson

Apr 17
2 min

The Remarkable Elliots

Reference was made in a recent blog to the old time links between cricket and rugby – links which have, in some respects, been broken due...

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Keith Gregson

Apr 16
2 min

Time For Bowls

The bowls’ season is with us once more, affording us another opportunity to look at the unique cross sport links that exist in our club....

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Keith Gregson

Apr 12
2 min

Coming Together

Rugby and Cricket have always been close. Before the demands of both the sports today it was common for sporting folk to play cricket in...

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Keith Gregson

Apr 10
1 min

Cricket - Lovely Cricket!

The grounds around the country are soggy and it doesn't look like there will be an easy start to the season! However it is a good time to...

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Keith Gregson

Mar 21
1 min

Good News For Girls' And Women's Rugby

It was good to read a club communication which suggested that Girls' Rugby on a Monday evening had really taken off. With a number of...

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Celebrate 150 years and our invaluable kit discovery

Keith Gregson

Feb 9
1 min

Celebrate 150 years and our invaluable kit discovery

My 150th anniversary Sunderland RFC book is now on sale at the club. The book is in two parts. The first part looks at the club's very...

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Keith Gregson

Dec 24, 2023
2 min

More on Boxing Day

Thanks to Billy Kidson - one of the founding members who lived into his 90s; 'The club was able to record that the first official game of...

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Keith Gregson

Dec 12, 2023
2 min

JOIN US ON BOXING DAY!

150th anniversary of Sunderland (Rugby) Football Club, Ashbrooke Sports Club 12.00 -2.00. Tuesday 26 December 2023 sees the 150th...

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Keith Gregson

Nov 22, 2023
3 min

BBC’S JEFF ADDS TO OUR ARCHIVES

Jeff Brown is one of the best known figures in North East England. For years he has fronted BBC TV’s ‘Look North’ programme with a...

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Keith Gregson

Nov 11, 2023
1 min

REMEMBRANCE

It was a moving occasion on Saturday when the poppy wreath was placed in front of the Last Stand at Ashbrooke before the 1st XV game...

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Keith Gregson

Oct 3, 2023
1 min

Food For Thought for the rugby lads

Have a good look at this! https://worldrugbymuseum.com/from-the-vaults/uncategorized/william-webb-ellis-what-we-know

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Keith Gregson

Sep 5, 2023
3 min

Well done, lads!

It was great to see the lovely coverage of Sunderland CC's 1st XI League victory in the Echo yesterday and to see a return to the top...

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Keith Gregson

Aug 30, 2023
1 min

He Played At Ashbrooke!

This has just gone onto the World Rugby Museum web site https://worldrugbymuseum.com/from-the-vaults/players/juan-arzuaga As you will see...

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Keith Gregson

Aug 23, 2023
2 min

WHAT A HANDICAP!

This Tuesday I had the pleasure of sitting at a table in the Bowls Pavilion at Ashbrooke and looking at one of the oldest and most...

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Keith Gregson

Aug 14, 2023
4 min

Sunderland RFC & The World Rugby Museum

https://worldrugbymuseum.com/from-the-vaults You will find 16 articles about Sunderland RFC by me on the site above and can access them...

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Keith Gregson

Aug 14, 2023
2 min

A Guide To The Site

As things start to look up at Ashbrooke I will attempt to reinvigorate the Our Heritage Site. Below is a list of all the articles I have...

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Keith Gregson

Mar 25, 2023
2 min

Facing A Challenge - the 1970s

It is no secret that financing a club such as Ashbrooke is never easy. Even when the great and good of Sunderland ran the club in the...

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Keith Gregson

Mar 20, 2023
2 min

1987 – A Hundred Years On – The Club

May 30 1987 marked the hundredth anniversary of the opening of Ashbrooke. In 1887, the new combined home of Sunderland Rugby Football...

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Keith Gregson

Mar 10, 2023
1 min

When the Cossacks came to Ashbrooke

Across the years Ashbrooke Sports Ground has seen massive crowds for events – some sporting and some non-sporting. The record stands at...

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ASHBROOKE HERITAGE AND EDUCATION – LESSON TWO – CRICKET IN SUNDERLAND

Keith Gregson

Nov 22, 2019
2 min

ASHBROOKE HERITAGE AND EDUCATION – LESSON TWO – CRICKET IN SUNDERLAND

Sunderland Cricket Club is thought to be the oldest sporting club in north east England to have records kept and maintained since it...

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Ashbrooke Heritage and Education - A New Venture

Keith Gregson

Nov 16, 2019
2 min

Ashbrooke Heritage and Education - A New Venture

For the last few weeks the weekly blog has concentrated on the run up to the re-dedication of the stand as The Last Stand and the club’s...

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Unveiling the Last Stand - An Appropriate Fixture

Keith Gregson

Nov 9, 2019
3 min

Unveiling the Last Stand - An Appropriate Fixture

Saturday 9 November sees the re-dedication of the stand at Ashbrooke and a 1st XV fixture with Winlaton Vulcans. This is an appropriate...

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The Last Stand - Remembering Other Ashbrooke Sportsmen

Keith Gregson

Nov 1, 2019
3 min

The Last Stand - Remembering Other Ashbrooke Sportsmen

'On 9 November Ashbrooke Sports Club will be holding a ceremony of re-dedication for its century old and recently refurbished rugby...

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Keith Gregson

Oct 29, 2019
2 min

Remembering our England Players

In the week leading up to a great day for English rugby and a fortnight leading up to the dedication of The Last Stand, it is an...

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The Last Stand (2/2) - Remembering the Rugby Players

Keith Gregson

Oct 25, 2019
3 min

The Last Stand (2/2) - Remembering the Rugby Players

'On 9 November Ashbrooke Sports Club will be holding a ceremony of re-dedication for its century old and recently refurbished rugby...

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Keith Gregson

Oct 25, 2019
2 min

Nice to hear from you, Jon!

Many Ashbrooke Folk will remember Jon Buddington – rugby player and groundsman at Ashbrooke – and indeed the whole family who had links...

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The Last Stand - Remembering the Rugby Players (1/2)

Keith Gregson

Oct 18, 2019
3 min

The Last Stand - Remembering the Rugby Players (1/2)

On Saturday 9 November Ashbrooke Sports Club in Sunderland will be holding a ceremony of rededication for its century old and recently...

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Keith Gregson

Oct 11, 2019
2 min

Oh Brother!

Followers of the Rugby World Cup cannot have failed to notice that the All Blacks have been able to put three brothers out on the park...

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Keith Gregson

Oct 4, 2019
2 min

Ashbrooke's Prestigious Bowls Trophy

The bowls section of Ashbrooke Sports Club aka Sunderland Bowling Club is very strong at the moment with both male and female members...

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Keith Gregson

Sep 26, 2019
2 min

Look Out For The Programme!

Sunderland RFC has been in existence for almost 150 years. During that time, the match day programme has been something of a moveable...

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Keith Gregson

Sep 25, 2019
6 min

Ashbrooke's Finest Day - June 9, 1926

As an incredibly exciting Ashes series comes to a close, club archivist Keith Gregson reflects on a fascinating historical link between...

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Keith Gregson

Sep 13, 2019
1 min

…AND MORE ON OUR ATHLETIC HERITAGE

It looks like last week’s athletics’ blog was well timed. Not only did many club and Strollers’ members take part in the Great North Run...

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Keith Gregson

Sep 6, 2019
2 min

A HERITAGE OF ATHLETICS

Although Ashbrooke Sports Club has never had an athletics section as such, it has always had strong links with athletics. The opening day...

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Keith Gregson

Aug 30, 2019
2 min

Preparing for 'The Last Stand'

A recent heritage blog featured two magnificent photographs of Sachin Tendulkar, (one of the greatest cricketers of all time), batting at...

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Keith Gregson

Aug 27, 2019
2 min

AND GEOFFREY CAME TOO …

The interest shown in the last two blogs on Sachin Tendulkar reminded me of an interesting Ashbrooke link with another cricketing great –...

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Keith Gregson

Aug 21, 2019
1 min