Club History
The club is believed to have been founded in 1870, though no early records have survived, the club possesses a photograph of the team of 1890. Also it was recorded in a Barrow Rugby Football Club yearbook of 1901 that seven players of the then Ulverston Hornets team signed professional forms for Barrow R.F.C. in the then Northern Union for the sum of one sovereign each.
One of these players was Harry Gifford who went on to be Barrows first international player gaining caps for both England and Lancashire. In all he played 420 games for Barrow in the Northern Union, scoring 74 tries and 151 goals, his last match was against Wigan on the 31st of October 1922. His service to Barrow R.F.C. is commemorated on a plaque displayed in the Barrow Raiders boardroom.
Very little is known about the Club from this period until a group of ex-Ulverston Grammar school pupils reformed the club in 1938/39 and in that first season in the Barrow and District Amateur Rugby League won three trophies. No one at that time would be aware that 37 years would pass before the club would win its next trophy, defeating Millom at Dragley Beck to take the Barrow and District Amateur Rugby League knock-out cup, in 1975.
After the second World War the club was revived by several of that pre-war cup winning side John Cartmel, Len Keay, Harold Moss and others. Changing rooms were in the slaughterhouse of local butcher Frank Gendle in the Gill. The playing pitch being a field in Stockbridge Lane. They then moved to Swarthmoor on the corner of Swarthmoor Hall Lane opposite the Reading Room, changing rooms were now in some former agricultural building in Fox Street.
The club were then offered rental of field known as the Dutch Born Field in the West End Lane by the Town Lands committee. The then players rallied round in a support, and then purchased and acquired tools and methods to create the playing field for instance the goal posts were old telephone posts obtained by a player.
The next move the club were offered a school pitch at Dragley Beck by the Local Education Authority where we are still situated today though the pitch has since been moved to accommodate the South Lakeland District Council Leisure Centre. The Ulverston District Council granted the use and occupation of the former North Lonsdale show grandstand store on Rake Lane as changing accommodation for the sum of 5 shillings (25p) per annum.
Again the players pitched in making the field suitable to play on, and some of the methods attracted complaints from a nearby household. With bingo being held in the Cooperative Hall on Friday evenings to raise funds and with help of grant from the Barrow R.F.C. progressive branch the changing rooms were rebuilt and two showers installed with the electricity laid on a water heater was used for making coffee after matches, the hot-sweet coffee provided after the game by Jim Rifleman was well received by all the players. This was when the club just gained its reputation among the League teams for its hospitality.
Whilst still remaining at Dragley Beck the Rugby Club together with Ulverston Cricket, Ulverston Hockey Club and Ulverston Rangers soccer club formed by the Ulverston and District Sports Associates and raised funds for the building of a sports club and together with grants from the sports council and south Lakeland district council the present Ulverston and district sports and social club was built.
This provided changing rooms bar facilities concert room and hospitality for all visiting teams a very far cry from those early post war years this was achieved by the hard work and dedication of all the sports men and women and the generous support of the public. The honour of being the first President of the newly founded Sports Association was Jos Kenley of the Ulverston Rugby League Club.
Since the club was reformed in the early post war years it enjoyed very mixed formations however with the dedication of past committee's players and with a permanent base at Dragley Beck the club has prospered.
A Mini-Rugby section was formed introducing Rugby League football to 8 year olds to 16 year olds who can progress to 'A' team football and first team football.
Ulverston has a proud tradition to uphold whilst it may have taken 31 years between winning trophies since 1938/39 season team we have continued to supply players to the professional ranks. Members of the Barrow Rugby League Lancashire cup winning team were ex-players Dave Milby and Andy Whittle. Sharing the same loyalty as in the past is the present Barrow Raiders loose-forward Phil Atkinson now in his benefit year, a product of the fine Ulverston Rugby League Mini-Rugby.
(Thanks to Stu Woodburn from who's college project this history was "borrowed".)