ADDISON F.C.

FOUNDER MEMBER OF THE RUGBY FOOTBALL UNION

Addison were founded in 1869 with about 50 members and fielded two XXs.

The club originated in the part of Kensington to the west of Holland Park. The streets are named after Joseph Addison, the politician and writer. Addison himself once lived at Holland House in Holland Park.

Addison originally played and changed at the red House Farm, in what is now called Little Wormwood Scrubs.

In 1872 the club moved to the ‘Rifle Pavilion’ on the corner of Wood Lane and North Pole Road. The club moved again in 1874 to Shepherd’s Bush Green.

Addison disbanded in 1875

The year 1871 is rightly celebrated as one of the most significant in rugby history. On 26 January, representatives from twenty-one clubs met in London to establish the Rugby Football Union, creating the first governing body dedicated exclusively to rugby football. It was during this same period that Addison Football Club emerged, joining the rapidly expanding network of clubs embracing the newly standardised game.

Like many London clubs of the period, Addison drew its membership from the growing Victorian middle class. Rugby clubs were often formed by former public school pupils, university graduates, clerks, professionals and businessmen who wished to continue playing after leaving school. London’s expanding suburbs provided ideal locations for these new sporting organisations, with commons and open parks serving as makeshift playing grounds long before dedicated rugby stadiums became common.

The club took its name from the Addison district of West London, itself named after the celebrated essayist and statesman Joseph Addison (1672–1719). The area around Addison Road and Kensington was undergoing rapid residential development during the nineteenth century, attracting families and professionals who brought with them a strong enthusiasm for organised amateur sport.

Addison quickly became part of London’s vibrant fixture calendar. During the 1870s, clubs did not compete in leagues; instead, secretaries arranged fixtures months in advance through correspondence and newspaper notices. Success depended not only on sporting ability but also on maintaining good relationships with other clubs, ensuring that attractive fixtures filled the season.

Matches were physically demanding affairs. Teams often played on uneven grass surfaces with little protection from the elements. Heavy leather balls became increasingly difficult to handle in wet weather, and scrummaging contests frequently dominated proceedings. Nevertheless, the spirit of sportsmanship and amateur competition defined the game. Victory was valued, but participation and fellowship were equally important.

The early laws of rugby were still evolving during Addison’s formative years. Tries carried little intrinsic value, serving primarily to earn an attempt at goal, while the offside law and scrummaging regulations continued to develop. Players needed versatility, as positional specialisation was still limited compared with the modern game.

Although Addison never became one of England’s major rugby institutions, clubs of its size formed the backbone of Victorian rugby. Every fixture played helped strengthen the network of organised rugby, encouraged the adoption of common laws and expanded interest in the sport throughout Britain.

Like many nineteenth-century clubs, Addison eventually disappeared as populations shifted, sporting tastes changed and clubs merged or dissolved. This was a common fate among pioneering rugby organisations. Their disappearance should not be mistaken for failure; rather, they fulfilled their role in establishing rugby as a sustainable national sport before giving way to the stronger clubs that would carry the game into the twentieth century.

Today, Addison is remembered through surviving fixture lists, sporting annuals and newspaper reports that record its participation in rugby’s formative decades. Its story reflects that of hundreds of Victorian clubs whose dedication laid the foundations upon which modern rugby union was built.