A Short History - Click here for a longer, updated history

The club's first ground, owned by Dr Monckton, was close to the centre of the town and he allowed them to play there for many years. The club prospered and from 1886 onwards played against clubs including Middlesex Wanderers, Harlequins, Richmond, Eton House, London Scottish and Old Merchant Taylors.

Another surge forward was the decision of Old Maidstonians, the former pupils of Maidstone Grammar School to join Maidstone.  There were many ups and downs over the next 100 years with a number of ground changes, with the club finally moving to The Mote, as tenants of the trustee of Mote CC.

A new pitch at The Mote was opened in 1957 by RFU president Mr. Arthur Marshall. Maidstone had become one of the leading clubs in Kent and, though they had little success in the County Cup in earlier years, the club was in the final for successive years from 1974-1980, winning twice and again in 1987.  In the 1970's, Maidstone reached the finals of the Middlesex Sevens at Twickenham three times in four years.

In 1980, they were the only junior club to be invited to play in the London Senior Clubs Rugby Festival for the Charrington Cup at Twickenham along with Scottish club Heriot's FP, Lansdowne Road from Ireland and the French champions Babneres. Maidstone lost to London Scottish 6-0 in the semi-finals.  Maidstone continued their success as they passed their centenary in 1979-80 and at the formation of the leagues, were unanimously voted by seven counties of the London Division to go straight into National League Three, along with the Metropolitan Police in 1987-88 season.

After six seasons in the national leagues until 1993-94, they were relegated for four successive season, until they arrived in London Three South East.  The brave decision of former chairman Dave Arnold and his Committee to approach John Legge, the former Blackheath and Kent coach, who brought with him player/coach Paul Essenhigh was unopposed.  After the appointment of Legge as director of rugby their fortunes changed for the better.  Maidstone's promotion from London Three South East with further success in London Two South thus far, has been a remarkable turnaround.

A Longer History

BONE-WRENCHING challenges on the field, beer and sympathy off it - it’s reassuring to find out certain things never change.

In the history of sport in Maidstone, one club has been present throughout, upholding values, both on and off the field, that continue today. From the fierce competition on the pitch, to the vigorous post-match discussions at the bar, the welcoming atmosphere at Maidstone Football Club has remained a constant since the 19th century. But this is not the football club who today wear amber and black and were forced to fold in 1988 to restart life in the Kent League.

Because rugby football began in Maidstone in 1880, nearly 20 years before exponents of the round-ball game had organised a recognised team, and 2005 marks the 125th anniversary of rugby in the County Town.

Maidstone Football club was officially formed in 1880/81 though there is no doubt rugby was played in the town as far back as 1868, with many of the original Maidstone side coming from Kent Wanderers.

The formative years of the club saw Maidstone playing such well-recognised sides as Harlequins, London Scottish, Rosslyn Park and Richmond.

A report in the Maidstone Journal, of a match played on January 12th 1884, will make pleasant reading for supporters, as it shows an early upper hand against rivals Tonbridge:

“Played at Maidstone in glorious weather. The visitors kicked off with the hill in their favour, but up till half time neither side had scored, although the Maidstone backs several times menaced the visitors’ line.

After half time, Hughes, gaining possession, took the ball behind the Tonbridge line, but the kick proved unsuccessful. This was the only substantial advantage gained by either side and Maidstone won a very closely contested match by a try to nil.”

During the following season, the Sporting Life recalled a notable victory against current Premiership side Harlequins:

“Sutherland, Cloudesdale and McAlpine played splendidly for Maidstone, the first-named obtaining two tries each, and McAlpine obtaining one; Only one, however, of these was converted. The home team failing to score, Maidstone were left victorious by one goal and four tries to nil.”

As amateur Association Football claimed some players, in addition to a typhoid epidemic in the town and a call to arms for the South African war, Maidstone saw their least active period from 1890-1905.

Of the seasons to follow of which documented evidence is available, Maidstone appear to have had a majority of winning campaigns, 1922/23 bringing 17 wins from 24 matches with 399 points scored and only 124 against.

The Jubilee season of 1929/30 was celebrated with the Annual Dance at the Corn Exchange followed by a grand dinner at the Royal Star Hotel.

Unfortunately, the same day, March 22, 1930 saw Maidstone beaten by Tonbridge by three tries (nine points) to one dropped goal (four points), the details revealing just how far the scoring system has changed in the intervening years.

Following demobilisation after World War Two, a meeting was convened at which it was decided Old Maidstonians RFC (now Maidstone Grammar School) would join forces with the club. It is believed this move was largely responsible for the thrust built up over the ensuing 20 years as the quantity and quality of playing resources increased.

The 75th anniversary season, 1953/54, brought the best results to date as the First XV lost just two of 31 matches, scoring 467 points against 68. Wingers Roy Lawrence and Mike McBrian scored 40 tries between them while Brain Bills earned the nickname ‘Basher’ for his “aggressive disregard for opposition tacklers.”

The 1970s brought an unprecedented run of success as Tony Greenfell’s tenure as captain continued the trend towards attacking rugby, his team of 1971/72 scoring no fewer than 839 points.

Regularly fielding six sides, Maidstone reached their first Kent Cup final in 1972, narrowly losing to keen rivals Sidcup, and they would make the final every year from 1974-1980.

Season 1973/74 saw a repeat of the final against Sidcup, this time with an historic 4-3 win for Maidstone led by skipper Jim Tinsley. Success brought a cup-tie against mighty London Irish, fielding three Irish internationals, and no supporter present will forget how close Maidstone came to an upset, as they were denied by a late drop goal to lose 19-16.

1976/77 brought one of three visits in four years to Twickenham for the finals of the Middlesex Sevens tournament, though a one-sided game against Harlequins showed how far the two teams had progressed since the game in 1884. But the 99th season, 1978/79, ensured the club could embark on its Centenary tour of the USA on the crest of a wave as they won every major competition in the County.

The formation of the current league structure in 1987/88 saw Maidstone unanimously voted into National League three. Though Maidstone remained in the National League for six years, the gap between those clubs able to finance the growing professionalism in the sport and those who kept the amateur ethos, such as Maidstone, widened.

Four successive relegations followed until Maidstone found their level, and were able to stabilise, in London Three South East.

With John Legge as Director of Rugby, promotion to London Two South was achieved in 1999, along with a narrow Kent Cup final defeat to Westcombe Park in 2000.

A quirk of geographical location led to relegation back to their current status in London Three South East, with Club Captain Jon Sargent hoping to lead the club back to relive former glories.

Jon, 30, first came to the club during the Centenary season to watch Dad Jerry playing for Maidstone, one of several current squad members with family links to the team’s glory days. Describing his introduction to the game, Sargent holds a hand at table height and recalls: “I was five at that stage, so at that point I was this high, running around the clubhouse. That’s my earliest memory. “Because Dad played, me and my brothers were brought down here on Saturdays because Mum would get rid of us out of the house! “We used to go wherever Dad was going as soon as we were old enough to run around on our own.”

Sargent’s early memories reveal that the ‘traditional’ elements of rugby clubs were certainly upheld at Maidstone in the 1980s.

Common perceptions of rugby players relaxing with a pint or two may be true, but the strength of the bonds formed within a team cannot be underestimated. “I can remember being down here watching my Dad get injured, and being knee-high, running around pushing people over and getting beer spilt on my head - all the usual things,” he said, laughing. “My Dad and his mates still get together on a fairly regular basis and met up at Christmas together to talk about the old days. “And for us, when we were going through the bad spell of relegations in the nineties, it was the social side of the club that kept it together.

“There was a core of first team guys who turned up and trained hard, OK we were struggling playing, but the reason it held together was because we were all mates.”

The notion of playing with your friends continues throughout the club, typified by the Vets team. Formed in 1987 to play against other Over-35s teams, many of the founder members of the squad are still playing now, well into their fifties and in at least on case, their sixties.

The 125 celebrations are set to include a tour of Jersey at the end of the season, as well as a quiz night, golf day, players’ dinner and a Gala Ball.

Hopes are high that the first team will round the year off with a promotion back to London Two South, and then begin to attract more of the 500+ crowd who watched the Aylesford game to become regular spectators.

For progress to continue back towards the National League, increased revenue from fans is much needed due to the increasingly professional approach adopted by teams in higher divisions. “The focus of the year has got to be to getting the structure right off the pitch to make the club finance itself,” said Sargent.

“We haven’t got the money to offer players money to play but there is an expectation the club will provide the players with a certain level of support and equipment because they can always go down the road and get that.

“It’s all about getting supporters in, drinking at the bar and buying shirts or jackets from the club shop.”

On the field, the future looks very bright for the club, with 220 juniors forming youth sides running at every year group from Under-7s to Under-17s.

While Sargent claims he is among a group of players who learned the game while at school, by attracting juniors to the club at a young age and offering quality coaching, future generations can be advanced within the club.

The current Under-15s and Under-17s squads have both won the Kent Championship for the last two years.

In May, the Under-15s reached the final of a National competition, beating Worcester at Twickenham to become the best side in the country.

This followed a similar success for the Under-17s who secured victory in a tournament against nine other county champions at the end of last season.

All this leads Youth Chairman, Wendy Pound, to believe there is nothing to stop Maidstone reaping the rewards in years to come.

“The Under-17s are unbeaten this season and it’s our intention to run an Under-18s side next year, hopefully with many of the same players,” said Pound. “We’ve got a very strong side and are working to build links with the senior squad so the players can progress easily through the system.”

The club are currently working to fulfil criteria for the award of the RFU Seal of Approval, which would bring improvements in coaching and training techniques.

“We hope to build up a development system that we can pass on year on year,” explained Pound.

“You must remember that many of the people who help out at the club are volunteers, but with the RFU certificate, we may be able to attract some sponsors.”

If the last 125 years are any guide, the volunteers and family atmosphere created at the club have not done a bad job of progressing the club towards its current, healthy state.

It may be impossible to predict what the next 125 years will hold, but hopes among those at the club are that the up and coming juniors will be playing for a team in London One, in front of crowds in a brand new grandstand.

After the remarkable achievements of the club to this point, these dreams may well be realised.

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Last modified: 30 April 2005