Eton Manor RFC
Eton Manor takes its name from world the world famous Eton College; which from the late 1800’s had run a “mission” to raise living standards in the East End of London.
In 1909 a philanthropically minded group of Old Etonians: Arthur Villiers, Gerald Wellesley, Alfred Wragg and Sir Edward Cadogan founded the Eton Manor Boys’ Club to provide support and sporting facilities around Hackney Wick with with a view to raising the standards for the East Ends “poor” – how times have changed!
In the 1920’s the club converted an old rubbish tip into a new sports ground – this was known as “The Wilderness”.
Amongst other facilities there were two rugby pitches. In 1946 when reforming after World War II the club purchased a set of metal posts; understood to be only one of three sets in the UK (the others were at Cardiff Arms Park and Murrayfield) – we are proud that these posts are still in use today…having been moved and installed on our First Team pitch.
The Charitable Trust set up in 1924 to run and support Eton Manor Boys’ Club still continues today albeit with different aims and a new name, Villiers Park Educational Trust. Whilst four sports clubs (including ours) originating from the Eton “mission” still exist!
Today Eton Manor RFC is proud to be at the centre of the local community and play a part, The “New Wilderness” just off Nutter Lane in Wanstead is a thriving club of the people, with our facilities used by many and varied visitors in addition of course to our Rugby.
Circa 100 children below age 8 alone “run around” Sunday mornings; further teams at each age up to u17 inclusive plus a growing girls section sees upwards of 400 young people involved learning Teamwork, Respect, Enjoyment, Discipline and Sportsmanship.
We are proud to see these young people feeding our senior sides (of which we will soon run 5) which briefly took us last season to the highest levels the club has ever achieved by reaching the National Leagues. So we are amateurs of a (fairly) high standard!
So although it not so much about necessarily about helping the “poor” of London’s East End today, the club remains humble and quietly raises the standards of the local community through “Rugby Core Values” which benefits all ages, ethnicity and beliefs. In the past like many community sports clubs we have struggled to make ends meet and were it not for hosting a campsite during the 2012 Olympic Games for games makers and visitors. This was a great success helping the club financially and putting us on the map.
Whilst initially the (Olympic campsite) idea was not to everyone’s approval we delivered what we promised to ensure our neighbours were not disturbed or effected negatively; which today has earned us a great deal of trust and goodwill and as you will see from our resident’s association that we enjoy a positive and responsible partnership.
Today we continue to manage our monies carefully, looking to external support and whilst also reducing our overheads internally. We have focused on sustainability using renewable energy, source heating and cost effective use of water to irrigate our pitches during the off season; all this has reduced our bills and provide us with improved grounds for our members to use throughout the season; an expensive outlay for which we are currently fund raising throughout the club with events etc.
Target Audience
In 1909 four former Eton College philanthropists founded Eton Manor Boys Club to provide sporting facilities & opportunities for the underprivileged children in the deprived areas of East London. The purchase of the former Manor Farm in 1913, enabled tennis courts, several football & cricket pitches to be created.
The Rugby Club was later added in 1928, when an area of attached disused land was converted into the Club’s first Rugby pitch, this area
of the sports ground, became known as The Wilderness. Sadly, the Boys Club ran into financial difficulties during the 1960’s, which led to
the closure of the sports ground.
The Eton Manor Rugby Club then led a nomadic existence, renting various council grounds throughout East London until in 1996 the club managed to purchase our current ground in Nutter Lane, Wanstead, East London. A superb multi-functional clubhouse & changing rooms designed by former 1stXV Captain Paul Wilcox was erected and with several training areas established & with 3 full size pitches, the club was finally settled. From its new home our club has seen exceptional growth in
membership and flourished.
With a combination of a very successful & inclusive senior platform; there are now five league playing senior mens & womens teams and
by continuing to provide superb male & female youth opportunities, we have seen the club grow from its humble 70 senior members in 1996 to over 1200 members, across all age groups & all genders.
With our membership still growing at around 15% per annum, we are forecast to have more than 1500+ members within the next few years with the footfall of people using our clubhouse and grounds is estimated at 60–70,000 for 2024/25
Key Dates and Timings
minimum of 2 years
Specific Opportunity Details
over 2k followers on instagram & 2k on facebook
Currently 2nd in the league looking to go up to regional 1
Features and Benefits
We feel our Sponsorship Partners should ideally be companies, organisations or individuals based in or around East London & Essex – that, like us that have a vested interest in our part of London & the community that resides in it. As a progressive club, we are looking to attract the right kind of partners to help us develop and improve our club, facilities & players.
Our sponsorship partners will secure a whole range of benefits & reward from association with a successful & thriving Rugby Club that for 95 years has provided the local community with sporting opportunities for anyone interested in the playing or watching of Rugby Football Union.
Our clubs’ fundamental principles were created to provide the under privileged children of East London the opportunity to participate in sport, our club’s ethos remains the same today as it has always been, one of inclusion, diversity, aspiration & community benefit and with your help we will continue to deliver these essential values for anyone who is interested in Rugby Football Union.
COMPANY BRAND TO FRONT CHEST ON OUR HOME FIRST TEAM SHIRTS
• COMPANY SIGNAGE ON 2 X PITCH SIDE ADVERTISING BOARDS ON NEW AGP
• COMPANY SIGNAGE ON NEW PITCH SIDE SCORE BOARD
• COMPANY BRAND WELCOME ON FRONT OF HOUSE ENTRANCE
• COMPANY BRAND ON WEBSITE/ALL NEWSPAPER REPORTS/SOCIAL MEDIA/EMAIL CAMPAIGNS
• STRONG BRAND AWARENESS OPPORTUNITIES WITH DIRECT ACCESS TO TARGET AUDIENCE
(1200+ MEMBERSHIP BASE)
• ACCESS TO CLUB ANNUAL FOOTFALL IN EXCESS 20,000 PEOPLE (PA)
• COMPLIMENTARY FULL CLUB MEMBERSHIP FOR 4 PERSONS (PA)
• REDUCED PRIVATE PHYSIOTHERAPY RATES
• COMPLIMENTARY USE OF CLUBHOUSE FOR UP TO 6X WEEK DAY MEETINGS (PA)
• 2 X SPONSORS OF MATCH DAY BALL (PA)
• 4 X TICKETS TO OUR CLUB END OF SEASON BLACK TIE SUMMER BALL (PA)
• 8 X (2 PERSONS) INVITATIONS TO PRE MATCH LUNCH WITH OUR CLUB PRESIDENT (PA)
• 4 X TICKETS TO AN ENGLAND HOME MATCH AT TWICKENHAM & ACCESS TO MORE TICKETS
• FREE PARKING
• 4X 1ST XV STASH
Investment
£20,000 per year