DONCASTER ROVERS FOOTBALL MUSEUM

[Silkscarf]

Hi everyone - another long message from us but it’s all good news…

Following successful events in August (Mexborough) and September (Askern), we are holding another ‘Heritage Happening’. This time it’s at the Eco-Power Stadium in South Stand Reception on 28th and 29th November:

https://inroverswetrust.org/events

The exhibition will be open 11am-4pm on Friday November 28 and 11am-1pm on Saturday November 29 prior to our home game against Peterborough United.

This 2-day event will mark the opening of a permanent exhibition in the Reception Area of the Polypipe South Stand. This is the latest development in the IRWT project to build the ‘Doncaster Rovers Football Museum’.

Alongside the museum project, IRWT have been working with Friends of Hyde Park Cemetery to identify the final resting places of many of the club’s earliest players. These include club founder Albert Jenkins and John Mitchell, later of Newton Heath (Manchester United) and Bolton Wanderers (for whom he played on the opening day of the Football League, in which the first ever league goal was scored).

Most of that 1879 ‘first eleven’ have now been located. They lie in Hyde Park Cemetery, a short distance from the Eco-Power Stadium. Unfortunately many of the graves are unmarked and their exact locations are not visible to the public.

We are determined to create a permanent memorial at Hyde Park Cemetery which will honour and remember these key figures in the early years of DRFC. The required costs will be raised through a crowdfunding campaign similar to the one already in process for Len Goodson,  Rovers’ first league goalscorer:

https://www.fohpc.org.uk/goodson/

To have a permanent memorial to all the former Rovers players buried at Hyde Park Cemetery would be a fitting way of recognising the part those individuals played in the formation and history of our club. We have also located and been in touch with some living descendants.

We wanted to build a museum which could display and celebrate 150 years of DRFC history by the time we reach that anniversary in September 2029.

So we had to start the project by finding Albert Jenkins. Then we’ve gradually found almost all his teammates. They’re mostly in Doncaster’s historic cemetery between the stadium and the city centre, among 56,000 other graves.

Those players founded the club. Our task, as a group of volunteer fans, is to found a museum both virtual and physical.

Thanks to the club, we now have the use of a permanent exhibition space at the stadium. This event is only the start of the next stage of the museum project. We think it’ll be a lot of fun and many fans will want to be involved.

Club Historian John Coyle has been part of our team since Day 1 and we’ve been in touch with several other Rovers experts and keen fans seeking input. Many people have done some great work on Rovers history over the years. We aim to bring all that knowledge and expertise to bear on the museum project. The club’s 150th birthday gives us all an obvious target date to deliver it.

On our website we’ve put together a few pages about the museum project:

https://inroverswetrust.org/introduction

See you at the exhibition!

Best wishes,

Rich Stevens & Colin Harker
In Rovers We Trust community interest company

[Balby Rover]

Rich and Colin that is fantastic news no one realises how you much effort you two put in Supporting this initiative and the Rovers in general . Thanks for all your efforts I will be there to support you !!

[graingrover]

Well done you two !

[Silkscarf]

Please note the Friday event will be larger as we will have space to expand out the back door into part of the South Stand concourse. We’ll be open 11am-4pm that day so we’ll have more time as well as space.

The matchday event will be slimmed down because we won’t have access to the concourse, the exhibition will just be in the Reception area for 2 hours. We’ll squeeze in as much stuff as we can though.

We wanted to be open on a matchday too because we want as many fans as possible to have the chance to visit and get a sense of what we’re doing and think about getting involved.

Thanks
Rich & Colin

[idler]

Is there any chance that it could be filmed on a phone and posted? A 5 minute or so walk through just before it opens would probably give a good showing for those that can’t make it. I know it is easy for me to suggest and leave someone else to do it, but it could fire even more interest and more donations of items to show in future.

[Silkscarf]

Yes we’ll definitely be doing that and taking plenty of pics.

[German Rover]

Been looking at the website and you talk about playing on a ground on Park road in Conisbrough. On the OS Map between 1892 and 1914 at this link, there is a football ground laid out where houses are now on Park Road.

https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=17.4&lat=53.47855&lon=-1.23460&layers=168&b=GoogleSatHyb&o=100

I'm sure you've already looked at this but could it be the missing ground in Conisbrough?

[Silkscarf]

Yes it most likely is that field. The history books say it’s houses now. It looks like March Vale Rise runs through the middle of it.

[Silkscarf]

The club are hoping to run stadium tours on the Friday to coincide with this event. So look out for news on that via the club.

[GlennKirkwoodFanClub]

Just a reminder to everyone. We have set the museum up today and will be welcoming visitors between 11am and 4pm tomorrow, and then on Saturday between 11am and 1pm.

We are expecting a visit tomorrow from the legend that is Colin Douglas.

Please come along and support us.

Thanks

[River Don]

A decade ago or more a mate of mine did some research on Albert Jenkins, he found a couple of terraced houses he lived in. He was at Balby in a house near The Plant when he set up the club.

We tried tracking down descendents but the family didn't have children. Albert's legacy then is The Rovers.

[DonnyBazR0ver]

Just been for a visit and great to see lots of things I hadn't seen before. A very impressive display of memorabilia and artifacts.

Well done to everyone concerned collating all this history and putting it on display.

It's not going to be an easy task to construct the museum physically and digitally to make it accessible to all but it's a great start.

[Juddy]

Went down this afternoon spent a good hour well done to everyone involved some great history ⚽️⚽️⚽️