East London Rugby Club, who play at the very first home of West Ham United Football Club, is delighted to welcome as a Gold-level sponsor, the pub most closely associated with fans of the Hammers.

The rugby club in Memorial Park, West Ham, where first Thames Ironworks FC and then West Ham United FC played between 1897 and 1904, are being supported by the Boleyn Tavern on the corner of Barking Road and Green Street, Upton Park, next to the football club’s former home.

The Remarkable Pubs group, a chain of independently-run, traditional pubs in London, has restored the Boleyn Tavern to its full Victorian glory at a cost of £1.5 million. It had fallen into a state of disrepair since the Hammers moved to Stratford in 2016. The restoration work took 18 months and seven bars have been brought back into use, replacing one large area that accommodated football fans.

Chris Brown, East London Rugby Club first team player and club membership officer, presented a framed team shirt to pub manager James Brown. Robert Thomas, chair and owner of Remarkable Pubs, said: “We are delighted to sponsor East London Rugby Club and welcome members of the club’s team to the Boleyn Tavern. We wish them great success on the field during the season.”

East London Rugby Club chair Simon Crick: “Our rugby club has an historic link with the Hammers. Remarkable Pubs, who specialise in restoring historic pubs, have done a marvellous job in making the Boleyn Tavern, much loved by Hammers fans, a great place to socialise once again. The pub, with its unique history, is a real hub for the local community, much like the rugby club. We are delighted to welcome the Boleyn Tavern and Remarkable Pubs as a Gold-level sponsor and thank them for their generosity.

“To keep the rugby club afloat we rely solely on the subscription fees our members pay to play the sport they love, a combination of fundraising activities, sponsorship and donations, and increasingly our volunteers spending money out of their own pockets. We are indebted to our dedicated sponsors who make a huge difference in enabling us to offer grassroots community rugby.”

The rugby club has a range of donation or sponsorship options available and any support is appreciated. For more details about sponsoring East London RFC visit the information section at www.eastlondonrfc.com and download the sponsorship packages brochure from the documents folder. For information about the Boleyn Tavern and Remarkable Pubs visit www.remarkablepubs.co.uk or the www.boleyntavern.co.uk