It was time for a celebration for these rugby players and their supporters and hosts.
For nearly 30 years, the Coach and Horses pub in St Clement’s had been the headquarters of Oxford Marathons Rugby Club.
But in 1978, they were moving to a new purpose-built clubhouse at Horspath.
As you can see, they marked their departure and the new chapter in the club’s history in style.
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The pictures come from regular Memory Lane contributor David Brown, of Jordan Hill, Oxford, who was commissioned to film the occasion for the club’s archives.
Oxford Marathons were one of a number of rugby teams which sprang up in the city - others included Oxford RFC, Old Southfieldians and Oxford Citizens.
The Old Southfieldians represented former pupils of Southfield Grammar School in East Oxford while Oxford Citizens comprised former pupils at the City of Oxford High School.
When the two schools merged to become Oxford School in 1966, the two rugby clubs joined forces to become Oxford Old Boys.
Oxford Old Boys and Oxford Marathons merged in 1995 and became Oxford Harlequins who, many claim, have now taken over from Oxford RFC as the city’s leading club and players are pictured here from 2000 and 2001.
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In 2018, the Harlequins were granted a 30-year lease on the Horspath sports ground by Oxford City Council and the Rugby Football Union decided to invest more than £750,000 in a new floodlit pitch with artificial turf.
Memory Lane readers will remember that the clubhouse hosts at least one relic from the past – a beer barrel, a souvenir from a barrel-rolling race more than 50 years ago.
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The races were held annually along roads between two Kings Arms pubs at Kidlington and Gosford and were regularly won by the Old Southfieldians. Eileen Cleaver, of Combe, near Woodstock, bought one of the barrels and offered it to the club as a memento.
She was invited to an Oxford Harlequins’ lunch and handed over the barrel.
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