Lausanne was a 19th-century

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club that fielded teams playing both the

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

and

rugby football Rugby football is the collective name for the team sports of rugby union or rugby league. Rugby football started at Rugby School in Rugby, Warwickshire, England, where the rules were first codified in 1845. Forms of football in which the ball ...

codes. It is notable for being one of the twenty-one founding members of the

Rugby Football Union The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the Sports governing body, national governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby ...

History

Lausanne was established in 1867 with about sixty members. It fielded two teams of twenty aside for rugby matches but also had a side which played by Association laws. The derivation of the club's name appears to have been lost. On 26 January 1871, they sent representation to a meeting of twenty-one London and suburban football clubs that followed

Rugby School Rugby School is a Public school (United Kingdom), private boarding school for pupils aged 13–18, located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire in England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independ ...

rules (Wasps were invited but failed to attend) assembled at the

Pall Mall Restaurant The Pall Mall Restaurant was a hostelry situated at Number 1 Cockspur Street, Westminster, London, just off Pall Mall and near Trafalgar Square. The site was subsequently the offices of the White Star Line, and was then occupied by a Tex Mex r ...

Regent Street Regent Street is a major shopping street in the West End of London. It is named after George IV of the United Kingdom, George, the Prince Regent (later George IV) and was laid out under the direction of the architect John Nash (architect), J ...

. E.C. Holmes, captain of the Richmond Club assumed the presidency. It was resolved unanimously that the formation of a Rugby Football Society was desirable and thus the

was formed. A president, a secretary and treasurer, and a committee of thirteen were elected, to whom was entrusted the drawing-up of the laws of the game upon the basis of the code in use at Rugby School. Although Lausanne was considered prominent enough to have been invited, they did not gain any of the thirteen places on the original committee.

Disbandment

Lausanne's final recorded association fixture was a 0–0 draw at home to the 1st Surrey Rifles in March 1872; indeed at least five of the Lausanne regulars (Davenport, Foster, Dümmler, Dearle, and F. Maynard) were also members of the Surrey regiment, and played for the Riflemen in ensuing seasons. The rugby side lasted until 1881, disbanding after fourteen seasons.

Colours

The club's colours were violet jerseys with an amber stripe on the left arm, and violet stockings.

Ground

The club originally played at the Rosemary Branch Grounds (once east of the current Blake's Road, and now covered by the vast North Peckham Estate), half a mile from

Peckham Rye railway station Peckham Rye is an interchange station between the Windrush line of the London Overground and National Rail services operated by Southeastern, Southern and Thameslink, located in Peckham town centre in South London. History It opened on 1 Dec ...

. Lausanne were known to have used the pub called the "Rosemary Branch", on Southampton Street, Peckham, to change. In 1874 the club relocated to

New Cross Gate New Cross is an area in south-east London, England, south-east of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Lewisham and the SE14 postcode district. New Cross is near St Johns, Telegraph Hill, Nunhead, Peckham, Brockley, Deptford and Greenwich, ...

and then in 1875 to

Dulwich Dulwich (; ) is an area in south London, England. The settlement is mostly in the London Borough of Southwark, with parts in the London Borough of Lambeth, and consists of Dulwich Village, East Dulwich, West Dulwich, and the Southwark half of H ...

, and whilst there they changed at the Greyhound pub in

Dulwich Village Dulwich Village is an affluent area of Dulwich in South London, England. It is located in the London Borough of Southwark. History "Dulwich Village" is also the name of the village High Street. Residents in Dulwich Village have to pay ground re ...

Notable players

Despite their apparent prominence, the club produced no international players, although William Maynard, who later represented the

England national football team The England national football team have represented England in international Association football, football since the first international match in 1872. It is controlled by the Football Association (FA), the governing body for football in Eng ...

in association football, played for Lausanne's association side in 1871.

References

{{Rugby Football Union Founding Clubs Rugby union clubs in London Defunct rugby union teams in England Defunct football clubs in London Association football clubs established in 1867 Association football clubs disestablished in 1872 Defunct football clubs in England Rugby clubs established in 1867 1867 establishments in England 1881 disestablishments in England Dulwich