Herne Hill Velodrome
London, Greater London, England
Herne Hill Velodrome, London, England — opened First race held 16 April 1891; an official public opening followed on 23 May 1891, 1 rugby league games hosted, home of Not a rugby league venue: primarily a cycling track, home to the London County Cycling and Athletic Club from 1891, and used at various points by rugby union clubs London Irish (1898-1902) and London Welsh (post-WWI to 1957), and by Crystal Palace FC (association football) in 1914-1918 while their own ground was requisitioned. No rugby league club is recorded as a tenant..
Ground facts
| Opened | First race held 16 April 1891; an official public opening followed on 23 May 1891 |
| Home club | Not a rugby league venue: primarily a cycling track, home to the London County Cycling and Athletic Club from 1891, and used at various points by rugby union clubs London Irish (1898-1902) and London Welsh (post-WWI to 1957), and by Crystal Palace FC (association football) in 1914-1918 while their own ground was requisitioned. No rugby league club is recorded as a tenant. |
| Games hosted (rugby league, on record) | 1 |
| Top recorded crowd | 3,000 |
| Capacity | Not confirmed; period attendance figures are documented (1920s-30s Good Friday cycling meetings reportedly drew up to 10,000) but no official capacity number was found |
| Floodlights installed | No, not at the time of the 1922 match; the venue had no confirmed lighting until modern floodlights were installed from February 2013 |
| Surface | A cycling track (concrete by this era) with a grass infield used for other sports; the 1922 rugby league match would have been played on that infield |
| Years used | 1922 |
| Location | London, Greater London |
Name history
- London County Cycling and Athletic Ground — original name, 1890/1891
- Herne Hill Stadium — roughly the 1920s to 1980s; this is the name used for the 1922 rugby league match in some sources
- Herne Hill Velodrome — current name, used from 1992 onward
Rugby league history
Herne Hill Velodrome is one of the world's oldest cycling venues, most famous for hosting track cycling at the 1948 London Olympics. Its single recorded rugby league fixture came on 11 December 1922, when England beat Wales 12-7 in front of 3,000 fans in a Senior International match, played on the infield of a purpose-built cycling stadium rather than a dedicated rugby ground.
Sources
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
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