Rossendale - Marl Pits Leisure Centre

Rossendale FC

Marl Pits Leisure Centre

Newchurch Road

Rawtenstall

Rossendale 

BB4 7SN

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Ground Number: 1582

Monday 31st August 2026

Rossendale 4-0 Milnthorpe Corinthians

West Lancs Premier

ROSSENDALE FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

The original Rossendale FC. Originally known as Myrtle Grove,  existed from 1877 until 1897 and played primarily in the Lancashire League. They also played in some of the early FA Cup competitions. The current club was established in 1937 as Old Rossendalians by former pupils of the Bacup & Rawtenstall Grammar School, becoming members of the Lancashire Amateur League in 1947. They dropped down to the Bacup Amateur League in 1954 due to travelling costs. A couple of years were spent in the Bury Amateur League in 1964, before returning to the Lancashire Amateur League in 1967. They changed their name to Rossendale Amateurs and tasted success with league wins in 1982, 1984 and 2008. They reverted to the Rossendale FC name in 2010 and joined the West Lancashire League in 2019. Starting in Division 2, the first two seasons were disrupted due to Covid before the league title was won in 2022. The following year, they were Division 1 runners-up to Lostock St Gerards and have been in the Premier Division ever since.

The Rossendale Valley is in the Rossendale area of Lancashire, between the West Pennine Moors and the main range of the Pennines. The area includes the steep-sided valleys of the River Irwell and its tributaries (between Rawtenstall and Bacup), which flow southwards into Greater Manchester. The rivers cut through the moorland of the Rossendale Hills, generally characterised by open unwooded land, despite the ancient designation of "forest". The club is based at the Marl Pits Leisure Centre in Rawtenstall, which is 15 miles north of Manchester and has a population of 23,000. Rawtenstall was featured in the documentary series Who Do You Think You Are? which was aired on BBC2 on 2nd February 2006. The subject, actress Jane Horrocks, was born in Rawtenstall in 1964. Former Preston North End player Lee Cartwright is also from the town.

MY VISIT

From our game at Haslingden, it was only a ten-minute drive to Rossendale. PuffPuff was off to Silsden, so I gave Richard a lift as he has helped me loads of times before. The parking was plentiful and well organised. It was £5 to get in. The ground looked bad on the app but in reality the running track was not bad. The club hosted the game well; there was a large bar with a good range of food and drink at fair prices. Service was not too bad, given the volume of orders. The Harissa Chicken wrap with chips was delicious and well worth the £6.50 paid. It was busy outside, and the one-sided nature of the ground meant it was very busy.

 

Rossendale were having a tricky season, sitting second-bottom and with just one win to their name, along with six defeats. Their last game was a 13-1 thumping at home to leaders Blackpool Wren Rovers. Their only win this season came when they beat local rivals Haslingden St Mary's 3-2. Milnthorpe Corinthians were in 8th and had won three, drawn one and lost three so far. In their last game, they'd won 6-0 at basement side CMB. The game kicked off a minute or two early. It was a fairly even game, Rossendale taking the lead on ten minutes through Izaak Wilde with a deflected shot. It was 2-0 on 26 minutes, a low curling shot that the keeper should have done better on, Wilde getting his second. The quality of the game tanked after that and was very wayward. Rossendale were still the better side, hitting the bar in the second half. They got their third on 77 minutes, a low shot by Brandon Halstead from the edge of the area. It was another low shot from the edge of the area on 90 minutes, Lewis Mensah completing a one-sided contest. Rossendale certainly saved their best for the hoppers; it was hard to see how they'd suffered two heavy beatings recently.

It was the final game of what had been an excellent hop, which had allowed fans to visit many clubs in one trip, and the clubs themselves had done very well out of it. There had been the usual great company with one exception. An individual who shall not be named baffled the hoppers with whom I was standing by, accusing me of hacking his phone and booking him a table at a Toby Carvery, amongst other things. All when I've never done anything to him but have been decent mates with another person whom he despises. He was slinging out insults galore to Colin and me, whom he also dislikes for being friends with me. I just want a quiet life, so I tried to avoid him, and I'm glad there is not another hop until March when hopefully things will have blown over. It was a long old journey home, due to problems on the M6, we were sent via Stockport, Buxton, Ashbourne and the M1. After leaving just before 4, I was back at 8.30 after dropping Colin off. I spent the evening typing these blogs and having a couple of drinks. After a decent weekend, it was probably a good thing I only had one bottle of cider in the fridge.

THE GROUND

MARL PITS LEISURE CENTRE is not the greatest of grounds, although the running track does not impede your view as much as you'd imagine - the view is not too bad. It is just one-sided, though, and many choose to stand on the back opposite as it offers an elevated view. Back in the ground, the bar and food were excellent, and it is a decent-sized place. The only merch I saw was old shirts. Parking was plentiful and very well organised. All in all, the club did brilliantly to make the most of what they had, and I enjoyed my visit.