The Blackheath club also assisted in organising the world's first rugby international (between England and Scotland in Edinburgh on 27 March 1871) and hosted the first international between England and Wales ten years later – the players meeting and getting changed at the Princess of Wales public house.

"[1] In 1863 Blackheath was a founder member of The Football Association which was formed at the Freemasons' Tavern, Great Queen Street, on Lincoln Inn Fields, London 26 October 1863 with the intention to frame a code of laws that would embrace the best and most acceptable points of all the various methods of play under the one heading of "football".

"[2] At the sixth meeting on 8 December Campbell withdrew Blackheath, explaining that the rules that the FA intended to adopt would destroy the game and all interest in it.

On 26 January 1871 a meeting attended by representatives from 22 clubs was held in London at the Pall Mall Restaurant.

Three lawyers who had been pupils at Rugby School drew up the first laws of the game which were approved in June 1871.

After 158 years it was announced that the 2015–16 season would be the last playing at the historic Rectory Field as the club had made the difficult decision to move to their training ground, Well Hall in Eltham, for the 2016–17 season to maximise matchday revenue and to continue developing for the future.