During the winter, the Rugby Club had used a salt mixture to remove frost from the pitch, resulting in the death of the grass on the wicket.
[8] They then acquired lands from the Castle Grim Estate for £4,000 in 1891 & have played home fixtures at this site ever since, in the area known as Kingsholm.
[6] In 1978, Gloucester RFC won the first ever John Player Cup, defeating Leicester Tigers in another final noted for violent play both on and off the pitch at Twickenham Stadium.
[6] Professionalism finally came in 1995, but Gloucester was without a major investor, and lost ground in terms of player recruitment and revenue acquisition.
After two full seasons at the helm, Richard Hill was replaced as director of rugby by former France captain Philippe Saint-André.
Despite a significant rest period of three weeks, Gloucester lost the final to Wasps and have thus never been crowned English domestic champions.
They also won silverware in the European Challenge Cup, defeating London Irish in a final that went into extra time.
Martin St Quinton, an office equipment and telecoms entrepreneur [15] acquired 25% of the club in 2008, and became vice chairman, with a focus on increasing sponsorship and other non-playing related areas.
[16][17] Gloucester Rugby began the 2007–08 Guinness Premiership campaign as favourites, and came top of the league to book a place in the play-off semi-final at Kingsholm.
[19] On 11 June 2009, Dean Ryan left Gloucester by mutual consent and was replaced by Bryan Redpath as their new head coach.
[21] David McKnight was appointed non-executive chairman in April 2011, who guided Tom's son Ryan, who inherited the club.
[22] Gloucester won the Anglo-Welsh cup in the 2010–11 season, beating Newcastle Falcons 34–7 in the final at Franklins' Gardens.
[24] On 17 April 2012, Bryan Redpath announced his resignation as Gloucester head coach with immediate effect, months before the end of the 2011–12 season.
[30][31] During the 2014–15 season, Gloucester won the European Rugby Challenge Cup at Twickenham Stoop, beating Edinburgh 19–13 in the final.
[32] In 2016, Martin St Quinton acquired 100% full ownership of the club to become the new chairman of Gloucester Rugby with immediate effect.
[35] During the 2016–17 season, Gloucester reach the final of the European Rugby Challenge Cup, losing 17–25 to Stade Francais at Murrayfield.
[37] On 15 May 2020, Johan Ackermann announced his departure from Gloucester to become the new head coach at NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes based in Japan.
[38] On 2 June 2020, David Humphreys announced he will leave Gloucester after six seasons as their director of rugby, a month after Ackermann's departure.
This meant Skivington would handle the playing side of his new job whilst Brown focused on rugby related matters like recruitment and regulatory issues at Gloucester.
However, it remained a proposal, although the grandstand was replaced, terracing in the Sixpenny, and at the Tummp end was preferred, and indeed, more affordable in the early 20th century.
[46] Like the clubs of the Welsh mining valleys, Gloucester Rugby traditionally drew its support and its playing strength from local working-class communities.
The Shed is a standing-only terracing that runs continuously down one touchline, opposite the point where visiting teams emerge from the dressing rooms.
Its low tin roof amplifies the effect of passionate support which has been mentioned by commentators sitting above it during live broadcasts.
[47] The idea was to be similar to the development at Franklins Gardens, home of Northampton Saints RFC, although on a bigger scale, incorporating both seating and terracing.
Posters were held up by supporters standing in the Shed, on camera during a televised Heineken Cup match against Leinster at Kingsholm.
In September 2008, chairman Tom Walkinshaw confirmed there were plans for the Shed to be redeveloped, but it would remain as a terrace (with an increased capacity of 6,000), with hospitality units above it.
[48] However, as of the 2010–11 season, the need and desire for redeveloping the Shed decreased with the above-mentioned plans proving to be conjecture, and as such abandoned, have never come into effect and do not appear to for the foreseeable future.
Travelling en route via Painswick, they stopped off at the local rugby club and asked to borrow a strip.
On the back of this success, many of the Public Houses in the Kingsholm area also began selling shirts with the classic hoops.
The classic Gloucester Rugby red remains as the core colour of the new strip, with the number 4, Ed's position, placed on the front.