OUR STORY
Established in 1881, Bonnyrigg Rose had long been a side synonymous, and successful, in junior football. The Rosey Posey boasted a proud history, were a beacon of the community and brought joy to many locals.
Then, the club was on the brink of going bust.
Just over 15 years ago, 48 hours before the gates were due to be slammed shut, local lad and lifetime supporter, Charlie Kirkwood, stepped in, and stepped up, to save the day.
Not without a struggle, though. It wasn’t a case of digging deep into the pockets and splashing the cash, successful stability was achieved through hard graft and grit.
But, through time, the place Charlie used to kick about as a kit-boy back in the 60s started to look more familiar, and so he and his circle of saviours dared to dream. The big leagues were on the mind.
The journey began in 2018 when the club cut ties with their comfort zone of junior football and applied for a place in the East of Scotland Football League.
The success off the pitch was continued on it and the transition was seamless, with promotion to the Lowland League swiftly following. There though is where The Rose met their first hurdle of playing with the big boys.
They were denied an entry level license primarily due to the absence of floodlights at their home of New Dundas Park. Plans were in place to fund and install said floodlights, but due to the team’s immediate success, there was no time to waste and so plans had to be accelerated.
As a community-owned club, the club were fortunate to be able to call on the help of local business G. Fitzsimmons & Sons to get the job done in record time. License granted, hurdle hopped.
The rapid rise of The Rose continued and in 2022, the team achieved the unthinkable and earned promotion to the Scottish Professional Football League. Pop the champagne.
Once the partying plateaued and the renditions of ‘Dream Catch Me’ dwindled, the realisation that running a professional football club is yet another step up, set in.
For long enough the club had steadily tried to improve the facilities at NDP, including the well-known slope. All without deep pockets, mind. Some might say an uphill battle…
Ever ambitious, the idea at the heart of the ever-present pitch improvement discussion was the installation of an artificial pitch. A game-changer for a community club which would allow for usage seven days a week and greater access for local children. The Rose are more than a football team.
But, the regulations don’t allow for sentiment and there’s now a timer on sorting the slope. And its ticking.
As history shows, though, The Rose have a proven track record when under pressure, and so we believe – with your help – we can once more defy the odds.
Advanced discussions with contractors are well underway and with a whack of community spirit, success can come once more.
This beacon of the community – the first SPFL side from Midlothian – needs to keep beaming.
Support the slope and let our dream keep catching us.
Is the plan to completely level the pitch?
The working group is evaluating a range of options from the original aspiration to have a completely level 3G artificial pitch through to a grass pitch that is effectively level or a grass pitch that is significantly more level than currently and compliant with the bronze licensing requirements. Obviously, a big factor in this decision will be how much money we can raise in such a short time.
If I want to make a bigger donation how should I do this?
We know that a lot of supporters would like to make a bigger donation and don’t necessarily want to do this through the justgiving page. We have a range of options for bigger donations (CLICK HERE). If you are thinking about making a donation of more than £500 then please contact us by completing the short form. One of the team will then give you a call and talk you through the options.
What happens to my donation if the pitch development doesn’t go ahead ?
Any funding received on the JustGiving is ringfenced for use on the pitch. In the event that the pitch development doesn’t go ahead then we would consult with supporters on how this money should be used.
Where supporters or organisation have made bigger donations directly to the club we would speak to everyone individually and either agree alternative expenditure or return the money.
What will happen of there is a surplus of donations?
If we have the very welcome problem of having raised too much for the pitch development we would undertake a consultation exercise with supporters and other donors to agree how the money should be used. However, this would not be used for player budgets – it would be ringfenced for ground development of some sort.
How can I have a say in the future development of New Dundas Park?
We want this to be the start of a renewed sense of community with supporter and other donors having a real say in how we further develop New Dundas Park. In the short term we are organising a series of supporter sessions (CLICK HERE) and we would love to see you there. Moving forward we are looking at how we can make this a more regular occurrence and of course supporters can join 1881 Club. This is a Community Interest Company set up to raise money for New Dundas Park. This is intentionally separate to the football club but with a strong alignment of aims. Many of the 1881 Club members are heavily involved in the Pitch project but critically any money raised by 1881 Club is only released to the football club if members vote for it.
