The Rye House Rockets were a speedway team based at Rye House Stadium, Hoddesdon, England. They competed in various British speedway leagues from 1954 to 2018.[2]
History
Origins & 1930s
Rye House began life in 1934, hosting open meetings on a circuit that had been converted from a former running track.[3] Under the charge of the Harringay Light Car and Motor Cycle Club, the track soon became known as a training school for riders.[4][5] The first Rye House team competed in several challenge matches throughout 1936.[6]
Whilst at Hackney in September 1937, Dicky Case purchased the lease of the sixty acre estate of Rye House and continued the training school at Rye House Stadium, operating under the name of the Hackney Motor Club.[7] The school operated until 1938, when a Rye House team staged Sunday Dirt-track League matches. In 1939, various challenge matches were held.[8][9][10]
1940s
Rye House stadium continued to operate speedway from 1940 to 1943, despite the disruption caused by World War II. After the end of the war the track was re-opened by Arthur Elvin (the Wembley Stadium Managing Director) and was once again used as a training school, this time for the Wembly Lions riders.[11] The site remained under the lease ownership of Dicky Case until he returned to his native Australia. It was the foremost venue for aspiring speedway riders throughout the decade.[12]
In 1960, Jack Carter agreed a lease with stadium owner L. H. Lawrence and the speedway track was rebuilt by Mike Broadbank, along with his father Alfred.[17] Broadbank ran the speedway team known as the Red Devils who raced in challenge matches from 1960 until 1966. No public meetings were held in 1967 or 1968, although the training school continued ; but public speedway resumed in 1969, with a combination of individual meetings and team challenge matches, and continued until 1973.
1970s
The Rockets in 1976
In 1974, Rayleigh Rockets closed down but the promotion, riders and nickname moved to Rye House. It was the first season of league speedway at Rye House since the 1959 Southern Area League.[18] After struggling for two seasons they progressed to 5th place in 1976 before competing for the title from 1977 to 1979 and winning the 1979 Knockout Cup.[19]
The success could not be repeated for the rest of the decade as the team experienced mediocrity.
1990s
After finishing 8th during the 1993 British League Division Two season the promoters Roger Shute and Peter Redfern left the club leaving Ronnie Russell in sole charge. Russell failed to secure the necessary funding to continue and the Rockets were disbanded.[23]
In 1999, the team returned to league action in the Conference League (the 3rd division) but they soon moved up to division 2 in 2002 and formed a junior side called the Raiders' to compete in the Conference League.[24] The Raiders won the Conference League Four-Team Championship in 2003.[25]
The Rockets continued to compete in the Premier League from 2010 to 2016 before entering the highest tier of British speedway for the first time in their history for the 2017 season. The team competed in the SGB Premiership and featured riders such as Chris Harris and Scott Nicholls.[26] Mid-way through the 2018 season the Rockets results were annulled by the Speedway Control Bureau, due to the teams withdrawal due to financial issues.[27]
In September 2018, the Lakeside Hammers, a speedway team in the SGB Championship, moved to the Rye House Stadium, following the closure of the Arena Essex Raceway.[28]
2020s
In December 2020, the Rye House stadium was demolished.[29]
