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Cinderford RFC was formed in 1886 in the Forest of Dean, a mining area in West Gloucestershire, situated between the Rivers Severn and Wye. The area, a source of iron ore and coal since pre-Roman times also provided timber for Nelson's navy and was seen as remote, the inhabitants as wild and unpredictable.

By the turn of the twentieth century the Cinderford rugby club were playing leading teams from England and South Wales but after the Great War the club's fortunes and the local coal mining industry declined, many good players 'went North' to seek employment in the coalfields and rugby in the 'Northern Union'. Nevertheless A. D 'Bumps' Carpenter, gained an England Cap against South Africa in 1931.

The club's re-emergence after WW2 owes much to the efforts of the late Bob and Mary Beavis. "Cinderford White Rose' a club mainly of miners, had kept rugby going over the war years. When they decided to re-form as Cinderford RFC, Mary became Honorary Secretary and remained so for the next fifty years!

The club started league life at level 6 and by 2001 was at level 4. Relegated after just one season Cinderford were back by 2004 and made it to Level 3 in 2007-08 after a nailbiting North/South play-off with Darlington Mowden Park. After eight seasons in National One they were relegated at the end of 2015-

16. During that time budding internationalists Freddie Burns, Sam Underhill, Harry Williams and Josh Adams, all gained valuable experience as dual-registered players. Our first encounter with them was at the beginning of our promotion winning 2016/17 season in National Two South, when in September we travelled to their Dockham

Road ground and emerged with a hard fought 22-15 victory. We then lost the return fixture in January 2017 by a single point (29-30). A result which at the time we thought might scupper our promotion hopes that season. At the end of following season Cinderford regained their place in National One by becoming National Two South Champions themselves and we would now play each other again in National One. In season 2018/2019 we were victorious in both our encounters with them. We won 11-0 at Dockham Road in November 2018 and won again 37-17 here in the March 2019, but they finished just one place above us in the league. Stortford were ninth, Cinderford eighth.

There was just one encounter with them in the 2019/2020 season at Dockham Road which finished 18-13 in Cinderford's favour. In season 2021/2022 we lost 55-39 in a free scoring match in November 2021, Cinderford didthe double on us winning 15-20 at Stortford in March 2022. Cinderford finished the season in fifth position in Division One that season and we finished ninth. Last season Cinderford won 24-22 at home in November 2022 and Stortford won 19-18 in the return fixture in March 2023. Stortford finished sixth in the table with 77 points and Cinderford seventh with 75 points.

All the Stortford supporters who travel to the Forest of Dean for a match against Cinderford consider the trip to be a visit to a unique rugby area and almost a foreign land, but the visit is always enjoyed.