Downton F.C.

Updated on Nov 16, 2023

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Full name Downton Football Club Ground Capacity 2,000 Manager Colin Hopkins Founded 1905		Nickname(s) The Robins Chairman Colin Stainer Ground Downton, Wiltshire

League Wessex League Division One

Downton Football Club is a football club based in Downton, near Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. The club plays in the Wessex League Division One. The club is affiliated to the Wiltshire Football Association

History

Downton F.C. was established in 1905. After World War I they played in the Salisbury & District League remaining mostly in Division two of the league. After the second world War the club won the Wiltshire Junior Cup in the 1949–50 season and then in the following season moved to the Bournemouth League and gained promotion to Division One, winning the championship five times. After eight seasons in Division one the Club moved up to Senior Division One, where they won the title seven times between 1959–60 and 1967–68.

In the 1968–69 season the club joined the Hampshire league and by the end of the 1979–80 season, as well as winning the Wiltshire Senior Cup for the first time where promoted to the top division in the Hampshire league. The club then spent the next thirteen seasons in Division one of the Hampshire league, with their best finish being Runners-up in the 1987–88 season. At the end of the 1992–93 they joined the Wessex League.

The club remained in the top division of the Wessex league for the next twelve seasons, until the end of the 2005–06 when they finished bottom of the division and was relegated to Division two. During this period in the top flight the club made their debut in the FA Vase in the 1995–96 season and two season later in the FA Cup, where they met Forest Green Rovers and lost 4–0 at home. After being relegated the club immediately gained promotion back to the top division, which had been renamed the Premier division, but they could only spend two seasons in the top division before being relegated again at the end of the 2007–08 season. Downton finished 4th in the 2009–10 season, missing out on promotion by goals scored. In the same season, they won the Hospital Cup, beating Chalke Valley 3–2 in the final. The next year, they won the Division One title and were promoted to the Wessex League Premier Division. In 2014 they were again relegated to Division One.