Nickname(s) The Wares Ground Capacity 1,990 (298 seated) Arena/Stadium Underhill Stadium | Dissolved 2008 Founded 1939 | |
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Full name Edgware Town Football Club Ground Silver Jubilee Park, Kingsbury 2015–16 Spartan South Midlands League Division One, 1st (promoted) League Spartan South Midlands Football League | ||
Edgware Town Football Club is a football club from Edgware, Greater London, England. Originally established in 1939, the club was dissolved at the end of the 2007–08 season but were then reformed in 2014. The club are currently members of the Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division and play at Silver Jubilee Park in Kingsbury, about three miles from the club's original ground, the White Lion, in Edgware.
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History
The club were founded in 1939 by a group of football enthusiasts who worked for the construction and engineering firm, William Moss & Sons based in Cricklewood. The firm had taken over the sports ground located in the High Street, formerly used by Edgware Rugby Club. The club initially played in the West Middlesex Combination, winning the league title in 1939–40. The league was renamed the Middlesex Senior League in 1940, with the club winning the league title again in 1943–44, before sharing the title with Twickenham the following season. They joined the London League for the 1945–46 season and were placed in the Western Section, which they went on to win. They subsequently lost the championship play-off against Eastern Section winners Woolwich Polytechnic. The club joined the Corinthian League for the following season.
In 1947–48 Edgware won the Middlesex Senior Cup with a 2–1 win against Enfield in the final. In 1953–54 they finished as runners-up in the league and won the league's Memorial Shield, defeating champions Carshalton Athletic in the final. The club won the Memorial Shield for a second tie in 1962–63 season, beating Wokingham Town in a two-legged final. However, at the end of the season the Corinthian League was disbanded and alongside most of the other clubs in the league, they joined the new Division One of the Athenian League. They finished third in their first season, and were promoted to the Premier Division. In 1966–67 they finished bottom of the division, and were relegated to Division One. This was followed by a second successive relegation to Division Two as they finished bottom of Division One in 1967–88.
In 1972 the club was renamed Edgware. Division Two was abolished in 1977 as the Athenian League was reduced to a single division. They finished as runners-up in 1981–82, but were not promoted to the Isthmian League as their White Lion Ground did not meet the ground grading requirements. When the Athenian League disbanded altogether in 1984 they joined the London Spartan League, before changing their name back to Edgware Town in 1987. They won the Premier Division of the Spartan League and the League Cup in 1987–88. After a second title in 1989–90, the club were promoted to Division Two North of the Isthmian League. After league reorganisation in 1991 they were placed in Division Three, which they won in its first season, earning promotion to Division Two. They were relegated back to Division Three at the end of the 2000–01 season, which was renamed Division Two the year after.
In 2006 the now-renamed Division Two was disbanded and Edgware were transferred to the Premier Division of the Spartan South Midlands League. They won it at the first attempt, also winning the Premier Cup and the Challenge Trophy. The club was promoted to Division One North of the Isthmian League, but closed down at the end of the Isthmian League season due to lack of funds following the decision of the local authority to grant planning permission for their ground. However, the club did not fold and remained members of the Middlesex Football Association.
In March 2014 it was announced that the club had been revived. They competed in the Spartan South Midlands League from the 2014–15 season, playing at the Silver Jubilee Stadium in Hendon (the former home of Kingsbury Town). Their opening games of the season were played at Underhill Stadium while the ground was refurbished. In the 2015–16 season the club won the Division One title by 10 points and were promoted to the Premier Division.
Ground
The club played at the White Lion ground from 1939, with the ground taking its name from the White Lion pub. The ground's record attendance of 8,500 was set in October 1947 for an FA Cup second qualifying round match against Wealdstone, who later played at the White Lion Ground between 1995 and 2005 after losing their Lower Mead ground. In 1964 the pitch was levelled, but this led to problems that caused numerous matches to be played at other grounds. Floodlights were installed in 1979, paid for by the sale of Brian Stein to Luton Town, and a new stand was built in 1984 after the original wooden stand burnt down. The White Lion pub was demolished in 1997 and the club subsequently folded in 2008 when the ground was lost to development. The site had been bought by Barrett Homes and planning permission had been granted to build on the site by Harrow Council in 2006.
Upon reforming in 2014, the club started playing at Silver Jubilee Park in Kingsbury. The ground has five stands; the 180-seat main stand, a 118-seat stand behind a goal and three covered terraces. The grounds capacity is 1,990.