Cirencester Town
A Brief History: Well, according to a Cirencester fan who a friend of mine knows, the records, history documents, etc, were left in the loft of the old clubhouse and forgotten about. By the time anyone had remembered, the clubhouse was a pile of rubble. So urm...sorry about that. Instead, here's a list of significant events in the club's history. I found it on Wikipedia, so feel free to take it with a pinch of salt. Or an entire cellar of salt. Oh, I can tell you that the club was founded in 1889. 1968/69 - Founder members of Gloucestershire County League, 1969/70 - Joined Hellenic League Premier Division, 1972 - Relegated to Division One, 1973/74 - Hellenic League Division One Champions; promoted to Premier Division, 1978 - Relegated to Division One, 1990/91 - Hellenic League Division One runner-up; promoted to Premier Division, 1991/92 - Hellenic League runner-up, 1995/96 - Hellenic League Champions, 1996/97 - Joined Southern League Southern Division, 1999/2000 - Switched to Western Division, 2003/04 - Promoted to Premier Division, 2007/08 - Relegated to South and West Division, 2009/10 - Promoted to the Premier Division.
Ground: Cirencester play at the 4,500 capacity Corinium Stadium. Between 2008 and 2010 the club ground-shared the stadium with Gloucester City due to Gloucester's own Meadow Park ground being flooded.Nickname: The Centurions. There is a picture of a centurion on the club crest and it even says 'Centurions' on it. Just to hammer it home.
Notable Former Players: Oxford United striker James Constable began his career with Cirencester. Burnley defender Michael Duff spent a few months on loan at Cirencester from Cheltenham Town early in his career.
Evesham United
A Brief History: Evesham United were founded shortly after World War II in 1945 by some of the town's returning servicemen. Evesham started life in the Worcester League before moving to the Worcestershire Combination in 1951, winning the title after just 2 seasons in the league. After a second league title in 1955 Evesham moved to the Birmingham & District League. In 1962 the club left the Birmingham League and, after a short spell in the Warwickshire League, rejoined the Worcestershire Combination, which was renamed the Midland Combination. They remained in the league until 1992. In that time Evesham claimed three more league titles, after the last of the three, the club went up to the Southern League. In the 2004/05 season Evesham achieved promotion to the Southern League Premier Division but the club was relegated the next season. In 2008 the club reached the FA Cup first round for the first time in their history. After defeating Conference side Rushden & Diamonds 2-0 in the previous round, Evesham lost to Torquay United by the same scoreline in the first round. |
| Main stand at Evesham's new ground opening for 2011/12 season |
Nickname: The Robins. Looking at the club badge should give it away. If not, you need help. Everyone knows what a robin looks like.
Notable Former Players: Bradford City defender Shane Duff played for Evesham on loan from Cheltenham Town back in 2001/02. Goalkeeper Kevin Rose started his career with hometown club Evesham. He went on to play for Hereford United and to this day holds the record of most consecutive appearances for Hereford.
Frome Town
A Brief History: Frome Town were founded in 1904 and played in the Wiltshire League, winning the league 6 years later. The club entered the Western League in 1919 and became Division Two champions in their first season. Frome reached the first round proper of the FA Cup in 1955 and played Leyton Orient in front of a club record home crowd of 8,000, losing 3-0. In the 1978/79 season the club won the Western League. The title was secured as Frome lost only once in the last 32 matches. The League Cup followed in 1979/80. Another vintage year followed in 1982/83 when the club won both the Somerset FA Premier Cup and the Western League Cup, as well a finishing as runners-up in the league. In 1996 the club was relegated to the Western League First Division. In 2002 they won promotion back to the Premier Division. 2009 saw the club promoted to the Southern League Division One South & West. Then in 2011 Frome triumphed in the play off final, beating Sholing (ha ha) 1-0 in the final on Sholing's own turf and were promoted to the Southern League Premier Division along with league champions AFC Totton.
Ground: Frome Town play their home matches at Badgers Hill. To the best of my knowledge, no badgers are currently in residence at the stadium. It has a capacity of 5,000, with 250 seats.Nickname: Frome, like Evesham, are also known as The Robins. So we've had two lots of Robins (Frome and Evesham), some Bluebirds (Chippenham Town) and some Eagles (Bedford Town). There seems to be an ornithological theme to the league this season.
Notable Former Players: Former Manchester United, Swansea City and Bristol Rovers goalkeeper Ronnie Briggs ended his playing career with Frome. Not to be confused with Ronnie Biggs, of The Great Train Robbery fame. He didn't play for Frome. Willie Haines, who played for both Southampton and Portsmouth in the 1920s and 1930s, began and ended his playing career with Frome Town. He passed away in the town of Frome in 1974 at the age of 74.
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Good news, campers! We're over halfway through our journey across the league! Tomorrow I'll be trawling through the archives of Hemel Hempstead Town, Hitchin Town and Leamington to enlighten you on their illustrious pasts. Who said history wasn't fun?
Hi. We are two Norwegians football supporters creating the Groundhopper iPhone/Android app. We have added the ten top levels in England, and are looking for photos of each ground. Would it be ok to use some of yours? You will of course be fully credited. More about the app here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.kepermat.groundhopper&hl=en All the best, Geir.
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