 | |||
| Full name | Melksham Town Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Town | ||
| Founded | 1876 | ||
| Ground | Oakfield Stadium, Melksham | ||
| Chairman | TBC | ||
| Manager | Mark Collier | ||
| League | Southern League Division One South | ||
| 2023–24 | Southern League Division One South, 16th of 19 | ||
Melksham Town Football Club is a football club based in Melksham, Wiltshire, England. Affiliated to the Wiltshire Football Association, they are currently members of the Southern League Division One South and play at the Oakfield Stadium.
The club was established as Melksham Football Club in 1876. [1] In 1894 they were founder members of the Wiltshire League. [2] The club were Division One champions in 1903–04 and won the Wiltshire Senior Cup the following season. [3] In 1920 the club was renamed Melksham & Avon United as a result of their new ground being owned by Avon Rubber, before reverting to their original name in the 1926–27 season. [4] They were runners-up in the league in 1924–25, 1929–30 and 1936–37. [2] [5] In 1951 the club adopted their current name and went on to finish as runners-up in Division One in 1959–60 and 1971–72, also winning the Wiltshire Senior Cup again in 1969–70. [2]
Melksham moved up to the Western League in 1974. After finishing third-from bottom of the league in 1975–76, the club were demoted to the new Division One as the league expanded to two divisions. [6] They won the Wiltshire Senior Cup again in 1977–78 and were Division One champions in 1979–80, earning promotion to the Premier Division. Their first season in the Premier Division saw the club win the Wiltshire Premier Shield, a trophy they retained the following season and won again in 1984–85 and 1985–86. [7] However, they were relegated to Division One again at the end of the 1987–88 season. [6]
In 1992–93 Melksham finished bottom of Division One and were relegated to the Premier Division of the Wiltshire Football League. They won the Premier Division and the Senior Knock-Out Cup the following season, [8] and were promoted back to the Western League at the first attempt. In 1996–97 the club were Division One champions and were promoted to the Premier Division. [6] They won the Wiltshire Premier Shield the following season, and again in 1999–2000, [7] before winning the Wiltshire Senior Cup in 2002–03 and 2007–08. [3] Although the club were relegated to Division One in 2009–10, they were Division One runners-up in 2010–11, earning promotion back to the Premier Division. [6]
Melksham won the Wiltshire Senior Cup in 2012–13 and 2013–14, before winning the Western League Premier Division title in 2014–15. [6] However, delays to making ground improvements meant that they were denied promotion. [9] The following season saw the club win the Senior Cup again. The club were runners-up in the Premier Division in 2017–18, earning promotion to Division One South of the Southern League.
In August 2024, two stalwarts of the club – Mick Perrin, the joint president who was a former player and long-serving club secretary and chairman, and his son Darren, the commercial manager, chairman and former team manager – resigned amid claims that Darren had suffered bullying and harassment. One person was arrested by Wiltshire Police. [10]
The club played at Challymead Common until moving to the Old Bear Field in 1883. [4] They relocated to the Conigre in 1920; the ground was part of the Melksham House estate, centrally sited in the town, which had been purchased in the same year by Avon Rubber, with the house turned into a social club. [4] A wooden stand was erected on one side of the pitch and wooden fencing installed around the ground. [4] During the 1960s covered stands were built behind the Rugby Club End and on the other side of the pitch, [11] and floodlights were installed in 1986. [4] The wooden stand was demolished in the early 1990s and replaced by a modern metal stand in 1994. [11] [4]
In 2017, in preparation for redevelopment at the Melksham House site, the club moved to Oakfields, a new £7.3 million facility shared with Melksham Rugby Club on the eastern edge of the town. [12] The first match at the new ground was played on 14 January 2017 against Bristol Manor Farm in the FA Vase, with the visitors winning 5–3 in front of a crowd of 1,215. [13]
Newcastle Town Football Club is a football club based in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England. They are currently members of the Northern Premier League Division One West and play at the Lyme Valley Stadium.
Royal Wootton Bassett Town Football Club are an English football club based in the town of Royal Wootton Bassett in Wiltshire.
Corsham Town Football Club is a football club based in Corsham, Wiltshire, England. The first team plays in the Hellenic League Premier Division.
Frome Town Football Club is an English football club based in Frome, a town in the county of Somerset. They play in the Southern League Premier Division South. The club's nickname is the Robins and they play in a predominantly red kit.
Epsom & Ewell Football Club is a football club based in Epsom, Surrey, England. Affiliated to the Surrey County Football Association, the club are currently members of the Combined Counties League Premier Division South and groundshare at Corinthian-Casuals' King George's Field in Tolworth. The club have played outside Epsom since leaving their West Street Ground in 1993.
Hoddesdon Town Football Club is a football club based in Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire, England. They are currently members of the Eastern Counties League Division One South and play at Lowfield. The club were the first winners of the FA Vase.
Highworth Town Football Club is a football club based in Highworth, Wiltshire, England. They are currently members of the Hellenic League Premier Division and play at the Elms Recreation Ground
Calne Town Football Club is a football club based in Calne, Wiltshire, England. They are currently members of the Western League Division One and play at Bremhill View.
Odd Down Football Club is a football club based in the Odd Down area of Bath, England. They are currently members of the Western League Division One and play at the Lew Hill Memorial Ground. The club is affiliated to the Somerset County FA.
Badshot Lea Football Club is a football club based in Wrecclesham, Surrey, England. The club are currently members of the Isthmian League South Central Division and play at Westfield Lane.
Thatcham Town Football Club is a semi-professional English football club based in Thatcham, Berkshire. They are currently members of the Southern League Division One South and play at Waterside Park. The club is affiliated to the Berks & Bucks Football Association.
Bemerton Heath Harlequins Football Club is a football club based in the Bemerton area of Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. Established in 1989 as a merger of Bemerton Athletic, Moon and Bemerton Boys, they are currently members of the Southern League Division One South and play at Moon Park.
Hebburn Town Football Club is a football club based in Hebburn, Tyne and Wear, England. The club are currently members of the Northern Premier League Premier Division and play at Hebburn Sports & Social Ground.
Amesbury Town Football Club is a football club based in Amesbury, Wiltshire, England. They are currently members of the Wessex League Division One and play at Bonnymead Park, on the western edge of the town.
Bradford Town Football Club is a football club based in Bradford-on-Avon in Wiltshire, England. They are currently members of the Western League Division One and play at Trowbridge Road.
Westbury United Football Club are a football club based at Meadow Lane, Westbury, Wiltshire, England. From the 2022–23 season, their first team plays in the Southern League.
Coleshill Town Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Coleshill, Warwickshire, England. They are currently members of the Northern Premier League Division One Midlands and play at Pack Meadow.
Cray Valley Paper Mills Football Club is a football club currently based in Eltham, in the Royal Borough of Greenwich, England. They are currently members of the Isthmian League Premier Division and play at the Badgers Sports Ground.
Chippenham Town Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Chippenham, Wiltshire, England. They are currently members of the National League South, the sixth tier of English football, and play their games at Hardenhuish Park.
Morpeth Town Association Football Club is a football club based in Morpeth, Northumberland, England. They are currently members of the Northern Premier League Premier Division and play at Craik Park.
