Barking Football Club is a football club based in

Barking Barking may refer to: Places * Barking, London, a town in East London, England ** London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, a local government district covering the town of Barking ** Municipal Borough of Barking, a historical local government dist ...

, Greater London, England. They are currently members of the and play at Mayesbrook Park in Dagenham.

History

The origins of the modern club are unclear, with several potential claims; Barking Institute was either formed around 1896 as Barking Working Lads' Institute (or possibly earlier as Barking Working Men's Institute) or was a renamed Barking Rovers, who had been established in 1880 and later renamed by the Church Institute when they took over running it.Club history
Barking FC They won the

Essex Senior Cup The Essex Senior Cup is a knock-out system football competition that has been running since 1884, and is the most prestigious cup competition in the county of Essex. The competition is run mainly for non-League clubs in the region, although lea ...

in 1893–94 and 1895–96, before becoming champions of Division One of the

South Essex League The South Essex League was a football league that was held in Essex and East London. History The league was formed for the 1892–93 season. Only four clubs in the league managed to fulfill all their fixtures, with Barking Excelsior winning th ...

in 1898–99, the Leyton & District League in 1899–1900, Division Two of the South Essex League in 1900–02 and Division Two A in 1901–01, before changing its name to Barking in 1902. They also played in the London League, winning Division One A in 1909–10, before winning the South Essex League again in 1911–12, a season in which they also won the London Senior Cup for the first time. In 1912 Barking became founder members of the

Athenian League The Athenian League was an English amateur football league for clubs in and around London. The league was originally to be called the Corinthian League,Athenian Football League minutes 1912-1921 (National Football Museum, Preston). but this nam ...

, but withdrew after only two matches and their record was expunged. In 1919 the club changed its name to Barking Town, going on to win the Essex Senior Cup in the 1919–20 season. The following season they won the Premier Division of the London League and the London Senior Cup, before rejoining the Athenian League in 1923. The 1926–27 season saw them reach the first round of the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

, eventually losing to Gillingham in a replay. They also reached the final of the FA Amateur Cup, where they lost 3–1 to

Leyton Leyton () is a town in east London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It borders Walthamstow to the north, Leytonstone to the east, and Stratford to the south, with Clapton, Hackney Wick and Homerton, across the River L ...

, but did win the London Senior Cup for a third time. They reached the first round of the FA Cup again in 1928–29, but lost 6–0 at

Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third tier of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...

. In 1932 they reverted to the name Barking, and in 1934–35 won the Athenian League title. Following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, Barking won the 1945–46 Essex Senior Cup. In 1952 they switched to the Isthmian League, but had to wait until 1978–79 before winning the league again; during that period they won further Essex Senior Cup titles in 1962–63 and 1969–70. The 1978–79 season also saw them reach the second round of the

, defeating

Yeovil Town Yeovil Town may refer to: * Yeovil Town F.C., an English football team based in Yeovil, Somerset * Yeovil Town L.F.C. Bridgwater United Women's Football Club are an English women's association football club based in Bridgwater, Somerset who wer ...

in the first round, before losing 2–1 at home to

Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alder ...

, as well as winning the London Senior Cup for a fourth time. The following season they reached the second round again, defeating Third Division

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and t ...

before losing 3–1 to

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...

. In 1981–82 they took Gillingham to a replay in the second round, losing 3–1. Their last appearance in the second round came in 1983–84, when they lost 2–1 at Plymouth Argyle. A seventh Essex Senior Cup final win was achieved in 1989–90. They remained in the Isthmian League Premier Division until relegation to Division One at the end of the 1990–91 season. After finishing bottom in 1995–96 the club was relegated to Division Two. In 2001 Barking ceased to exist when they merged with East Ham United to form Barking & East Ham United. However, when the new club folded in 2006, Barking were re-established and joined the Essex Senior League. In 2016–17 the club won the Essex Senior League, earning promotion to the North Division of the Isthmian League. At the end of the 2018–19 season they were transferred to the South Central Division. In 2021 the club was transferred back to the North Division.

Ground

Barking Institute originally played at the Recreation Ground in Barking Park, before moving to Vicarage Field, which had been in use by Barking Rovers since 1884. Floodlights were installed in 1958 and they were the first Isthmian League club to play a league match under lights. In 1973 the club were forced to leave the ground by the council and moved to Mayesbrook Park. The club brought the floodlights from Vicarage Field and installed a temporary trailer stand on the northern side of the pitch.Jon Weaver (2006) ''The Football Grounds of Essex Metropolitan'', pp7–8 This was later replaced by a permanent stand with 210 seats and standing for 450. An uncovered terrace was installed behind the western end of the pitch, which had a roof added in 2001 when Barking merged with East Ham United.

Honours

*Isthmian League **Premier Division champions 1978–79 *Athenian League **Champions 1934–35 *London League **Premier Division champions 1920–21 **Division One A champions 1909–10 *Essex Senior League **Champions 2016–17 *South Essex League **Division One champions 1898–99, 1911–12 **Division Two champions 1900–01 **Division Two A champions 1901–02 *Leyton & District League **Champions 1899–1900 *Essex Senior Cup **Winners 1893–94, 1895–96, 1919–20, 1945–46, 1962–63, 1969–70, 1989–90 *London Senior Cup **Winners 1911–12, 1920–21, 1926–27, 1978–79

Records

*Best

performance: Second round replay, 1981–82 *Best FA Amateur Cup performance: Runners-up, 1926–27 *Best FA Trophy performance: Second round, 1979–80 *Best FA Vase performance: Fifth round, 1996–97 *Record attendance: 1,972 vs

, FA Cup second round, 16 December 1978 *Most appearances: Bob Makin, 566 *Most goals: Neville Fox, 241 (1965–73)

References

External links