Clevedon Town Football Club is a semi-professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

club representing

Clevedon Clevedon (, ) is an English seaside town and civil parish in the unitary authority of North Somerset, part of the ceremonial county of Somerset. It recorded a parish population of 21,281 in the United Kingdom Census 2011, estimated at 21,442 i ...

, Somerset, England. Affiliated to the

Somerset County FA The Somerset County Football Association, also known as the Somerset FA, is the governing body of football in the county of Somerset. The association was formed in 1885. History The Somerset County Football Association was formed in 1885. ...

, they are currently members of the and play at the Hand Stadium in Kenn. The club's motto 'vigilate et orate' is

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

for 'watch and pray'.

History

The club was established in 1880 as Clevedon Football Club.Clevedon Town
Pyramid Passion They were founder members of the

Bristol & District League The Bristol and District Football League is a football competition based in Bristol, England. The top division in this league, which is the Senior Division, sits at level 14 of the English football league system and is a feeder to the Bristol ...

in 1892, but left after finishing bottom of the league in 1894–95. The club subsequently became members of Division One of the South Bristol & District League, which was renamed the Bristol & District Alliance and then the East Bristol & District League before becoming new

in the late 1890s after the original one had been renamed the Western League. They returned to the Western League in 1910 and finished bottom of the league in 1911–12 and 1912–13. When football resumed after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

the club were back in the Bristol & District League. Clevedon transferred to the Bristol & Suburban League in 1925 and went on to win the new league at the first attempt. They were champions again in 1927–28 and 1928–29.Honours
Clevedon Town F.C. In the early 1930s the club transferred to the

Somerset County League The Somerset County League is a football competition based in England. The Premier Division sits at step 7 (or level 11) of the National League System. It is a feeder to the Western League Division One and has promoted a club in seven of the ...

, going on to win the league in 1936–37. During

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 opposin ...

they played in the Weston-super-Mare & District League, winning it in 1939–40, 1943–44 and 1944–45. After the war the club returned to the Western League, and were placed in Division One when it gained a second division in 1946. However, after finishing second-from-bottom of Division One in 1948–49 the club were relegated to Division Two. Clevedon remained in Division Two until resigning from the league at the end of the 1957–58 season for financial reasons.Post War
Clevedon Town F.C. They dropped into Division Two of the Bristol Premier Combination and were promoted to Division One after finishing as Division Two runners-up in their first season in the league. In 1974 the club absorbed Western League club Ashtonians, taking their place in the league. When the league expanded again in 1976, they were placed in the Premier Division, and were renamed Clevedon Town the following year. The 1991–92 season saw Clevedon finish as runners-up in the Premier Division. They were league champions the following season, earning promotion to the Midland Division of the Southern League. The club were transferred to the Southern Division in 1994 and back to the Midland Division in 1998. They went on to win the Midland Division in 1998–99 and were promoted to the Premier Division. However, the club were relegated from the Premier Division at the end of the 2000–01 season, dropping into the renamed Division One West. A fourth-place finish in 2004–05 saw Clevedon qualify for the promotion playoffs, in which they lost 3–2 to Bromsgrove Rovers in the semi-finals. However, they were Division One West champions the following season and were promoted to the Premier Division. In 2006–07 the club reached 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 ...

for the first time, losing 4–1 at home to Chester City in front of a record Hand Stadium crowd of 2,261. After four seasons in the Premier Division they were relegated to Division One South & West at the end of the 2009–10 season. Although they won the League Cup in 2011–12, the club resigned from the Southern League after the 2014–15 season and dropped into the Premier Division of the Western League.

Ground

The club originally played at Dial Hill, now a cricket ground, before moving to Old Street in 1895. The ground was later renamed Teignmouth Road.Pre War Day's
Clevedon Town F.C. They bought the site in 1949, and floodlights were installed in the early 1980s. However, the cost of the lights and a new clubhouse caused financial problems that led to the club selling the ground, with the last match played there on 20 April 1992.
Clevedon Town F.C. Clevedon then relocated to the Hand Stadium, named for the Hand family who had been heavily involved in the club since the 1890s. A 300-seat stand was built on one side of the pitch, with a 1,000-capacity covered terrace on the other.

Honours

*Southern League **Division One West champions 2005–06 **Midland Division champions 1998–99 **League Cup winners 2011–12 *Western League **Premier Division champions 1992–93 *Weston-super-Mare & District League **Champions 1939–40, 1943–44, 1944–45 *Somerset County League **Champions 1936–37 *Bristol & Suburban League **Champions 1925–26, 1927–28, 1928–29 *

Somerset Premier Cup The Somerset Premier Cup is an association football knock-out cup competition run by the Somerset County Football Association (SFA). According to the current rules of the competition, to enter clubs first affiliation must be with the Somerset Co ...

**Winners 1986–87, 1998–99, 2000–01, 2001–02 *Somerset Senior Cup **Winners 1901–02, 1904–05, 1928–29, 1976–77 *Somerset Junior Cup **Winners 1897–98Junior Cup previous winners
Somerset FA *Somerset: Medal Competition **Winners 1887–88 *Clevedon Charity Cup **Winners 1926–27, 1930–31

Records

*Best

performance: First round, 2006–07 *Best

FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the FA Trophy, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after the English Football Association and competed for primarily by semi-professional teams. The compet ...

performance: Second round, 1998–99, 2000–01 *Best

FA Vase The Football Association Challenge Vase, usually referred to as the FA Vase, is an annual football competition for teams playing in Steps 5 and 6 of the English National League System (or equivalently, tier 9 or 10 of the overall English footbal ...

performance: Quarter-finals, 1987–88 *Record attendance: 2,300 vs Billingham Synthonia,

FA Amateur Cup The FA Amateur Cup was an English football competition for amateur clubs. It commenced in 1893 and ended in 1974 when the Football Association abolished official amateur status. History Following the legalisation of professionalism within footba ...

, 1952–53 **At the Hand Stadium: 2,261 vs Chester City, FA Cup first round, 11 November 2006

References

External links