Edgware & Kingsbury Football Club is a

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 from

Edgware Edgware () is a suburban town in northern Greater London, mostly in the London Borough of Barnet but with small parts falling in the London Borough of Harrow and in the London Borough of Brent. Edgware is centred north-northwest of Charing Cros ...

London Borough of Barnet The London Borough of Barnet () is a suburban London boroughs, London borough in North London. The borough was formed in 1965 from parts of the ceremonial counties of Middlesex and Hertfordshire. It forms part of Outer London and is the largest ...

, 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 and play at Silver Jubilee Park in

Kingsbury Kingsbury may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Kingsbury, London, a district of northwest London in the borough of Brent ** Kingsbury tube station, London Underground station * Kingsbury, Warwickshire, a village and civil parish in Warwickshi ...

, about three miles from the club's original ground, the White Lion, in Edgware.

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 Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...

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 The League of Corinth, also referred to as the Hellenic League (from Greek Ἑλληνικός ''Hellenikos'', "pertaining to Greece and Greeks"), was a confederation of Greek states created by Philip II in 338–337 BC. The League was created ...

for the following season. In 1947–48 Edgware won the

Middlesex Senior Cup The Middlesex Senior Cup is the most prestigious football cup competition in the historic county of Middlesex, England. The competition is run mainly for non-League clubs in the region, although league clubs have been known to enter the compe ...

with a 2–1 win against

Enfield Enfield may refer to: Places Australia * Enfield, New South Wales * Enfield, South Australia ** Electoral district of Enfield, a state electoral district in South Australia, corresponding to the suburb ** Enfield High School (South Australia) ...

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 time 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 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 ...

. 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 1967–68. 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 The Isthmian League () is a regional men's football league covering Greater London, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, the league now consists of 82 tea ...

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 The Spartan League was a football league in England covering London and adjacent counties. Established in 1907, it merged with the South Midlands League in 1997 to form the Spartan South Midlands League. History The Spartan League was establish ...

, 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

. 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 The Spartan South Midlands Football League is an English football league covering Hertfordshire, northwest Greater London, central Buckinghamshire and southern Bedfordshire. It is a feeder to the Southern Football League or the Isthmian 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 were forced to close down at the end of the

season due to lack of funds, following the decision of the local authority to grant planning permission for their ground, leaving the club unable to confirm a home ground for the 2008–09 season after their main sponsor and benefactor decided to withdraw support, putting the club's lease of the White Lion ground in jeopardy.Edgware Town
BBC London However, although the club did not play a match for many years from this point, it did not formally fold; FA registrations were maintained and the club remained non-playing members of the

Middlesex Football Association The Middlesex Football Association is an organisation that regulates and promotes football, aiming to increase the quantity and quality of participation in the historic area of Middlesex. History The Middlesex F.A. was founded in 1883 by the Footb ...

. In March 2014 it was announced that the club was to start playing again, and they joined Division One of the

for the 2014–15 season. In the 2015–16 season the club won the Division One title by ten points and were promoted to the Premier Division. At the end of the 2020–21 season the club were transferred to the Premier Division North of the

Combined Counties League The Combined Counties Football League is a regional men's football league in south-eastern England with members in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Jersey, Kent, Middlesex, Oxfordshire, Surrey, and the western half and sou ...

. In May 2022, the club announced they would be renaming to Edgware & Kingsbury.

Ground

The club played at the White Lion ground in

from 1939,Edgware Town
Pyramid Passion with the ground taking its name from the adjacent White Lion pub. The ground's record attendance of 8,500 was set in October 1947 for an

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 ...

second qualifying round match against local rivals

Wealdstone Wealdstone () is a district located in the centre of the London Borough of Harrow, England. It is located just north of Harrow town centre and is south of Harrow Weald, west of Belmont and Kenton, and east of Headstone. The area accommodates ...

, who themselves later played at the White Lion Ground between 1995 and 2005 after losing their

Lower Mead Lower Mead was a football stadium in Harrow, North West London. It was the home ground of Wealdstone Football Club for nearly 70 years from 1922 until 1991, after which it was demolished. Construction of the stadium was completed in time for t ...

ground.Facts & Figures
Wealdstone F.C. In 1964 the pitch was levelled, but this led to drainage problems that caused numerous matches to be postponed. Floodlights were installed in 1979, paid for by the sale of striker

Brian Stein Brian Stein (born 19 October 1957) is an English former professional footballer who played as a forward. Stein played in the Football League for Luton Town and Barnet as well as spells in France with Caen and Annecy, before finishing his caree ...

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...

, while the sale of goalkeeper

Dave Beasant David John Beasant (; born 20 March 1959) is an English football coach and former football goalkeeper. As a player, he was a goalkeeper, who notably played top-flight football for Wimbledon, Newcastle United, Chelsea, Southampton and Nottingham ...

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

funded other improvements. A new main stand was built in 1984 after the original wooden stand burnt down. The White Lion pub was demolished in 1997 and replaced by a hotel, and the club was eventually forced to close in 2008 when their main benefactor withdrew financial support and the ground was lost to commercial redevelopment. The site freehold was bought by Barrett Homes, with planning permission having already been granted to build flats on the site by

Harrow Council Harrow London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Harrow in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. It is currently controlled by the Conservative Pa ...

in 2006. The site of the former stadium is now occupied by a residential development named Zodiac Close. Upon reforming in 2014, the club moved to Silver Jubilee Park in

(the former home of Kingsbury Town), although they played the opening games of the 2014–15 season at

Underhill Stadium Underhill Stadium was a stadium in Chipping Barnet, London, that was the home of Barnet Football Club between 1907 and 2013. The club's under-19 team played fixtures there; it was also the training ground of the London Broncos rugby league club, ...

while Silver Jubilee Park was undergoing refurbishment. The ground has five stands; the 180-seat main stand, a 118-seat stand behind a goal and three covered terraces. The ground's capacity is 1,990.

Honours

*Isthmian League **Division Three champions 1991–92 *Spartan South Midlands League **Premier Division champions 2006–07 **Division One Champions 2015–16 **Premier Cup winners 2006–07 **Challenge Cup winners 2006–07 *London League **Western Section champions 1945–46 *London Spartan League **Premier Division champions 1987–88, 1989–90 **League Cup winners 1987–88 *Corinthian League **Memorial Shield winners 1952–53, 1963–63 *Middlesex Senior League **Champions 1939–40, 1943–44, 1944–45 (shared) *Middlesex Senior Cup **Winners 1947–48

Records

*Best

performance: Fourth qualifying round, 1978–79 *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 qualifying round, 1974–75 *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: Fifth round, 1991–92

References

External links