Great Harwood Town F.C. was a football club based in Great Harwood,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. They joined the Lancashire Combination in 1979 and made their way up to the

Northern Premier League Division One The Northern Premier League is an English football league that was founded in 1968. It has four divisions: the Premier Division (which stands at level 7 of the English football league system), Division One East, Division One West and Division ...

during the early 1990s. However, after spending most of the decade in the league they were ultimately relegated down to the North West Counties League Division Two. Despite being promoted to Division One for the 2004–05 season, the team were relegated back down to Division Two for the 2005–06 season, and folded at the end of the season. The folding was mainly attributed to a fire at their home ground.

History

They were founded in

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

, and were originally known as Harwood Wellington, being named after the Duke Of Wellington pub in the town. In

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

they took on their present name, also taking over as residents of the Showground. They joined the Lancashire Combination in 1979, and in 1982 the team joined the

North West Counties Football League The North West Counties Football League is a football league in the North West of England. Since 2019–20, the league has covered the Isle of Man, Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside, Cumbria, northern Staffordshire, northern S ...

. In the 1990–91 season reached the Quarter-Finals of the

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 ...

. At the same time the club had success in the league, being promoted in successive seasons to the

. After almost a decade in this league, the team was relegated back down to the NWCFL. After a fire at the Showground, they were forced to play some of their home games at Accrington Stanley's Interlink Express Stadium. Great Harwood Town resigned from the North West Counties League in June

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, when it became clear that the club would be unable to raise the money to buy back the Showground and repair its dressing rooms, which had been destroyed in the fire 18 months earlier. They officially folded in July 2006, but chairman Bill Holden did not rule out the possibility that the club could be re-launched in the future. The Showmen's record home attendance was 5,397 for a match vs

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

in 1980. However, 6,023 watched them play at

Gigg Lane Gigg Lane is a football ground in Bury, Greater Manchester, England, built for Bury F.C. in 1885. The first match was played on 12 September 1885 between Bury and a team from Wigan. One of the world's oldest professional football stadiums, Gig ...

Bury Bury may refer to: *The burial of human remains *-bury, a suffix in English placenames Places England * Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village * Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire ** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...

in an away match against FC United of Manchester on 22 April 2006.Harwood dead but can rise again

Matt Derbyshire Matthew Anthony Derbyshire (born 14 April 1986) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for Indian Super League club NorthEast United. He played for Blackburn Rovers for five years, and had loan spells with Plymouth Argy ...

, now an AC Omonia striker, started his career with Great Harwood Town, before moving to the Blackburn Rovers, and playing for the

England U21 The England national under-21 football team, also known as England under-21s or England U21(s), is considered to be the feeder team for the England national football team. This team is for England players aged under 21 at the start of the calen ...

s. Great Harwood Town succeeded Great Harwood as the town's premier club. At this time their manager was Eric Whalley, who was the chairman who led Accrington Stanley into the Football League in 2006.

Honours

North West Counties League Division One The North West Counties Football League is a football league in the North West of England. Since 2019–20, the league has covered the Isle of Man, Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside, Cumbria, northern Staffordshire, northern S ...

**Runners-up 1991–92Great Harwood Town on Football Club History Database
Accessed 20 September 2011 *

North West Counties League Division Two The North West Counties Football League is a football league in the North West of England. Since 2019–20, the league has covered the Isle of Man, Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside, Cumbria, northern Staffordshire, northern ...

**Champions 1990–91

Records

*Highest league finish **

, 8th ** 1992–93 *

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 1998–99, 2002–03, 2005–06 *

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 ...

**Second Round Proper 1998–99 *

**Quarter Finals 1990–91

References

External links

Great Harwood Town on Football Club History Database
{{Borough of Hyndburn culture Defunct football clubs in England Association football clubs established in 1966 Association football clubs disestablished in 2006 Great Harwood Sport in Hyndburn Lancashire Combination North West Counties Football League clubs 1966 establishments in England 2006 disestablishments in England el:Γκρέιτ Χάργουντ#Γκρέιτ Χάργουντ Τάουν ΦΚ