Hampstead Heathens F.C. was an English

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, based in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...

, London. The club competed in the first ever FA Cup in 1871 and were involved in the first ever competitive replay in association football.

History

The phrase "Hampstead Heathens" is found as early as 1860, used by literary critic David Masson to refer to the circle of authors, living on

Hampstead Heath Hampstead Heath (locally known simply as the Heath) is an ancient heath in London, spanning . This grassy public space sits astride a sandy ridge, one of the highest points in London, running from Hampstead to Highgate, which rests on a band o ...

in the early nineteenth century, that included

John Keats John Keats (31 October 1795 – 23 February 1821) was an English poet of the second generation of Romantic poets, with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley. His poems had been in publication for less than four years when he died of tuberculo ...

. In the '' Football Annual'', the club reported its foundation date as June 1868. In November of that year, it played a match against its neighbour

N.N. Club N.N. Club or N.N. Kilburn—N.N. standing for "No Names" —was an amateur English football club based in the Kilburn district of London. The poor state of the club's original ground led to them being nicknamed the Mudlarks. The club's firs ...

of Kilburn. The Heathens would proceed to play against many other London clubs over the 1868–69, 1869–70 and 1870–71 seasons. The club joined the

Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world an ...

(FA) during the 1869–70 season. The club had close links with

Winchester School Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of t ...

; in a match against the Wykehamists, five of the Heathens members played for the school side. In 1871, the Heathens were one of the twelve teams to enter the challenge cup being organised by the FA. They received a bye into the second round of the competition, where they were drawn away to Barnes. The match finished in a 1–1 draw after being stopped by bad light, the Heathens being handicapped by playing with only 10 men. Whilst

Hitchin Hitchin () is a market town and unparished area in the North Hertfordshire Districts of England, district in Hertfordshire, England, with an estimated population of 35,842. History Hitchin is first noted as the central place of the Hicce peopl ...

and Crystal Palace had both been sent through after having a goalless draw in the first round, Heathens and Barnes were forced to contest a rematch, as the match had not played to time. The match took place on 6 January 1872, again at Barnes; Hampstead Heathens triumphed 1–0, despite again having to play the match with 10 men, thanks to a late goal from G. P. Leach. The club progressed to face

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

in the quarter-final. Their cup run ended here, as they were defeated 3–0 by the team who would ultimately finish runners-up. The club was hindered by having to start the game with 9 men, as two members did not turn up, and only had 10 men for the second half. This would prove to be the Heathens' last competitive fixture. The club did play one subsequent match a week later—a rain-sodden 3–0 defeat to Wanderers, for which the team was unable to supply a full complement of players. There is little record of the club after this match: the Heathens did not enter any subsequent competitions, nor did they contest any of the leagues which began to appear nearly two decades later. The club is absent from lists of Football Association members from 1873 onwards. A later

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

club of the same name existed between 1921 and 1939.

Colours

The club's colours were white, with blue "binding" (trim), and a blue cap.

Ground

The club played on Hampstead Heath, a quarter of a mile from Hampstead Heath station.

Notable players

*Henry Lake was selected to play for England in the 1871 representative match against Scotland, but fell out of the line-up before the match. *Sherman Ralph Tatham (full-back) played for the Rest of the World side which faced the Wanderers in a challenge match to conclude the 1870–71 season, the match finishing 1–1.

Modern day

An amateur club under the name Hampstead Heathens currently competes in the Southern Amateur League. This club is not related to the original, however, having been formed in 1975.

References

{{Football in London Defunct football clubs in England Defunct football clubs in London 1872 disestablishments in England Association football clubs established in 1868 Association football clubs disestablished in 1872