Hatfield Town 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 based in Hatfield,

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

. They are currently members of the and play at Birchwood Leisure Centre.

History

The club was established in 1886 by members of Hatfield Cricket Club and was initially named Hatfield Football Club.Mike Williams & Tony Williams (2012) ''Non-League Club Directory 2013'', p763 History
Hatfield Town F.C. They played in the Mid-Herts League, before joining the Northern Division of the

Hertfordshire Senior County League The Hertfordshire Senior County League is a football competition based in Hertfordshire, England. Founded in 1898, there are currently two divisions at senior level and two divisions at reserve and development level. Sitting at step 7 of the N ...

in 1903. However, they left the league after a single season.Hertfordshire County League 1898–1927
Non-League Matters In 1908 they were renamed Hatfield United after a merger with Dagmar House School Old Boys caused by there being only one pitch available. They also rejoined the Hertfordshire Senior County League for the 1908–09 season; initially placed in the Eastern Division, they were moved to the Central Division for the 1909–10 season, in which they finished as runners-up to

Ware Ware may refer to: People * Ware (surname) * William of Ware (), English Franciscan theologian Places Canada *Fort Ware, British Columbia United Kingdom *Ware, Devon *Ware, Hertfordshire *Ware, Kent United States * Ware, Elmore County, Al ...

. They were moved back to the Eastern Division in 1910 and were divisional champions in 1911–12; in the subsequent championship play-off, they finished as runners-up to Harpenden Town. Hatfield were Eastern Division champions again in 1919–20, but finished last in the championship playoff. League reorganisation in 1921 saw them placed in the North Eastern Division, before the league was reduced to a single division in 1923. In 1922 they had been renamed Hatfield United Athletic after a merger with Hatfield Cricket and Athletics Club. The club finished bottom of the league in 1924–25 and 1926–27, but were league champions in 1935–36.Hertfordshire County League 1935–1960
Non-League Matters After finishing as runners-up in 1936–37, they won back-to-back titles in 1937–38 and 1938–39. In 1939 Hatfield joined Division Two East of the

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 ...

, but the 1939–40 season was abandoned after only one match due to

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 ...

.Spartan League 1934–1955
Non-League Matters When football resumed in 1945, the club were placed in the Eastern Division, and in 1948 they adopted their current name. The club finished bottom of the league in 1953–54, after which they joined the

Parthenon League The Parthenon League was a football league covering Greater London and the surrounding area. History The league was formed in 1951 with 11 clubs, nine of which had come from the Middlesex Senior League.Parthenon League 1951–1966
Non-League Matters and after three further seasons they transferred to the London League in 1959. Hatfield finished bottom of the London League in 1962–63, but were placed in the Premier Division the following season when the league gained a second division. In 1964 the London League merged with the

Aetolian League The Aetolian (or Aitolian) League ( grc-gre, Κοινὸν τῶν Αἰτωλῶν) was a confederation of tribal communities and cities in ancient Greece centered in Aetolia in central Greece. It was probably established during the early Hellen ...

to form the

Greater London League The Greater London League was a football league for clubs in and around London. It was formed in 1964 by a merger of the London League and the Aetolian League, after the two leagues had run a joint league cup the previous season due to both stru ...

, with Hatfield placed in the 'A' section. However, in 1965 the club transferred to the

Metropolitan League The Metropolitan League was a football league in the south-east of England between 1949 and 1971.Metropolitan–London League The Metropolitan–London League was a short-lived football league for clubs in and around London. It was formed in 1971 by a merger of the Greater London League and the Metropolitan League (which had lost several clubs to the Southern League). ...

. Despite their lowly finish the previous season, Hatfield were placed in Division One, where they remained until the league merged with the

to form 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 establ ...

in 1975, with Hatfield placed in Division One.Spartan League 1955–1975
Non-League Matters Hatfield finished second-from-bottom of Division One in 1976–77 and were relegated to the Senior Division. However, league restructuring saw them placed in the Premier Division for the 1978–79 season as the league was reduced to a single division. In 1979 the club joined Division One of the

South Midlands League The South Midlands League was a association football, football league covering Bedfordshire and some adjoining counties in England. It was founded in 1922 as the Bedfordshire County League and merged with the Spartan League in 1997 to form the ...

. They were Division One champions their first season, earning promotion to the Premier Division. However, after finishing fifth in 1983–84,South Midlands League 1983–1997
Non-League Matters the club folded due to financial difficulties. The club was reformed in 1989 as Hatfield Town Athletic, joining Division Two of the Hertfordshire Senior County League.
Non-League Matters They were Division Two champions in 1989–90, Division One champions in 1990–91 and Premier Division champions in 1991–92,
Non-League Matters after which they rejoined the South Midlands League Premier Division as Hatfield Town. Despite being Premier Division runners-up in 1995–96, they folded again at the end of the season. After being reformed in 1997, the club joined Division One of the Hertfordshire Senior County League, finishing as runners-up in their first season and earning promotion to the Premier Division. The next few seasons saw Hatfield become a

yo-yo club A yo-yo club is a sporting side that is regularly promoted and relegated. The phrase is most typically used in association football in the United Kingdom, especially in reference to promotion to and relegation from the Premier League. The name ...

as they were relegated to Division One at the end of the 1999–2000 season and then promoted the following season as Division One champions. Relegated again in 2001–02 after finishing bottom of the Premier Division, they were Division One champions the following season, earning an immediate return to the Premier Division. In 2007–08 the club were Premier Division champions, resulting in promotion to Division One 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, ...

. A third-place finish in Division One in 2008–09 saw the club earn promotion to the Premier Division at the first attempt. After two seasons in mid-table, the club finished bottom of the Premier Division in 2011–12, but were reprieved from relegation. Although they were reprieved again the following season, a third successive bottom two finish in 2013–14 saw the club relegated to Division One. In 2018–19 Hatfield finished bottom of Division One and were relegated to the Premier Division of the Hertfordshire Senior County League.

Ground

The club originally played at Hatfield Park, owned by

Lord Salisbury Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (; 3 February 183022 August 1903) was a British statesman and Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom three times for a total of over thirteen y ...

. They moved to the Showfield Ground on Stonecross Road in 1906, where they played until the land was sold for housing in 1980, after which the club relocated to Angerland Common. Plans to create a sports facility at the site of the gravel and brick pits on Stanborough Lane had been suggested prior to

. When local councillor Reg Gosling died in 1958, a fundraising appeal began to develop the facility as a memorial to him. A fifty-acre site was obtained and the facility was opened by

David Cecil, 6th Marquess of Exeter David George Brownlow Cecil, 6th Marquess of Exeter, KCMG KStJ (9 February 1905 – 22 October 1981), styled Lord Burghley before 1956 and also known as David Burghley, was an English athlete, sports official, peer, and Conservative Party poli ...

on 4 July 1959 with a football pitch surrounded by a running track and a cycle track. The planned 1,000-seat stand had not been completed, although terracing was in place. A clubhouse, cover and seating were added in 1962. Rugby was also played on the pitch and

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 ...

used it for some youth team matches. Between 1968 and 1990 it was the home ground of Welwyn Garden United. The original stand was taken down in 1976 and replaced with a new one. In 1989 the re-established club played at Roe Hill Playing Fields, before moving to Gosling Sports Park in

Welwyn Garden City Welwyn Garden City ( ) is a town in Hertfordshire, England, north of London. It was the second garden city in England (founded 1920) and one of the first new towns (designated 1948). It is unique in being both a garden city and a new town and ...

in 1992 in order to be allowed promotion to the South Midlands League. When they were reformed again, the club played at the Birchwood Leisure Centre in Hatfield and then groundshared at Harpenden Town and Welwyn Garden City's Herns Lane, before returning to the Gosling Sports Park in 2010 when plans for a new ground at Angerland Common came to nothing.Homesick Blues
David Bauckham In 2018 they moved to London Colney's Cotlandswick Park, before returning to the Birchwood Leisure Centre in 2019.

Honours

*South Midlands League **Division One champions 1979–80 *Hertfordshire Senior County League **Champions 1935–36, 1937–38, 1938–39, 1991–92, 2007–08 **Division One champions 1990–91, 2001–02, 2002–03 **Division Two champions 1989–90 **Eastern Division champions 1911–12, 1919–20

Records

*Best

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 ...

performance: Second qualifying round, 1949–50, 1976–77, 2011–12 *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, 1972–73 *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: Second round, 2012–13

Notes

External links