Hemel Hempstead 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 ...

club based in

Hemel Hempstead Hemel Hempstead () is a town in the Dacorum district in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of London, which is part of the Greater London Urban Area. The population at the 2011 census was 97,500. Developed after the Second World War as a new ...

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 gov ...

, England. Affiliated to the Hertfordshire County Football Association, they are currently members of the

National League South The National League South, formerly Conference South, is one of the second divisions of the National League in England, immediately below the top division National League. Along with National League North, it is in the second level of the N ...

and play at Vauxhall Road.

History

The club was established in 1885 as Apsley End.History
Hemel Hempstead F.C. They joined the West Herts League in 1891 and were renamed Apsley Football Club two years later. The club were league champions in 1894–95 and 1897–98,
Hemel Hempstead Town F.C. and in 1898 they were founder members 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 Nat ...

. They went on to win the league in its second season, 1899–1900. The league was split into two divisions in 1901, with Apsley placed in the Western Division. They were divisional champions in 1902–03 and won the championship play-off against Northern Division champions St Albans Amateurs. The club had continued playing in the West Herts League and won the title for a third time in 1904–05. After winning the Western Division of the Hertfordshire Senior County League again in 1906–07, they defeated Northern Division Champions Hitchin Union Jack 5–3 in the championship play-off. In 1922 Apsley left the Hertfordshire Senior County League to join Division Two of the Spartan League.Spartan League
Non-League Matters They were Division Two runners-up in 1923–24, after which league reorganisation saw them placed in Division Two A. They were Division Two A runners-up in 1926–27, but were demoted to Division Two West following further league reorganisation in 1928. More reorganisation in 1930 saw the club moved into Division One for the 1930–31 season. The club were Division One runners-up in 1931–32, earning promotion to the Premier Division. Although they were relegated back to Division One at the end of their first season in the Premier Division, the club were Division One champions and League Cup winners in 1933–34, earning an immediate return to the Premier Division. Apsley were relegated to Division One again at the end of the 1935–36 season.
Non-League Matters In 1938–39 they 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 compet ...

for the first time, losing 2–1 at

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 87,889 as of 2011. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, c ...

. Following

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

the club were placed in the Western Division for the 1945–46 season and finished bottom of the table. They were subsequently placed in Division One West and the club's name was changed to Hemel Hempstead. They were Division One West runners-up in 1947–48 and again in 1950–51, after which they were promoted back to the Premier Division. However, after a single season in the Premier Division the club left to join the

Delphian League The Delphian League was an English amateur football league covering Greater London and the surrounding area. The league was formed in 1951 with 14 clubs and was effectively a level below the Corinthian League.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 were promoted to Division One at the end of the 1964–65 seasons, and were Division One runners-up the following season, earning promotion to the Premier Division. However, after finishing bottom of the Premier Division in 1967–68, the club were relegated back to Division One. A second successive relegation followed in 1968–69 when they finished second-from-bottom of Division One. In 1971 the club merged with Hemel Hempstead United from the

South Midlands League The South Midlands League was a 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 Spartan South Midland ...

to form Hemel Hempstead Football Club. The new club took Hemel Hempstead Town's place in Division Two of the Athenian League, but moved to Hemel Hempstead United's Vauxhall Road ground. The club remained in the Athenian League until joining Division Two of 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 t ...

in 1977. League reorganisation in 1984 saw them placed in Division Two North, where they remained until further reorganisation in 1991 led to them playing in Division Two. They finished bottom of Division Two in 1996–97 and were relegated to Division Three, but won the Division Three title the following season to earn promotion back to Division Two at the first attempt. In 1999 the club was renamed Hemel Hempstead Town for a second time. They won Division Two in 2001–02 but were denied promotion due to their ground failing to meet the necessary criteria. They were moved to Division One North in 2002, and a sixth-place finish in 2003–04 was enough to secure promotion as the creation of the

Conference North The National League North, formerly Conference North, is a division of the National League in England, immediately below the National League division. Along with the National League South, it is at the second level of the National League Syst ...

and

South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

led to many clubs moving up the leagues. At the same time the club were transferred to the Southern League and placed in its Premier Division. The following season saw the club finish in the relegation zone, resulting in relegation to Division One West. However, a fourth-place finish in 2005–06 meant the club qualified for the promotion play-offs; after beating

Swindon Supermarine Swindon Supermarine Football Club is a semi-professional association football, football club based in South Marston, near Swindon, England. The club plays in the and is affiliated to the Wiltshire Football Association. The club plays at Webbsw ...

3–0 in the semi-finals, they won the final against Brackley Town 3–2 to earn an immediate return to the Premier Division. In 2006–07 Hemel Hempstead finished fifth in the Southern League Premier Division, qualifying for the play-offs, in which they lost 3–1 to

Team Bath TeamBath is the University of Bath's sporting organisation. In addition to entering teams in BUCS intervarsity competitions, TeamBath has also entered teams in national leagues and competitions. Team Bath F.C. reached the first round proper of t ...

. Another fifth-place finish in 2008–09 led to another play-off campaign that saw them lose 4–3 on penalties to

Farnborough Farnborough may refer to: Australia * Farnborough, Queensland, a locality in the Shire of Livingstone United Kingdom * Farnborough, Hampshire, a town in the Rushmoor district of Hampshire, England ** Farnborough (Main) railway station, a railw ...

in the semi-finals. The club finished fourth in 2012–13; in the play-offs they won 2–0 against Chesham United in the semi-finals, before losing 5–4 on penalties to

Gosport Borough Gosport Borough Football Club is a professional football club based in Gosport, Hampshire, England. The club is affiliated to the Hampshire Football Association and is an FA Charter Standard Community Club. They are currently members of the an ...

in the final. The following season saw the club win the Southern League Premier Division title, earning promotion to the

Conference South The National League South, formerly Conference South, is one of the second divisions of the National League in England, immediately below the top division National League. Along with National League North, it is in the second level of the N ...

. In 2014–15 they reached the first round of the FA Cup, eventually losing 3–1 at Bury. A fifth-place finish in 2017–18 saw the club qualify for the play-offs. However, they were beaten 3–2 in a penalty shoot-out by

Braintree Town Braintree Town Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Braintree, Essex, England. They are currently members of and play at Cressing Road. History The club was formed on 24 September 1898 as Manor Works, the works team of ...

in the qualifying round.

Crest and nickname

The crest features

King Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

, who features in the town's history. The town was part of the monastery's estates until the King initiated the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

and break-up of

Ashridge Ashridge is a country estate and stately home in Hertfordshire, England in the United Kingdom. It is situated in the Chiltern Hills, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, about north of Berkhamsted and north west of London. The estate ...

in 1539, as part of the dissolution of the monasteries. In that same year, the town was granted a

royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, b ...

by Henry VIII to become a

bailiwick A bailiwick () is usually the area of jurisdiction of a bailiff, and once also applied to territories in which a privately appointed bailiff exercised the sheriff's functions under a royal or imperial writ. The bailiwick is probably modelled on th ...

with the right to hold a Thursday market and a fair on Corpus Christi Day. Henry VIII and

Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and of her execution by beheading for treason and other charges made her a key f ...

are also reputed to have stayed in the town at the time. The association with Henry VIII is why the club is nicknamed

the Tudors ''The Tudors'' is a historical fiction television series set primarily in 16th-century England, created and written by Michael Hirst and produced for the American premium cable television channel Showtime. The series was a collaboration among ...

Ground

Apsley End initially played at Salmon Meadow in Apsley, which was named after 'The Salmon', a nearby pub that was also used as the changing rooms.Home Grounds
Hemel Hempstead Town F.C. After

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

the club moved to the Apsley Club & Institute, which featured a small stand. However, they were forced to leave at the end of the 1927–28 season due to an expansion of the adjacent mill. The club then played at Gee's Meadow in Bourne End for the 1928–29 season, with the stand from Salmon Meadow dismantled and brought to the new ground. In 1929 the club moved to Crabtree Lane. Located in the town centre, the ground had a large grandstand. The club's record attendance was set in January 1962 when 3,500 saw the team lose 3–1 to Tooting & Mitcham United in the

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 ...

. Following the merger in 1972, Crabtree Lane was sold for housing and the new club played at Hemel Hempstead United's Vauxhall Road,Peter Miles (1997) ''The Non-League Football Grounds of Hertfordshire'', p10 which had been opened in May 1948 as the Greenhills Club. The clubhouse and changing rooms burnt down in 1992 and the club had to use temporary facilities for five years. The ground has seated stands on both sides of the pitch, and in the early 2000s covered terrace stands were built behind both goals.Hemel Hempstead Town
Pyramid Passion The ground currently has a capacity of 3,152, of which 300 is seated and 900 covered.

Current squad

Out on loan

Non-playing staff

Honours

*Southern League **Premier Division champions 2013–14 *Isthmian League **Division Two champions 1999–2000 **Division Three champions 1997–98 *Spartan League **Division One champions 1933–34 **League Cup winners 1933–34 *Hertfordshire Senior County League **Champions 1899–1900 **Western Division champions 1902–03, 1906–07 *West Herts League **Champions 1894–95, 1897–98, 1904–05 *

Herts Senior Cup The Herts Senior Cup, officially titled the Hertfordshire County Football Association Senior Challenge Cup, is the oldest County-based football Cup competition based exclusively in Hertfordshire, England. It was first contested in the 1886-87 se ...

**Winners 1905–06, 1907–08, 1908–09, 1925–26, 2012–13, 2014–15 *Herts Charity Shield **Winners 1925–26, 1934–35, 1951–52, 1963–64, 1976–77, 1983–84 *Herts Charity Cup **Winners 2004–05, 2008–09, 2009–10

Records

*Best

performance: First round, 1938–39, 2014–15 *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 com ...

performance: Third round, 2014–15, 2018–19 *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 footb ...

performance: Fifth round, 1981–82 *Record attendance: 3,500 vs Tooting & Mitcham United, FA Amateur Cup first round, January 1962 *Most appearances: John Wallace, 1,012 *Most goals: Jordan Parkes, 110Shock over skipper’s surprise exit from Tudors
Hemel Today, 28 May 2019

References

External links

Official website
{{coord, 51, 45, 13.96, N, 0, 26, 39.92, W, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title Football clubs in England Football clubs in Hertfordshire Association football clubs established in 1885 1885 establishments in England Hemel Hempstead Hertfordshire Senior County League Spartan League Delphian League Athenian League Isthmian League Southern Football League clubs National League (English football)