Lancaster City Football Club is an English semi-professional
non-League football
Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...
club based in the northern city of
Lancaster, Lancashire
Lancaster (, ) is a city and the county town of Lancashire, England, standing on the River Lune. Its population of 52,234 compares with one of 138,375 in the wider City of Lancaster local government district. The House of Lancaster was a bran ...
. They currently compete in and play at Giant Axe. They are full members of the
Lancashire County Football Association
The Lancashire County Football Association, also known simply as the Lancashire FA, is the governing body of football within the historical county boundaries of Lancashire, England. They are responsible for the governance and development of foot ...
.
History
Two Lancaster-based clubs, Skerton F.C. (1897–1900) and Lancaster Athletic F.C. (1905–11), had competed in the
Lancashire Combination but both clubs folded without completing their final season's fixtures, with Lancaster Athletic playing their final season in the
West Lancashire Football League
The West Lancashire Football League is a football competition based in northern England, consisting of five divisions – three for first teams (Premier, One and Two), and two for reserve teams. The league is currently sponsored by Lancaster- ...
. The present club was then founded in the spring of 1911 as Lancaster Town F.C.
and were admitted to Division Two of the Lancashire Combination for the start of the 1911–12 season having proved to the league and the
Lancashire FA
The Lancashire County Football Association, also known simply as the Lancashire FA, is the governing body of football within the historical county boundaries of Lancashire, England. They are responsible for the governance and development of foot ...
that they had no connection with the previous two clubs.
After
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, the Combination was reduced to one division. The club finished as runners-up in 1919–20, and the following season the club made an unsuccessful bid to join the
Third Division North
The Third Division North of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division South with clubs elected to the League or relegated from a higher division allocated to ...
of
the Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
. Lancaster won the Combination for the first time in 1921–22 and in
1928–29 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 competi ...
for the first time losing 3–1 at home to
Lincoln City. The following year they again won the Combination whilst the first round was again reached in
1929–30,
1930–31,
1931–32 and
1933–34, losing on each occasion. Back to back league titles were won in 1934–35 and 1935–36,
and in 1937 the club adopted its current name, Lancaster City F.C., after the town was awarded
city status as part of
King George VI
George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of Ind ...
's coronation celebrations.
The club continued in the Combination with varying degrees of success including an FA Cup second round appearance, losing to
Gateshead
Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, Millennium Bridge, Sage ...
, in 1947-48 and a
Lancashire FA Challenge Trophy
The Lancashire Football Association Challenge Trophy is an English football competition for senior non-league clubs who are members of the Lancashire County Football Association. The trophy was first played for in 1885, when it was known as the L ...
final victory in 1951–52, but by 1970 it was decided that a change was needed so for the 1970–71 season the club left the Combination to join the
Northern Premier League
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 Divisio ...
. City again reached the second round of the FA Cup in 1972–73, losing 2–1 at
Notts County and won the Lancashire FA Challenge Trophy for a sixth time in 1974–75, but after finishing seventeenth in 1981–82 the club resigned from the league and dropped into the
North West Counties League when financial difficulties forced them to fold and reform. A first ever relegation followed three years later and despite only finishing thirteenth in 1986–87, City were accepted into the newly formed Division One of the
Northern Premier League
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 Divisio ...
thanks to in no small part to ground standard and support.
In 1994–95, after several years of consolidation, and now managed by former
Preston North End
Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...
and
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 ...
player
Alan Tinsley
Alan Tinsley (born in Fleetwood, Lancashire) is an English former professional football midfielder and non-league manager. He played in the Football League for Preston North End and Bury. His grandson Ryan Poole also played for Fleetwood Town F ...
, Lancaster won the Northern Premier League Presidents Cup, a first trophy in twenty years, and the following season were promoted to the Premier division as champions of Division One, also winning the Division One League Challenge Cup to complete a League and cup double. Two consecutive
Northern Premier League Challenge Cup
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 ...
wins followed in 1999–2000 and 2000–01 under Tony Hesketh and after finishing eighth in 2003–04 the club were placed in the newly established
Conference North. This was a hugely successful period for Lancaster with the club enjoying healthy league positions and several cup successes as well as reaching 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 competi ...
first round proper on four occasions. More financial problems led to the club folding at the end of the 2006–07 season though, suffering a 10-point deduction for going into administration and finishing bottom of the league with one point. During the summer, the club reformed and were accepted back into Division One of the Northern Premier League.
2008–09 was the final season for ex-player
Barrie Stimpson
Barrie George Stimpson (born 8 February 1964) is an English former professional footballer and non-league manager. He played as a full-back, including Football League appearances for both Hartlepool United and Chesterfield.
Playing career
B ...
, who was replaced as manager by the returning Hesketh. Lancaster lost the 2009–10 play-off final 1–0 at home to
Colwyn Bay and despite another Presidents Cup Final triumph in 2011, Hesketh could not guide the club to promotion, eventually leaving in September 2012 to be replaced by ex
Sunderland
Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
player
Neil Wainwright
Neil Wainwright (born 4 November 1977 in Warrington) is an English former footballer.
Wainwright played most of his football on the wing or in more recent times at full back. His former clubs include Wrexham, Sunderland and Darlington. He ret ...
. Wainwright left in February 2013 and was, in turn, replaced by former
Newcastle United
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...
defender
Darren Peacock
Darren Peacock (born 3 February 1968) is an English football manager and former professional footballer.
As a player, he was a centre-back who made nearly 400 league appearances. He notably played in the Premier League for Queens Park Rangers, ...
, who brought in former
West Ham United winger
Trevor Sinclair
Trevor Lloyd Sinclair (born 2 March 1973) is an English football coach, professional footballer and pundit.
As a player, he was winger who notably played in the Premier League for Queens Park Rangers, West Ham United and Manchester City. He a ...
as his assistant. Both Peacock and Sinclair left the club in September 2015, and City appointed ex player Phil Brown as manager.
He led the team to a top six finish and a narrow penalties defeat in the
Lancashire FA Challenge Trophy
The Lancashire Football Association Challenge Trophy is an English football competition for senior non-league clubs who are members of the Lancashire County Football Association. The trophy was first played for in 1885, when it was known as the L ...
final to
Chorley
Chorley is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England, north of Wigan, south west of Blackburn, north west of Bolton, south of Preston and north west of Manchester. The town's wealth came pr ...
. Brown then took City to the 2016–17
Northern Premier League
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 Divisio ...
Division One league title. After a bright start to the 2017–18 season the team then struggled, finishing eighteenth, and Brown left City early in the 2018–19 season. Former
Nelson and
Ramsbottom United
Ramsbottom United Football Club are an English association football, football club based in Ramsbottom, Greater Manchester. Nicknamed "The Rams", they currently compete in the and play their home matches at the Harry Williams Riverside Stadi ...
manager Mark Fell was brought in as his replacement in October 2018. With assistant manager
Graham Lancashire, he guided Lancaster to safety. The
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
pandemic meant both the 2019–20 and the 2020-21 league seasons were abandoned with City challenging at the higher end of the league table in both campaigns.
City got the 2021–22 season underway by winning their first silverware in four years – the inaugural Lockstep Trophy – before going on to lift the 2019-20
Lancashire FA Challenge Trophy
The Lancashire Football Association Challenge Trophy is an English football competition for senior non-league clubs who are members of the Lancashire County Football Association. The trophy was first played for in 1885, when it was known as the L ...
for the first time since 1975, beating
Prestwich Heys
Prestwich Heys A.F.C. is a semi-professional football club based in Prestwich, Greater Manchester, England.
Heys run one senior side competing in the . Heys now have a Youth Team formed in the 2020–21 season ran by Nick Simister.
League ...
6–1 at the County Ground,
Leyland, in a rearranged final that was played over a year late due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Stadium
![Giant axe](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/Giant_axe.jpg)
The club play at Giant Axe. It has been their home ground since the formation of the present club in 1911, although the first club to bear the name Lancaster also played there. Giant Axe was given its name as it was the centrepiece of a sports club, the exterior wall which was, when viewed from above, the same shape as an axe head. In those early years tennis, cricket and bowls were also played at the ground, with the football pitch being at the centre of a huge circle of grass called 'the sixpence', which also featured four cricket pitches. The ground has seen many changes since those early days and was renovated in the 1970s when the original main grandstand and then the social club were both destroyed by fire. A new main stand was built in 1977 and in 1994 a new social club, The Dolly Blue Tavern, was built when the ground was again modernised. The West Road End Terrace was added in 2000 and modern plastic seating installed in the main stand.
The Giant Axe layout consists of the 513-seat Main Stand, named the John Bagguley Stand after the club's late president. There are turnstiles located in three corners of the ground. Next to the main stand are the players and officials changing facilities, a supporters' bar named Netbusters, the directors lounge, toilets and The Dolly's Diner refreshments kiosk. The open West Road Terrace is situated behind one goal and a covered terracing called The Shed, now renamed The Neil Marshall Stand, in memory of City's long-serving captain, at the other. Opposite the Main Stand is the Long Side, an open terrace that also plays host to a second supporters bar, a raised sponsors hospitality lounge and the dugouts. The club offices are now in the club car park behind the West Road Terrace.
Lancaster City's social club The Dolly Blue Tavern, which included the club offices and was built and opened in 1995, was located by the club car park. However, the club closed in August 2012 and has since been redeveloped into sheltered accommodation.
Sponsorship
In the 1990s and early 2000s Lancaster enjoyed a lengthy sponsorship deal with sportswear giants
Reebok
Reebok International Limited () is an American fitness footwear and clothing manufacturer that is a part of Authentic Brands Group. It was established in England in 1958 as a companion company to J.W. Foster and Sons, a sporting goods company ...
. However, after financial difficulties had led to relegation and reformation in 2008, the club adopted a raffle sponsorship arrangement with several local businesses entering an annual draw with the winner becoming first team shirt sponsor. This carried on successfully for ten years until they won promotion in 2016-17 and Lancaster teamed up with local media group and radio station
Heart North Lancashire and Cumbria signing a three-year shirt sponsorship deal for the start of the 2017–18 season. Lancaster firm ICS Accounting took over the main shirt sponsorship for the 2020–21 season. In May 2022, the club signed a 3 year home kit sponsorship with Fear Records
Nickname
Lancaster City's official nickname of ''The Dolly Blues'' is taken from the dolly blue washing tablets and bags that were manufactured in the early 20th century, the club's team colours being the same colour as the tablets. This is now more often than not abbreviated to ''The Dollies''. Other nicknames adopted by the club are ''The Blues'', ''City'' and ''Town''. ''Town'' comes from Lancaster's early name of Lancaster Town.
Reserves, Ladies and Youth teams
Lancaster City also have several other teams starting with Lancaster City Reserves/development squad who play in the Lancashire U23 Football League West Division, winning both the 2011–12 and 2012–13 titles in a league that included several other non-league reserve teams from the
North West of England. Lancaster City Juniors and Youth FC teams, ranging from under 7s to under 17s, play in the Lune and District Junior Football League and the Lancaster and Morecambe Service to Youth League. Lancaster City have in the past had a ladies team that played in the Lancashire FA Women's County League but they folded at the end of the 2015–16 season.
Club rivalries
Lancaster City's oldest rivals have always been neighbours
Morecambe
Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district in Lancashire, England. It is in Morecambe Bay on the Irish Sea.
Name
The first use of the name was by John Whitaker in his ''History of Manchester'' (1771), w ...
; however, since Morecambe's rise through to
the Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
, few games have been played between the two clubs since the early 1980s. Despite this, the rivalry still continues to be strong amongst fans of both clubs. Rivalries with
Accrington Stanley,
Barrow
Barrow may refer to:
Places
England
* Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria
** Borough of Barrow-in-Furness, local authority encompassing the wider area
** Barrow and Furness (UK Parliament constituency)
* Barrow, Cheshire
* Barrow, Gloucestershire
* Barro ...
and
Fleetwood Town
Fleetwood Town Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Fleetwood, Lancashire. Established in 1997, the current Fleetwood Town F.C. is the fourth incarnation of the club; it was originally formed in ...
are also on hold for the same reason. Over the years, though, Lancaster have built up rivalries, some longstanding, against other clubs from the region with
Bamber Bridge
Bamber Bridge is an urban village in Lancashire, England, south-east of Preston, in the borough of South Ribble. The name derives from the Old English "bēam" and "brycg", which probably means "tree-trunk bridge". The population was 13,945 at ...
,
Chorley
Chorley is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England, north of Wigan, south west of Blackburn, north west of Bolton, south of Preston and north west of Manchester. The town's wealth came pr ...
,
Clitheroe,
AFC Fylde
AFC Fylde is a professional football club based in Wesham in the Borough of Fylde, Lancashire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Mill Farm.
Originally known as Kirkham & Wesham following a merger of Kirkham Town and Wes ...
,
Kendal Town,
Southport and
Workington
Workington is a coastal town and civil parish at the mouth of the River Derwent on the west coast in the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England. The town was historically in Cumberland. At the 2011 census it had a population of 25,207.
Loca ...
all providing extra interest whenever the clubs meet.
Attendances and support
Lancaster City's average crowd has declined over the years with the 2012–13 average gate of 171 being its lowest for nearly 30 years. During the 1930s it has been reported that crowds regularly reached 3,000 and by the 1950s gates of 4,500 have been recorded. During the 1960s Lancaster were still attracting around 1,500 for home games, this though dwindled during the 1970s and 1980s and gates dropped to a modest 250. Success on the pitch in the mid-1990s through to the mid-2000 pushed the average gate to a steady 300–400 but this again dropped after the club's demotion of two leagues in 2007. There have though been games when the crowds have soared once again at Giant Axe especially when neighbours
Morecambe
Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district in Lancashire, England. It is in Morecambe Bay on the Irish Sea.
Name
The first use of the name was by John Whitaker in his ''History of Manchester'' (1771), w ...
have visited for one-off cup matches in recent years with crowds getting as high as 2,500 for the 1996
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 ...
game. Gates were also up more recently when City entertained such well supported clubs such as
Chester
Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...
,
Halifax Town,
Darlington
Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town.
In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...
and
F.C. United of Manchester
Football Club United of Manchester is a semi-professional football club based in Moston, Manchester, England, that competes in the , the seventh tier of the English football league system, and plays home matches at Broadhurst Park.
Found ...
with gates pushing upwards of four figures and, therefore, keeping the average gate at around 250. The FC United of Manchester game alone attracted a gate of over 2,200 in 2007. Lancaster also have a passionate traveling support with the club regularly taking a healthy following on away trips, the highlight being when around 500 fans traveled to
Glossop North End in 2017 to see Lancaster win the league.
Averages
Past averages:
*2021-22: 310
*2020-21: 198
*2019-20: 309
*2018–19: 242
*2017–18: 258
*2016–17: 255
*2015–16: 219
*2014–15: 236
*2013–14: 232
*2012–13: 171
*2011–12: 232
*2010–11: 218
*2009–10: 240
*2008–09: 225
*2007–08: 318
*2006–07: 253
*2005–06: 319
*2004–05: 316
*2003–04: 334
Source
Managerial history
:''Permanent managers listed in order from 1966–67:''
References
External links
*
{{coord, 54, 3, 3.8, N, 2, 48, 39.5, W, type:landmark, display=title
Football clubs in England
National League (English football) clubs
Sport in Lancaster, Lancashire
Association football clubs established in 1911
Lancashire Combination
Football clubs in Lancashire
1911 establishments in England
North West Counties Football League clubs