Peppard F.C. was a football team based in

Rotherfield Peppard Rotherfield Peppard (often referred to simply as Peppard by locals) is a village and civil parish in the Chiltern Hills in South Oxfordshire. It is centred west of Henley-on-Thames, north of Reading, Berkshire and southwest of Rotherfield ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

. Founded as Sonning Common Peppard F.C., they changed their name to Peppard F.C. in 1990, and after winning the Chiltonian League two years running (in 1990–91 and 1991–92) they were promoted to the Combined Counties Football League. They won the Combined Counties Football League two years in succession (in 1992–93 and 1993–94) but left to rejoin the Chiltonian League in 1996–97. They were league runners-up in 1998–99, and after the Chiltonian League merged to form the

Hellenic Football League The Hellenic Football League, currently known as the Uhlsport Hellenic Football League for sponsorship reasons, is an English men's football league covering an area including the English counties of Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, southern Buck ...

, Peppard were placed in Division One East. Success then was harder to come by, and by 2002 the club's future was in grave danger and they had quit the Hellenic Football League at the end of the 2002–03 season. The club had tried to improve its facilities for many years; in 1994 their basic railed-off pitch had denied them the chance of promotion to the Isthmian League Premier Division. A consortium of local businessmen did try to keep the club alive, but after playing at Palmer Park (which was too small a pitch for FA Competitions) it was decided that the club had no future and what backing they had soon left. Therefore, by 2004, the club had ceased to exist. The club briefly played in 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 ...

in the mid-1990s: 1993–94 Reached 1st Qualifying Round and beat

Oxford City F.C. Oxford City Football Club is a semi-professional English association football club based in Marston, Oxford. They currently compete in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football, and play their home matches at Marsh Lane. ...

1–0. However, the tie was awarded to Oxford City, as Peppard's home pitch was too small. 1994–95 Knocked out in the Extra Preliminary Qualifying Round 1–2 to Flight Refuelling F.C -(now known as

Merley Cobham Sports F.C. Merley Cobham Sports Football Club is a football club based in Merley, in Poole, Dorset, England. The club is affiliated to the Dorset County Football Association and is a FA chartered Standard club. They play their home games at Cobham Sport ...

). 1995–96 Knocked out in the 1st Qualifying Round 2–3 to Cranleigh F.C. Peppard F.C also entered a team in the FA Sunday Cup for one season in 1998–99, which has since merged with Theale F.C. Their biggest win was a 7–1 home win against

Ashford Town F.C. Ashford Town (Middlesex) Football Club are a football club based in Stanwell, Surrey, England. The club are currently members of the and play at the Robert Parker Stadium in Short Lane. They are affiliated to both the Middlesex FA and the ...

on Monday 30 May 1994.

References

Non League Matters Forum Post on the History of Peppard F.C.

* ttp://www.getreading.co.uk/sport/s/3834_peppard_saved_by_mystery_backers getreading.co.uk Article on Mystery Backers Saving Peppard F.C. in June 2002 Defunct football clubs in England Combined Counties Football League Hellenic Football League Chiltonian League Defunct football clubs in Oxfordshire {{England-footyclub-defunct-stub