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
Saffron Walden
Saffron Walden is a market town in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England, north of Bishop's Stortford, south of Cambridge and north of London. It retains a rural appearance and some buildings of the medieval period. The population was 15, ...
,
Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...
, England. They are currently members of the and play at Catons Lane.
History
The club was established as Saffron Walden in 1872 and are the oldest senior football club in
Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...
. They entered 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 ...
in 1876–77, but withdrew after being drawn against holders Wanderers as they could not afford to travel. Two years later they made their first appearance, losing 5–0 to Upton Park in the first round.
In 1882 the club were founder members of the
Essex County Football Association
The Essex County Football Association, also simply known as the ''Essex FA'', is the governing body of football in the county of Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridges ...
. In 1890 club secretary Arthur Smith, the headmaster of the local Boy's National School, negotiated an annual fee of £3 with Lord Braybrooke for the use of a piece of land in Loft's Lane; previously the club had played on the town common, but had been unable to charge spectators an entrance fee. The club reached the final of the Essex Junior Cup in 1894–94, but lost 3–0 to Barking Excelsior. In 1896–97 they reached the final again, beating
Leytonstone
Leytonstone () is an area in east London, England, north-east of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Waltham Forest, a local authority district of Greater London. It adjoins Wanstead to the north-east, Forest Gate to the south-east, S ...
6–1 in a replay.
In 1899 they entered the Haverhill and District League, which they won in 1907–08, 1922–23, 1923–24, 1928–29, 1929–30 and 1933–34. The club also entered the Stansted and District League, the
Cambridgeshire League
The Cambridgeshire County Football League, currently styled as the Cambridgeshire Fire Places Cambridgeshire County League for sponsorship purposes, is a football competition covering Cambridgeshire and western parts of Suffolk, Norfolk and nort ...
and Hertfordshire and Essex Border League during the same era, winning the Stanstead & District League on seven occasions and the Border League once. In 1926 the club reached the final of the Essex Junior Cup, where a record crowd of 6,000 saw them lose 2–1 to Rainham Athletic.
The club moved to the Essex & Suffolk Border League and the
North Essex League
The North Essex League was a football league that was held in Essex, founded in 1895.
History
On 20 March 1895, following a meeting at the George Hotel, Colchester, the North Essex League was voted into existence in order to improve the standard ...
, before joining 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 ...
in 1933. In 1936–37 they won Division Two.
After
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 ...
the club moved to 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.Hertfordshire County League.
In 1971 the club were founder members of the
Essex Senior League
The Essex Senior Football League is an English men's football league. It contains clubs from the Essex FA, Hertfordshire FA, London FA, Middlesex FA and the Amateur Football Alliance. It is a feeder league to Division One North of the Isthm ...
. After winning the league in 1973–74, they switched to the
Eastern Counties League
The Eastern Counties Football League, currently known as the Thurlow Nunn League for sponsorship purposes, is an English football league at levels 9 and 10 of the English football league system. It currently contains clubs from Norfolk, Suff ...
, which they won in 1982–83. After finishing sixth the following season, the club joined Division Two North 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 tea ...
. In 1996 the club dropped back into the Essex Senior League, following a rule change which deemed the sloping pitch at Catons Lane to be unfit for the league. They won the league in 1999–2000 and were runners-up the following year, but ongoing work on the ground prevented the club from being promoted.
The club tried to transfer to the Eastern Counties League, but was prevented from doing so by the Essex Senior League. In order to fulfil their wish, in 2003–04 the club spent a season outside the league system, playing just friendlies, before rejoining Division One of the Eastern Counties League in 2004. In August 2011 they resigned from the league claiming that their financial situation meant that they could not guarantee that they would complete the 2011–12 season. In 2012 they rejoined the Eastern Counties League.
On 4 July 2012, members voted to convert the club into a Community Benefit Society. They were promoted to the Premier Division at the end of the 2014–15 season after finishing third in Division One.1. Long Melford 2. Swaffham Town 3. Saffron Walden Town Eastern Counties League
At the end of the 2017–18 season Saffron Walden were transferred to the
Essex Senior League
The Essex Senior Football League is an English men's football league. It contains clubs from the Essex FA, Hertfordshire FA, London FA, Middlesex FA and the Amateur Football Alliance. It is a feeder league to Division One North of the Isthm ...
. In 2019–20 the club were top of the table when the league was abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021–22 they were league runners-up, qualifying for a promotion play-off against Witham Town, which they lost 3–0.
Honours
*Eastern Counties League
**Champions 1982–83
*Essex Senior League
**Champions 1973–74, 1999–2000
*Spartan League
**Division Two champions 1936–37
*Haverhill and District League
**Champions 1907–08, 1922–23, 1923–24, 1928–29, 1929–30, 1933–34
*Stansted and District League
**Champions 1907–08, 1908–09, 1909–10, 1911–12, 1920–21, 1922–23, 1923–24
*Hertfordshire and Essex Border League
**Champions 1926–27 (shared)
*Essex Senior Challenge Trophy
**Winners 1983, 1984, 1985
*Essex Junior Cup
**Winners 1897
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 ...
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: Fifth round, 1990–91
*Most appearances: Les Page, 538
*Most goals: Alec Ramsey, 192Mike Williams & Tony Williams (2012) ''Non-League Club Directory 2013'', p651