Tunbridge Wells Football Club is a football club based in Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England. They are currently members of the . They play their home games at

Culverden Stadium Culverden Stadium is an association football stadium in Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England. It is the home ground of Tunbridge Wells F.C., Tunbridge Wells F.C. It has a capacity of 3,750, with 250 seats. It is located in Culverden Park Road, ...

. The club is affiliated to the Kent County Football Association.

History

Tunbridge Wells FC was originally formed in 1886, and played as an amateur side until the 1st World War when they folded. After many seasons of playing friendlies, they joined the South Eastern League in 1905 followed by the Southern Amateur, Isthmian and Spartan Leagues. Tunbridge Wells Rangers were a separate club founded as a professional team in 1903 when they joined the Kent League. They stayed there for three seasons before joining the

Southern Football League The Southern League is a men's football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from the South and Midlands of England. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven and eight of the English fo ...

in Division Two for the start of the 1906–07 season. However, after two seasons they rejoined the Kent League and the South Eastern League. They were to stay in the Kent League until they rejoined the Southern League as members of the Eastern Section for the 1931–32 season, after winning the Kent League the season before. Two seasons after joining the Eastern section the club started playing in the Central section as well. In the 1936–37 season the club then played in the Southern section but also competed in the Southern League Midweek Section, becoming champions of this competition in the 1938–39 season. During their time in the Southern league the club managed to get to the second round of the FA Cup twice. In the 1930s Tunbridge Wells Rangers were a significant force in non-league football. This is evident in an article published in The FA News in November 2006, in which they looked at all clubs that had played more than 100 FA Cup matches. The FA News then produced a list of each club's percentage success rate. In terms of winning FA Cup ties, Tunbridge Wells Rangers were the most successful club in the country. Their results were played 105, won 62. The record shows that the percentage of pre-war cup ties won was 59.05%. After the war, the Wells briefly returned to the amateur leagues as Tunbridge Wells before re-joining the Kent League for the 1950-51 campaign as Tunbridge Wells United and then the Southern League for the 1959–60 season. During this period the club once again progressed to the first round proper of the FA Cup but unfortunately endured a 5–0 defeat at the hands of Brighton & Hove Albion. In 1961 they fared slightly better, edged out 3–1 by Aldershot – their last appearance to date in the Cup proper. In the early 1960s Rangers – a name to which they reverted in 1963 – began to struggle in the Southern League and in 1967 the club folded. The supporters formed a new club, once again called simply Tunbridge Wells FC, and re-joined the Kent League. The Wells won the Kent League championship in 1985 and have also won the Kent League Cup on four occasions since the reformation of the club as well as reaching the last 32 of the FA Vase on no less than five occasions. On 31 August 2005, Tunbridge Wells made football history by winning the longest penalty shoot-out ever in a senior cup match. No less than 40 spot kicks were needed before Wells emerged as the victors, 16–15 over Littlehampton Town in the FA Cup preliminary round. After a poor start to the 2007–08 season, Mike Robbins, previously of Rye United, was installed as manager. After a promising start, Wells drifted from the top three to tenth after many players left to play at a higher level. Robbins stepped down from his post at the conclusion of the 2008–09 season, to be replaced in his position of manager by his assistant, Martin Larkin. This appointment turned out to be a masterstroke as Martin Larkin coached Tunbridge Wells to the Final of 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 ...

, and they played Spennymoor Town of the Northern League on 4 May 2013 at Wembley. Tunbridge Wells lost 2–1 in the Final, despite a Josh Stanford goal 12 minutes from the end. Spennymoor Town took an early lead in the match, scoring after 18 minutes. Stanford briefly equalised before the County Durham team sealed their victory with the winning goal just 90 seconds later. In 2011 the club formed a partnership with Junior Club Tunbridge Wells Ridgewaye FC who changed their name t
Tunbridge Wells Youth Football Club
and they became the only official Junior football club for Tunbridge Wells FC. With the united gaol of developing the young players of the Town. In the 2013–14 season the Kent League became the Southern Counties East League and Tunbridge Wells transferred to the new Premier Division where they have remained ever since. Martin Larkin resigned in 2015. During the period he was manager Tunbridge Wells had won silverware for the first time in 25 years, and were runners up in three further cup finals. In terms of where Tunbridge Wells finished in the leagues between 2009 and 2015, the club showed year on year improvement under Larkin.

Ground

Tunbridge Wells play their home games at the Culverden Stadium in Tunbridge Wells. The ground's capacity is 3,750, of which 250 is seated. The ground is floodlit and has a sloped pitch. The ground also hosts the annual Courier Cup in August. The Culverden Stadium was opened in 1962 as a permanent home for the club. The occasion was commemorated with a charity football match between Tunbridge Wells and a TV All Stars team which included

Jess Conrad Jess Conrad (born Gerald Arthur James; 24 February 1936) is an English stage and screen actor and singer. As a boy he was nicknamed "Jesse" after American outlaw Jesse James; as there was already an actor named "Gerald James" in Actors' Equity, a ...

and

Bernard Bresslaw Bernard Bresslaw (25 February 193411 June 1993) was a British actor. He is best known as a member of the ''Carry On'' film franchise. Bresslaw also worked on television and stage, did recordings and wrote a series of poetry. Biography Bernard B ...

. On 31 August 2005, during an FA Cup Preliminary Round Replay, the Culverden Stadium was the location of a record set for the most penalty kicks taken in a penalty shoot-out. The match was won by Tunbridge Wells against Littlehampton Town 16-15 after 40 penalty kicks. This was recognized as an FA and European record. In September 2006, the Culverden Stadium was subject to a series of vandalism attacks. The clubhouse was broken into and equipment was stolen. A later attempt was thwarted after Tunbridge Wells officials boarded the windows of the clubhouse.

Honours

The club has gained the following honours in line with whichever suffix name was being used at the time i.e. Rangers, United, FC.

League honours

Midweek Section **Champions (1): 1938–39 * Kent League **League Champions(2): 1930–31, 1984–85 **Runners-up (2): 1956–57, 1968–69 * Southern Amateur Football League Section B Champions **Champions (1): 1909-10

Cup honours

* Kent Senior Cup **Winners (3): 1907–08 1938–39 1954–55 *Kent Senior Trophy **Winners (1): 2012-13 **Runners-up (4): 1985–86; 1991–92; 2005–06; 2010-11 *Kent Senior Shield **Winners (2): 1931–32, 1954–55 *Kent League Cup **Winners (7) 1932–33, 1933–34, 1954–55, 1974–75, 1977–78, 1985–86, 1987–88. *

**Runners-up (1):

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

Records

Club records

*Highest league position *8th in Southern League, 1938–39 * FA Cup best performance: *Second round, 1930–31, 1936–37 *

best performance: *Runners-up, 2013 *Highest home attendances: *1,754 v Shildon ( FA Vase semi final ) 23 March 2013. *3,057 v Maidstone United 1962 ( FA Cup ). *As Tunbridge Wells Rangers, 5,788 v Margate 1930 ( FA Cup) at Down Farm *Record win: *10-0 v Deal Town, 1985–8 * Biggest crowds to watch the Tunbridge Wells club away : *Wembley Stadium 4 May 2013 FA Vase Final v Spennymore Town – 16,751. * 1954 FA Cup v Brighton and Hove Albion – 16,000. * 1936 Southern League v Ipswich Town – 14,211. * 1939 Kent Senior Cup Final v Gillingham – 13,500. * 1930 FA Cup v Carlisle United- 11,500.

Player records

*Record appearances: 412 – Jason Bourne *Record goal scorer: 151 – John Wingate

Notable former players

# Players who have played/managed more than 20 times in the football league or any foreign equivalent to this level (i.e. fully professional league) # Players with full international caps * Samuel Abel * Harold Andrews *

Harry Anstiss Henry Augustus Anstiss (22 August 1899 – 9 March 1964) was a much travelled English footballer who played as an inside-forward for Hammersmith Athletic, Brentford, Millwall, Watford, Rochdale, Sheffield Wednesday, Port Vale, Swansea T ...

* Jimmy Archibald * Fred Avey *

George Ballsom William George Ballsom (1912 – 1983) was a Welsh professional footballer of the 1930s. He made 79 appearances in The Football League during spells with Gillingham and Cardiff City. Career Born on 30 October 1912 in Trealaw, Ballsom joined G ...

* George Beel * Alf Bentley *

George Bratley George Bratley (17 January 1909 – March 1978) was an English footballer."Rotherham F.C. A ...

Frank Brett Frank Bernard Brett (born 10 March 1899 – 21 July 1988) was an English association football, footballer who played as a Defender (association football)#Full back, full back. References External linksMUFCInfo.com profile
1899 births ...

Ronnie Burke Ronald Stewart Burke (13 August 1921 – December 2003) was a footballer who played for Manchester United, Huddersfield Town, Rotherham United & Exeter City. Career Rotherham United made several attempts to sign Ronnie Burke during the Wo ...

* Kevin Clarke * Tim Coleman * Albert Collins *

Herman Conway Herman Conway (11 October 1908 – 1983) was an English professional association footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He began his career with his local Midland League club, Gainsborough Trinity, establishing himself as their regular first ...

Jimmy Dimmock James Henry Dimmock (5 December 1900 – 23 December 1972) was a footballer who scored the winning goal for Tottenham Hotspur in the 1921 FA Cup Final. He played as an outside left and became the fans' favourite with his mazy runs and trickery, ...

* George Douglas * Jimmy Dunne *

George Emmerson George Arthur Heads Emmerson (15 May 1906 – 1966) is an English former professional footballer. Career While playing for local side Jarrow, Emmerson was spotted by Middlesbrough and was offered the chance to play league football with the clu ...

* Harry Ford * David Galloway *

Ben Garfield Benjamin Garfield (4 April 1871 – mid-1958) was an English footballer who played at outside left. Garfield played for Finedon, Kettering Town, Burton Wanderers, West Bromwich Albion, Brighton & Hove Albion, Tunbridge Wells Rangers Tunb ...

Stan Gullan Stanley Knox Gullan (26 January 1926 – 29 June 1999) was a Scottish footballer, who played as a goalkeeper for Dumbarton, Clyde, Queens Park Rangers, Tunbridge Wells, Berwick Rangers, Third Lanark, Montrose and Stenhousemuir. Gullan pl ...

* Ernest Hart *

Syd Hartley Sydney Hartley (22 January 1914 – May 1987) was an English professional footballer. He joined Huddersfield Town in 1932 before moving to Grimsby Town the next season. He went on to play for Tunbridge Wells Rangers, Burnley and Clapton Orient ...

Harold George Howe Harold George Howe (6 October 1906 – 27 April 1976) was a professional footballer from Hertfordshire, England. Howe was one of Hemel Hempstead's first professional footballers. He started his playing career with Apsley and signed p ...

* George Howes *

Willie Hurrell William Provan Hurrell (28 January 1920 – 24 December 1999) born in Dundee, Scotland, is a Scottish association football, footballer who played as an inside forward in the Football League. He left Raith Rovers F.C., Raith Rovers for a fee of � ...

* Gordon Hurst *

Albert Iles Albert Kitchener Iles (9 October 1914 – 30 November 1979) was a professional association footballer who played in The Football League for Bristol Rovers prior to the outbreak of World War II. Football career Iles began his footballing career ...

* Fred Keenor *

Bobby Laverick Robert Laverick (born 11 June 1938) is an English former professional footballer who scored 26 goals from 96 appearances in the Football League playing on the left wing for Chelsea, Everton, Brighton & Hove Albion and Coventry City. Laverick ...

Johnny McNichol John McNichol (20 August 1925 – 17 March 2007) was a Scottish footballer who played more than 500 games in the Football League in England. An inside forward, he played more than 150 games for Brighton & Hove Albion and more than 200 for each ...

Jackie Mittell James Lyons Mittell (28 February 1906 – 30 March 1976), known as Jackie Mittell, was a Welsh professional footballer who made 247 appearances in the Football League playing for Rochdale, Wigan Borough, Birmingham, Luton Town, Hartlepools Unit ...

Stan Morgan Alfred Stanley Morgan (10 October 1920 – 1971) was a Welsh professional footballer who played as an inside forward. Morgan featured in his career for clubs Arsenal, Walsall, Millwall and Leyton Orient. Career Born in Abergwynfi, Morgan sta ...

Alf Noakes Alfred George Noakes (14 August 1933 – 2005) was an English professional footballer who played mainly as a left back. He made a total of 208 appearances in the Football League for Crystal Palace and Portsmouth although he began his career w ...

Henry O'Grady Henry O'Grady (16 March 1907 – 12 April 1990) was an English footballer who played at inside forward for Nantwich, Witton Albion, Port Vale, Southampton, Leeds United, Burnley, Bury, Millwall, Carlisle United, Accrington Stanley, and Tun ...

Bill Pavitt William Ernest Pavitt (30 June 1920 – 1989) was a professional footballer who played as a defender for Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It li ...

Walter Pollard Walter Pollard (26 September 1906 – 26 July 1945) was an English professional association football, footballer who played as an inside forward. Pollard died from a heart attack, aged 38, in 1945. References External links

* 1906 birt ...

Roy Proverbs Roy John Proverbs (8 July 1932 – 15 February 2017) was an English professional footballer. His clubs included Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, Englan ...

* Percy Richards *

Alf Ridyard Alf Ridyard (1908 – 1981) was an English professional footballer, active between 1930 and 1947. Ridyard was originally from Yorkshire. He started his footballing career for Barnsley as a Centre Half (#5) between 1930 and 1931. He then moved ...

Ernie Robinson Ernest George Robinson (21 January 1908 – 22 May 1991) was an English professional footballer who played as a right back. As a youth, he worked as a coal miner while playing local-league football. He played for several non-League clubs befor ...

* Tommy Robinson *

Harry Rowbotham Henry Rowbotham (22 April 1911 – 1979) was an English footballer who played at inside-right. Career Rowbotham played for Cheddleton Mental Hospital before joining Port Vale in April 1931. He scored on his debut in a 1–0 win over Bradford ...

Jock Rutherford John "Jock" Rutherford (12 October 1884 – 21 April 1963) was an English footballer who played in the Football League for Arsenal, Clapton Orient and Newcastle United. He played 11 times for England, and had a short and unsuccessful spell ...

John Ryden John Johnston Ryden (18 February 1931 – 16 August 2013) was a Scottish professional footballer who played for Duntocher Hibernian, Alloa Athletic, Accrington Stanley, Tottenham Hotspur, Watford, Romford, Tunbridge Wells Rangers and Bexley ...

* Bob Shankly * Wilf Sharp * John Shepherd * Bill Sheppard * Jimmy Smith *

Charlie Spencer Charles William Spencer (4 December 1899 – 9 February 1953) was an English footballer and manager. Club career After service with the Royal Engineers during the First World War, Spencer joined Newcastle United from non-league football in Oct ...

* Billy Sperrin * John Summers * Jim Taylor *

Billy Thirlaway William Thirlaway (1 October 1896 – 1983) was an English professional footballer who played as an outside left. He scored 29 goals from 216 appearances in the Football League. Thirlaway was born in Washington, which was then in County Du ...

* James Thompson *

Hugh Vallance Hugh Baird Vallance (14 June 1905 – 19 June 1973) was a much-travelled English professional association football centre-forward. Career Vallance was born in Wolverhampton, England. After serving in the army as a guardsman, he began his foo ...

* Jimmy Watson * Horace Williams For a list of all the other players with a Wikipedia profile and have played for Tunbridge Wells:

Former coaches

# Managers/Coaches who have played/managed in the football league or any foreign equivalent to this level (i.e. fully professional league) # Managers/Coaches with full international caps * Jim Taylor

References

External links

Official websiteTunbridge Wells supporters' forum
{{coord, 51, 08, 39.65, N, 0, 15, 03.21, E, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title Football clubs in England Sport in Royal Tunbridge Wells Association football clubs established in 1886 Southern Football League clubs Southern Counties East Football League Isthmian League Greater London League Football clubs in Kent 1886 establishments in England Southern Amateur Football League