Cray Wanderers Football Club is an English semi-professional football club based in

Sidcup Sidcup is an area of south-east London, England, primarily in the London Borough of Bexley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, bordering the London Boroughs of Bromley and Greenwich. Before the creation of Greater London in 1965, it was in the ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. Based on later reports, the club has a claim to have been established some time in 1860 in the twin villages of St Mary Cray and

St Paul's Cray St Paul's Cray is an area of South East London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley in Greater London. Prior to 1965 it was within the historic county of Kent. It is located south of Sidcup and north of Orpington. The area The vill ...

, near

Orpington Orpington is a town and area in south east London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is 13.4 miles (21.6 km) south east of Charing Cross. On the south-eastern edge of the Greater London Built-up Area, it is south of St Ma ...

. Such a date would make it one of the

oldest football club The oldest football clubs trace their origins to the mid-19th century, a period when football evolved from being a casual pastime to an organised mainstream sport. The identity of the oldest football clubs in the world, or even in a particula ...

s in the world. They currently play their home matches 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 ...

Hayes Lane Hayes Lane is a football stadium in Bromley, Greater London, England. Located between Bromley town centre and Hayes, it is the home of Bromley F.C., and also used by Cray Wanderers and Crystal Palace Women. The current capacity of the groun ...

ground (capacity 5,000). The club are in the process of building their own stadium at the former Flamingo Park location on the A20 in Sidcup in South East London, which will be opening in time for the 2023–24 season. Cray Wanderers were Kent League champions four times, and have reached the fourth qualifying 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 ...

twice in their history. The club currently play in the .

History

The first origins of Cray Wanderers are linked to the construction of the

London, Chatham and Dover Railway The London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR or LC&DR) was a railway company in south-eastern England created on 1 August 1859, when the East Kent Railway was given parliamentary approval to change its name. Its lines ran through London and no ...

line during 1858 to 1860. During their leisure time, migrant workers kicked a ball around, and that is how the club originated in the St Mary Cray village. The pitch at Star Lane is now a cemetery, and is located beneath the nine-arch railway viaduct that spans the Cray Valley. The industrial belt of the

River Cray The River Cray is the largest tributary of the Darent. It is the prime river of outer, south-east Greater London, rising in Priory Gardens, Orpington, where rainwater percolates through the chalk bedrock of the Downs to form a pond where the ...

, especially the paper mills, provided much of the club's support up until the 1950s. Cray Wanderers were a strong force in senior county football at the turn of the century. After being Kent Junior Cup semi-finalists and finalists in 1890–91 and 1891–92 they entered the first ever FA Amateur Cup competition in 1893–94. They had a spell as a professional club between 1895 and 1907. They were a nursery club for Woolwich Arsenal during part of this period. They were one of the founder members of the Kent League in 1894–95, and they won the championship in 1901–02. Other honours included Southern Suburban League champions in 1898–99, West Kent League champions in 1903–04, and

Kent Senior Cup The Kent Senior Cup is an English football competition played between senior clubs in the county of Kent. It is administered by the Kent County Football Association. History The Kent Badge preceded the Kent Senior Cup, and was won in its three ...

runners-up in 1899–1900. 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 ...

, Cray switched to the London League where they remained until 1934. In the 1930–31 season they won the Kent Amateur Cup. Cray rejoined the Kent League in 1934–35, but their four-year stay came to grief when 1936 saw the loss of the Fordcroft ground in Cray Avenue, their home since 1898. Cray were forced to drop into a lower level of football, drifting from one temporary pitch to another while the club committee dwindled to a perilously small number. The team struggled badly in the South London Alliance and the Kent Amateur League. 1951/52 heralded a new era, and an upturn in the club's fortunes, when local businessman Mick Slater took over at the helm. The club was elected to the London League and regained its senior status. Cray moved to a new ground at Grassmeade in 1955. Their stay there was a very successful period in the club's history. Drawing extra support from the commuter town of

, they played in the London League and then the

Aetolian League The Aetolian (or Aitolian) League ( grc-gre, Κοινὸν τῶν Αἰτωλῶν) was a confederation of tribal communities and cities in ancient Greece centered in Aetolia in central Greece. It was probably established during the early Hellen ...

. They were three times crowned champions, won the League Cup twice, and also won the Kent Amateur Cup three times. Cray switched to the semi-professional

Metropolitan League The Metropolitan League was a football league in the south-east of England between 1949 and 1971.Met London League was created by a merger of the Metropolitan League and the Greater London League. Cray moved to Oxford Road in 1973–74. Johnny Biddle and Jimmy Wakeling proved to be successful managers. In 1974/75 Cray won the Met London League and League Cup, scoring 170 goals in all matches that season. In 1976–77 and 1977–78 Cray won the

London 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 establ ...

championship. Cray decided to return to the Kent League in 1978–79. Success came quickly because Cray won the championship in 1980/81, having been runners-up the year before. Their powerful new team under manager Harry Richardson reached the FA Vase quarter-final and 5th round in those two seasons. After that, the 1980s decade brought only one more piece of silverware, the Kent League Cup in 1983–84. After finishing Kent League runners up in 1990/91, Cray had a lean period during most of the 1990s, with the exception of 1992–93 when they won the Kent Senior Trophy. Cray Wanderers FC Kent League champions 1981

Cray Wanderers FC Kent League champions 1981

A new club chairman Gary Hillman arrived in 1994/95 and Ian Jenkins, a Cray player since 1993, was appointed manager in 1999. By now, Cray were tenants of

Bromley F.C. Bromley Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Bromley, Greater London, England. They are currently members of and play at Hayes Lane. History Established in 1892,2007–08 season Cray reached the play-off final after finishing 3rd in the table, but lost to Tooting & Mitcham United 1–0 at

Imperial Fields Imperial Fields is a football stadium in Mitcham, south London, which is home to Tooting & Mitcham United. It is also the former ground of Chelsea Ladies. The stadium opened in 2002, and has a total capacity of 3,500 (612 seated). Men's footb ...

. They also reached the

final, played at Hayes Lane on 26 July, where they lost to

Ebbsfleet United Ebbsfleet United Football Club is a professional football club based in Northfleet, Kent, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the club competes in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football. The club was formed in 1946 fr ...

4–0. Cray again reached the play-off final the following year, in which they beat Metropolitan Police 1–0 and were promoted to the

Isthmian League Premier Division 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 teams ...

. Cray Wanderers celebrated their 150th anniversary during the summer of 2010, including friendlies against the other two oldest clubs in the world,

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...

and Hallam, in a three-team tournament. Ian Jenkins, who had managed the club for 14 years, left in September 2013. Keith Bird and Mike Paye, managers of

's reserve team, were appointed as manager and assistant manager respectively. The team was relegated into the Isthmian League Division One North at the end of April 2014. Gary Abbott and Mike Paye became joint managers of the team at the start of October 2014. On 5 January 2015 the club appointed Tommy Warrilow as the new manager. Warrilow masterminded a dramatic "Great Escape" from a second successive relegation as the team won their last ten games of the season. Former player Tony Russell took over for the 2015–16 season, guiding the team to fourth place in Division One North. Cray therefore qualified for the promotion play-offs but lost to Harlow Town. Two years later, they reached the play-offs again, this time after finishing 3rd in Division One South, but lost 5–2 to Walton Casuals. On 13 April 2019, Cray secured their return to the Premier Division with a 3–1 win over Ashford United to win the inaugural Division One South-East title. The following season, Cray were challenging for a second successive promotion when the season was abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

League history

''Information taken from club stats book.''

Grounds

Cray Wanderers currently play their home games at Hayes Lane, Bromley. Cray started playing football at Star Lane, now a cemetery. After playing at numerous other grounds, Cray played at Grassmeade from 1954 to 1973, after which they moved to Oxford Road. Unfortunately for the club, in 1998 the Kent League ruled that clubs must have floodlighting. As Cray were unable to have lights installed, they were forced to move out and share the Hayes Lane ground of

, although their reserve and youth teams continued to play at the former ground until 2011, when it was taken over by Seven Acre Sports & Sidcup. In the summer of 2008, Cray announced plans to move to a new stadium near Orpington by 2014. Official plans published on the club's official website on 18 February 2009 confirmed that the new ground at Sandy Lane would be open by 2014, for the 2014–15 season, subject to planning consent. The stadium, which is proposed to be part of a new "Sports Village-like complex" is set to be eco-friendly and be built to an initial Conference standard. The bid was rejected unanimously, by all councillors on Bromley Council's Development Control Committee on Thursday 20 September 2012. This was for a number of reasons, but mainly because the club was hoping to build a Football League sized stadium, using the profits from building nearly 200 houses and a large hotel on Green Belt land. In the debate on the application, which was opposed by the Police and the GLA as well as other bodies, it was clear that Councillors were supportative of a proposal to relocate Cray Wanderers to a new home in

St Pauls Cray St Paul's Cray is an area of South East London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley in Greater London. Prior to 1965 it was within the historic county of Kent. It is located south of Sidcup and north of Orpington. The area The vill ...

, but not to the building of houses, a hotel and another swimming pool, given that LA Leisure already have a swimming pool opposite the site, in order to fund it. On 3 October 2014, Cray Wanderers signed a conditional contract to purchase Flamingo Park Sports Centre in St Paul's Cray on the A20 Sidcup bypass. The club had an 18-month period to obtain planning consent from Bromley Council for a new sporting community hub, featuring a new multi-sport stadium with a spectator capacity of 1,300. This was achieved in April 2016, when the council approved the proposal. There was disappointment when the application was later refused by the

Mayor of London The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first directly elected mayor in the United Kingdom. The current m ...

and a revised set of plans were being prepared in 2017. These were finally approved in November 2018, with hopes that the club will be able to move in for the start of the 2023–24 season

Academy

The Cray Wanderers Academy, based at

Coopers School Coopers School is a mixed secondary school with academy status in Chislehurst in the London Borough of Bromley, England. The current Head of School is Claire Bessa. The school shares a site with the community special school Marjorie McClure. ...

, Chislehurst, was established in January 2009 by representatives of the club (Gary Hillman and Darren Anslow) and school (Oliver Hobbs and Shirley Puxty). The academy competed in the Isthmian Youth League from the 2009–10 season, finishing second. In its first season it already showed signs of success, with youngster

George Porter George Porter, Baron Porter of Luddenham (6 December 1920 – 31 August 2002) was a British chemist. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1967. Education and early life Porter was born in Stainforth, near Thorne, in the then West ...

breaking into the senior first team in the academy's first season, impressing to the extent that he was signed by professional club

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a profession ...

at the end of the season. Several other players have made first team appearances during the first season. It was decided at the beginning of 2016 that this arrangement with Coopers School would come to an end. As from the 2022–23 season Cray Wanderers will be again running a football youth academy out of their new stadium in Sidcup, Kent.

Honours

* Isthmian League Division One **Winners (South East): 2018–19 **Runners-up (South): 2008–09 **Play-off Winners (South): 2008–09 * Kent League: 1901–02, 1980–81, 2002–03, 2003–04 **Runners Up: 1979–80, 1990–91 * London League: 1956–57, 1957–58 **Runners Up: 1953–54, 1954–55 *

: 1962–63 * Greater London League: 1965-66 * Metropolitan-London League: 1974-75 *

: 1976–77, 1977–78 * Kent Senior Trophy: 1992–92, 2003–04 * Kent Amateur Cup: 1930–31, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1964–65 *Best league performance: 9th in

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

, 2011–12, (Cray were 2nd in the Isthmian League Premier Division when the 2019–20 season was abandoned in March 2020) *Best

performance: 4th qualifying round, 2005–06,

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

*Best FA Amateur Cup performance: 3rd round (last 16), 1967–68 *Best FA Trophy performance: 3rd round, 2021–22 *Best FA Vase performance: Quarter-finals, 1979–80, 2003–04 *Best

performance: Final, 1900–01, 2007–08

Current squad

First team
Cray Wanderers F.C.

Club staff

Records

*Record attendance: 2160 vs

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, ...

( FA Amateur Cup, 1969) *Biggest Win: 15–0 vs

Sevenoaks Sevenoaks is a town in Kent with a population of 29,506 situated south-east of London, England. Also classified as a civil parish, Sevenoaks is served by a commuter main line railway into London. Sevenoaks is from Charing Cross, the traditio ...

, 1894–95 *Biggest Defeat: 1–11 vs

, 1920–21 *Biggest Isthmian League Win: 9–1 vs, Ashford United 2017–18 *Biggest Isthmian League Defeat: 3–9 vs Kingstonian, 2012–13

Player records

*Most appearances: John Dorey, 454 (1961–72), Jamie Wood, 461 (including some as non-playing sub) (1996-2010) *Most goals: Ken Collishaw, 274 (1954–65)

Managerial history

''Information taken from club stats book.'' :(includes league games only)

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Association football clubs established in 1860 Football clubs in England Isthmian League Sport in the London Borough of Bromley 1860 establishments in England Metropolitan League Metropolitan–London League Greater London League Aetolian League (football) Football clubs in London Southern Counties East Football League London League (football)