Thames Ironworks Football Club, the club that later became West Ham United, was founded by Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Co. Ltd owner

Arnold Hills Arnold Frank Hills (12 March 1857 – 7 March 1927) was an English businessman, sportsman, philanthropist, and promoter of vegetarianism. Biography Hills was born in Denmark Hill, Surrey, son of a manufacturing chemist. Arnold Hills was also a ...

and foreman Dave Taylor in 1895. Thames Ironworks took over the tenancy of The

Old Castle Swifts Old Castle Swifts Football Club, the first professional football club in Essex, was formed by Scottish shipowner Donald Currie in September 1892 as Castle Swifts Football Club. The club's first home ground, located in West Ham, was named Duno ...

Hermit Road Hermit Road was a stadium located in Canning Town in London, England. It was the first home ground of football club Thames Ironworks, the works team of the Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company. The club would later be reformed as West Ham U ...

ground in

Canning Town Canning Town is a district in the London Borough of Newham, East London. The district is located to the north of the Royal Victoria Dock, and has been described as the "Child of the Victoria Docks" as the timing and nature of its urbanisation ...

until their eventual eviction in October 1896. They would briefly play at

Browning Road Browning Road was the home ground of London football club Thames Ironworks, the team that would become West Ham United, towards the end of the 1896–97 season. Thames Ironworks had been handed an eviction notice from their previous Hermit Ro ...

East Ham East Ham is a district of the London Borough of Newham, England, 8 miles (12.8 km) east of Charing Cross. East Ham is identified in the London Plan as a Major Centre. The population is 76,186. It was originally part of the Becontree Hun ...

, before moving to the

Memorial Grounds Memorial Grounds was the home stadium of East London football club Thames Ironworks from the beginning of the 1897–98 season, until the end of the 1899–1900 season. The team continued to play at the stadium, under its new name of West Ham ...

, a stadium which was situated close to where

West Ham station West Ham is a London Underground, Docklands Light Railway (DLR) and National Rail intermodal interchange station in West Ham, London, United Kingdom. The station is served by London Underground's District, Hammersmith & City and Jubilee lines, ...

now stands. The ground was built at Arnold Hills's own expense, costing £20,000. Thames Ironworks were

West Ham Charity Cup The West Ham Charity Cup was an annual amateur football tournament which was contested by teams from West Ham and the surrounding area, an area of Essex that is now part of London. Only players that lived locally were eligible to compete. The compe ...

winners in 1895–96 and London League runners up and champions in 1896–97 and 1897–98. They were promoted to Southern League Division One in 1898–99 as Southern League Division Two Champions. They retained their Southern League status the following season by beating

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

5–1 in a Test Match. At the end of June 1900, Thames Ironworks F.C. resigned from the Southern League and were officially wound up. On 5 July 1900 they reformed under the new name of West Ham United F.C. and accepted an offer of the Southern League place left vacant by Thames Ironworks.

History

Formation

:''"In the summer of 1895, when the clanging of "hammers" was heard on the banks of Father Thames and the great warships were rearing their heads above the Victoria Dock Road, a few enthusiasts, with the love of football within them, were talking about the grand old game and the formation of a club for the workers of the Thames Iron Works Limited. There were platers and riveters in the Limited who had chased the big ball in the north country. There were men among them who had learned to give the subtle pass and to urge the leather goalwards. No thought of professionalism, I may say, was ever contemplated by the founders. They meant to run their club on amateur lines and their first principal was to choose their team from men in the works."'' :: – Syd King, ''Thames Ironworks player and West Ham United manager 1902–1932.'' Thames Ironworks F.C. was founded by Dave Taylor and

in 1895 as the

works team A works team (sometimes factory team, company team) is a sports team that is financed and run by a manufacturer or other business. Sometimes, works teams contain or are entirely made up of employees of the supporting company. Association footb ...

of the Thames Iron Works, which was located in

Limmo Peninsula The Limmo Peninsula is an area of Canning Town in the London Borough of Newham in London's East End. It lies on the east bank of Bow Creek at the mouth of the River Lea near Leamouth. Etymology Created in the 1990s, the nearby Bow Creek Ecology ...

in the

East End of London The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...

. Taylor was a foreman with the company and a local football

referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other titl ...

. Thanks to Ironworks owner Arnold Hills' financial backing, he was able to announce on 29 June 1895 the following in the company's weekly journal: :''"Mr. Taylor, who is working in the shipbuilding department, has undertaken to get up a football club for next winter and I learn that

quoits Quoits ( or ) is a traditional game which involves the throwing of metal, rope or rubber rings over a set distance, usually to land over or near a spike (sometimes called a hob, mott or pin). The game of quoits encompasses several distinct vari ...

and

bowls Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which the objective is to roll biased balls so that they stop close to a smaller ball called a "jack" or "kitty". It is played on a bowling green, which may be flat (for "flat-gre ...

will also be added to the attractions." – Thames Iron Works Gazette.'' Fifty would-be players paid half-a-crown for a year's membership, and Taylor spent the summer arranging the fixtures for Thames Ironworks F.C. and their reserves. Before the Irons played their first game, Taylor returned to refereeing, handing over organizational duties to Ted Harsent, who became the first club secretary. The birth of Thames Ironworks F.C. coincided with the demise of

, the first professional 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 ...

. Thames took over the tenancy of Castle Swifts' Hermit Road ground in

and signed a number of Old Castle Swifts players, including former Woolwich Arsenal full back

Robert Stevenson Robert Stevenson may refer to: * Robert Stevenson (actor and politician) (1915–1975), American actor and politician * Robert Stevenson (civil engineer) (1772–1850), Scottish lighthouse engineer * Robert Stevenson (director) (1905–1986), Engl ...

, who became the club's first captain and is credited as being the team's first player of note.

1895–1896

The Ironworks played their first fixture against Royal Ordnance reserves on 7 September 1895, the game ending 1–1. One of the players likely to have been involved in this first game was Iron Works employee

Charlie Dove Charlie Dove (1879–?) was an English footballer. Career Dove was regarded as being very physically fit for a footballer; in 1895 he stood nearly 6 feet tall and weighed 12 stone, which was considered large for a sixteen-year-old from a worki ...

, who had played at full-back and centre forward during his time as a junior player. Dove would be mainly used as a right-half, but would play every position for The Irons during his time with them. Looking to bolster their attacking strength, the Irons had also recruited Ironworks employee George Gresham, an inside-forward who had played for

Gainsborough Trinity Gainsborough Trinity Football Club is a football club based in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England. Established in 1873, the club became members of the Football League in 1893 and remained members of the Second Division until 1912, making Gainsbo ...

, who would go on to score many goals for the club in the following four seasons. In what would be their first competitive game, Thames Ironworks took on Chatham Town in the first 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 ...

on 12 October, losing 0–5 before a crowd of 3,000. Their biggest defeat came on 14 December when they lost in a friendly game away to Millwall Athletic 0–6. Millwall were also an 'Iron Works' side, whose south London company competed with Thames Iron Works for contacts. The rivalry between the two clubs would continue into the present day. Following a number of trials against local sides, 16 March saw an experimental 'floodlit friendly' at the Hermit Road ground for Thames Ironworks, in their first encounter with Woolwich Arsenal that finished in favour of Woolwich Arsenal 5–3. These early attempts at floodlighting were set up using Thames Iron Works engineers and equipment, and caused an amount of notoriety. They were also used for "The Irons" next game against

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pla ...

, which they lost 2–4. An epic confrontation followed as Thames Ironworks faced Barking in the final of the

on 21 March 1896 at

The Old Spotted Dog Ground The Old Spotted Dog Ground in Forest Gate is the oldest senior football ground in London. Clapton Community FC the fan-owned club purchased the ground in June 2020, having been initially awarded the lease. The previous tenants Clapton FC ...

in Upton Lane. Drawing 2–2, the match was replayed a week later, and again the teams drew, this time 0–0. Eventually the final was replayed for the second time on 20 April 1896 and "The Irons" won 1–0, lifting a trophy in their first season.

1896–1897

Thames Ironworks F.C. entered the London League for the 1896–97 season, even though the

West Ham West Ham is an area in East London, located east of Charing Cross in the west of the modern London Borough of Newham. The area, which lies immediately to the north of the River Thames and east of the River Lea, was originally an ancien ...

area was still officially part of

at the time. However, it was a seamless transition for the club to make as Thames Ironworks owner

was also president of the London League, and along with Thames Ironworks F.C. committee chairman Francis Payne, helped to draft the competition's rules. In their first competitive league fixture in the London League, staged at the Hermit Road ground, on 19 September 1896 Thames Ironworks beat the

Vampires A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mischief or deaths ...

3–0. The following month, "The Irons" went out in the

first qualifying round for the second year running, losing 0–8 away to Kent Southern League team Sheppey United on 10 October 1897. Shortly after their exit from the

they were handed an eviction notice from the Hermit Road ground for violating their tenancy agreement and had to play their next four fixtures at the grounds of their opponents, until a new home could be found. The first of these games was against eventual champions 3rd Grenadier Guards on 22 October 1896, which they lost 1–4. By the turn of 1897 Arnold Hills had managed to lease a temporary piece of land for the team, located in Browning Road, East Ham. "The Irons" managed to make the final of the

for the second year running, and on 20 March 1896 they narrowly lost the final 0–1 to West Ham Garfield. It was also around that time that Thames Ironworks' inspirational captain

left to return to his native Scotland to play for

Arthurlie Arthurlie is an area of the town of Barrhead, East Renfrewshire, Scotland. History of Arthurlie The lands of Arthurlie were held in medieval times by the Stewart family, a branch of the noble Stewarts of Darnley. Later the lands became the prop ...

. Thames Ironworks' biggest defeat of the season came soon after, on 1 April 1897, when they lost for the second time to the champions-elect 3rd Grenadier Guards 0–5 at Browning Road. Yet it was only two days later, when in another home game, that the Irons recorded their season's biggest league win when they beat

Crouch End Crouch End is an area of North London, approximately from the City of London in the western half of the borough of Haringey. It is within the Hornsey postal district (N8). It has been described by the BBC as one of "a new breed of urban villag ...

4–1. Their first appearance in the London League had seen them finish fourth, but only temporarily. The 1st Scots Guards had withdrawn from the league during the season, and their record was deleted, and the London Welsh team had been suspended towards the end of the season. The Irons had not yet played London Welsh and as a result, and probably thanks also to

' presidency of the league and Francis Payne's drafting of the rules, Thames Ironworks F.C. were awarded two wins by default and finished the revised league as runners up.

1897–1898

For their season in the London League, the club committee introduced players' insurance for the first time. This meant the players would be covered against loss of wages caused by injuries sustained from playing football. On 11 September 1897, in their first game of the new season of the London League and also at their new

stadium, Thames beat

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

1–0. "The Irons" went on to win their first six London League games. Thames Ironworks faced St Albans F.C. in the FA Cup on 16 October 1897 and lost the game 0–2. Disappointment soon faded, and it was perhaps in the third London League game away to champions 3rd Grenadier Guards, that "The Irons" found real belief in their ability to challenge for the London League. The managed to win 1–0 against a team who had beaten them 4–1 and 5–0 during the previous season. 1897 ended with Thames Ironworks top of the table and unbeaten in the London League, having only conceded five goals, three of them coming in a 3–3 thriller against local rivals Ilford. Their highest scoring game of the season came on 15 January 1898, with a 'ten goal thriller' against

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, char ...

going The Ironworks' way 7–3. Their impressive league run continued until the penultimate fixture of the London League season against second placed Brentford. Brentford were only one point behind "The Irons" and the game caused much local interest, including a newspaper article on Thames Ironworks' rising star

. At Shooters Field on 23 April 1898, Thames lost the tie 0–1, and Brentford leap-frogged "The Irons" and were now one point ahead with one game left to play. A final day victory away to 2nd Grenadier Guards on 30 April ensured that Thames Ironworks won the London League title by a single point, as fellow challengers Brentford lost to Barking Woodville. Thames had finished the season with a 100% home record. In total they had won twelve and drawn three of their sixteen London League games, only losing in the game away to Brentford. On the way to the title they had scored 47 goals and conceded 15, the best offensive and defensive record in the division. Thames Ironworks F.C. were also successful in their application to the Southern League and would begin the following season in the Southern League Division Two.

1898–1899

During the summer of 1898, Thames Ironworks F.C. became a professional outfit for the first time, to match their new status as members of the Southern League. New signings came thick and fast and included the controversial capture of goalkeeper Tommy Moore from arch-rivals Millwall Athletic. The team further strengthened defensively with the signing of Scottish left-half Roddy McEachrane, who worked at the Iron Works. The team's attacking options were increased with the signings of winger Patrick Leonard from

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

and the snaring of centre forward David Lloyd from former rivals 3rd Grenadier Guards. They kicked off the season on 10 September 1898 away to

Shepherd's Bush Shepherd's Bush is a district of West London, England, within the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham west of Charing Cross, and identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Although primarily residential in character, i ...

, and were in fine form, beating the West London outfit 3–0. In a Southern League game away to

Wycombe Wanderers Wycombe Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play their home ...

on 29 October, The Irons missed their train and arrived at the ground an hour late. The obviously unsettled side lost the game 1–4. This was to be Thames Ironworks' last defeat of the season, and they could go on to win an impressive 17 of their last 18 games, drawing the other game. In an away game against Maidenhead on 31 December 1898, which Thames Ironworks won 4–0,

completed the distinction of playing in every position for the club when he deputised for goalkeeper Tommy Moore. Thames Ironworks played their first game of the new year at the

on 14 January 1899, when they entertained Wycombe. This time, the Wycombe goalkeeper missed the train, and the team began the game with only ten players on the pitch. The final score of 4–1 was a complete reverse of their previous encounter. Already confirmed as Southern League Division Two champions, having won the previous 14 games, Thames Ironworks showed little restraint for the final game of the season against

Maidenhead Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England, on the southwestern bank of the River Thames. It had an estimated population of 70,374 and forms part of the border with southern Bu ...

on 15 April 1899. With the largest home crowd of the season of 3000 spectators, The Irons demolished the bottom club of the division 10–0. The goals included four from Patrick Leonard and a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

from David Lloyd. Although they won the Southern League Second Division by 9 points, Thames Ironworks were required to play Test Matches to decide their promotion to Division One. The first came against Cowes Sports on 22 April. The game was played at the supposedly neutral East Ferry Road ground of Irons' rivals Millwall. A 10,000 strong crowd saw Thames Ironworks win the game 3–1, with goals coming from David Lloyd, Patrick Leonard and Henderson. The Ironworks then had to face Sheppey United, who had finished 12th in the 13 team Southern League Division One, and had beaten The Irons two and a half years previously 8–0 in an FA Cup game. The game took place at Chatham Town's ground on 29 April and finished 1–1, with David Lloyd once again the goalscorer. Before a replay could be staged, it was decided to enlarge the top division of the Southern League to 19 teams, thus enabling Thames Ironworks F.C. to join the higher tier.

1899–1900

To bolster the squad for their first season in Southern League Division One,

supplied a transfer fund of £1,000 to club secretary Francis Payne, who raided

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

for inside-right

Kenny McKay Kenneth McKay (''circa'' 1876 – unknown) was a Scottish association footballer who played as a forward. Born in Wishaw, McKay started his footballing career with Hamilton Academical before moving south to play for Sheffield United. In the 18 ...

, centre-forward Bill Joyce and left-winger Tom Bradshaw, who was immediately appointed captain of the team. Bradshaw was a former

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

international, who was Liverpool's first player to achieve international recognition. Payne also brought in left-back Syd King from New Brompton, who would go on to become West Ham's first manager in 1902. Players to leave the club in the summer included the men Bradshaw had replaced at outside-left and as captain. Patrick Leonard, returned to

and

Walter Tranter Walter Rogers Tranter (22 August 1874 – 14 July 1945) was an English footballer who played as a left-back. Born in Stockton-on-Tees, Tranter played as a left-back for Thames Ironworks, the team that would later become West Ham United. The c ...

, signed for Chatham Town but would return as a West Ham United player twelve months later. Before the season began, Francis Payne was suspended by

The Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the ...

for

tapping-up In professional team sports, tapping up (British English) or tampering (American English) is an attempt to persuade a player contracted to one team to transfer to another team, without the knowledge or permission of the player's current team. This k ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

player and soon resigned his post as club secretary. He was replaced in the position by Irons defender George Neil, thus beginning a history of the team appointing from within. Thames Ironworks lost their first fixture in the Southern League Division One 1–0 away at

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

on 16 September 1899, but managed their biggest league win of the season only two days later with 4–0 home win against Chatham Town. Thames Ironworks recorded their biggest win of the season, in the fourth qualifying round of the FA Cup on 28 October, trouncing

Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames estuary, is Thurrock in ...

away 7–0. However, The Irons good form soon ended on 4 November when in a league game they lost 7–0 at

White Hart Lane White Hart Lane was a Association football, football stadium in Tottenham, North London and the home of Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur Football Club from 1899 to 2017. Its capacity varied over the years; when changed to all-seater i ...

to Tottenham Hotspur. Thames Ironworks managed to steady the ship with a 0–0 home draw against New Brompton on 11 November. Only a week later, the teams met again in the next qualifying round of the FA Cup, and after another 0–0 draw, a replay went Thames Ironworks' way 2–0. The win set up a tie against arch rivals Millwall. The clearly ailing Tom Bradshaw, whose health had steadily been deteriorating for some time, was rested for the next two games, in preparation for the tie against Millwall. The Irons' 9 December

game at home to Millwall attracted their biggest attendance of the season with 13,000 Londoners making the tie. Tom Bradshaw, got the only goal in a 1–2 defeat that would be his last game for the club. On 25 December, after lengthy illness, Bradshaw died. His cause of death was recorded as consumption. The disillusioned Thames Ironworks team would record seven successive defeats but a further five wins and four draws would be enough for them to avoid bottom place. "The Irons" won the last three games of the season, including a 4–1 victory over Southern League Division One Champions and FA Cup Finalists

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

, with Bill Joyce's second hat-trick of the season making the difference. The last game of the season arrived on 28 April when The Irons beat Millwall away 1–0. Thames Ironworks finished 14 out of 15 in the Southern League Division One and would be required to play a Test Match to preserve their divisional status. Only two days later at a game held at Tottenham Hotspur's White Hart Lane Ground, The Irons faced a

team featuring former centre-forward David Lloyd. Thames Ironworks won 5–1, with Bill Joyce claiming his third hat-trick of the season at his former stomping ground. Thames Ironworks had survived their first season in the top division of the Southern League.

West Ham United

In June 1900, club chairman Arnold Hill's

Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company The Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company, Limited was a shipyard and iron works straddling the mouth of Bow Creek at its confluence with the River Thames, at Leamouth Wharf (often referred to as Blackwall) on the west side and at Cannin ...

acquired another engineering firm in a financial takeover and became a limited company for the first time. 4,000 ten shilling shares (50p) were sold to Iron Works staff and the general public, with Arnold Hills generous enough to match sales of any shares one-to-one. At the end of June, Thames Ironworks F.C. resigned from the Southern League and were officially wound up. On 5 July 1900 they reformed under the new name of West Ham United and accepted an offer of the Southern League place left vacant by Thames Ironworks. Lew Bowen, a Welsh clerk at the Iron Works Company was appointed as the first West Ham United club secretary. Bowen had previously written Thames Ironworks match reports for the ''Thames Iron Works Gazette'', also known as ''TIWG''. He would retain twelve Thames Ironworks players for the following season. These included goalkeeper Tommy Moore, full-backs Syd King and Charlie Craig, wing-halves Charlie Dove and Roddy McEachrane, as well as wingers Frank Taylor,

Bob Allan Robert Allan (10 February 1872 – 14 November 1918) was a Scottish footballer who played as an outside-right for West Ham United and its predecessor club Thames Ironworks. He had previously played for Dundee. Allan started his career at Dund ...

and

Fred Corbett Frederick Corbett (1 January 1881 – 15 April 1924) was a professional footballer who played for Thames Ironworks (where he worked as a labourer) and the club's successor West Ham United, before spending three spells at Bristol Rovers punctua ...

. Former club secretary and Ironworks defender George Neil was also retained for the new season ahead. Tom Bradshaw's close friends Bill Joyce and Kenny McKay left for

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

and

respectively, while Albert Carnelly joined arch-rivals Millwall.

Club badge and colours

The first, and only, known crest to be featured on a Thames Ironworks kit was the Union flag with Thames Ironworks initials ("TIWFC") surrounding it. The original colours of the team were dark blue due to Arnold Hills being a former student and football Blue of Oxford University, although the team used a variety of kits. They often used the claret and sky blue house colours of the actual Iron Works and would also wear all sky blue or white uniforms. They permanently adopted claret and blue for home games in the summer of 1899. Irons right-half

had got the kits for the club from William Belton, who was a professional sprinter of national repute, as well as being involved with the coaching at Thames Ironworks. Belton had been at a fair in Birmingham, close to

Villa Park Villa Park is a football stadium in Aston, Birmingham, England, with a seating capacity of 42,682. It has been the home of Premier League side Aston Villa since 1897. The ground is less than a mile from both Witton and Aston railway stations ...

, the home ground of

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

and was challenged to a race against four Villa players, who wagered money that one of them would win. Belton defeated them, and when they were unable to pay the bet, one of the Villa players who was responsible for washing the team's kit offered a complete side's 'uniforms' to him in payment of the bet. The Aston Villa player subsequently reported to his club that the kit was 'missing'. Thames Ironworks, and later West Ham United, would continue to use their previously favoured colours for their away kits. In recent years the club have committed to a sky blue-white-dark blue rotation, each kit having a one-season shelf life.

Home venues

Thames Ironworks F.C. originally played at

. They had taken over the tenancy from the defunct

. Hermit Road had been described as a 'cinder' heap' and 'barren waste'. It was surrounded by a moat and had canvas sheeting for fencing. On 12 October, Thames' had to play their first competitive game at the ground of Chatham Town in a preliminary qualifying round of the

as the opposing team had rated Hermit Road as "unsuitable". In October 1897, Thames Ironworks were handed an eviction notice from the Hermit Road ground. The club had violated their tenancy agreement by charging admission fees and building a perimeter fence and pavilion. Thames Ironworks played their next few fixtures at the grounds of their opponents, until, at the turn of 1897,

managed to lease a temporary piece of land for the team, located in

. However, the new situation was not ideal, as explained by future Ironworks player and West Ham United manager Syd King in his 1906 book: :"For some reason, not altogether explained, the local public at this place did not take kindly to them and the records show that Browning Road was a wilderness both in the manner of luck and support." -Syd King, ''Book of Football'' (1906) Arnold Hills earmarked a large piece of land in

and would eventually spend £20,000 on the construction of a new stadium but the ground would not be ready until the following season. The

were opened on Jubilee Day, 1897, to coincide with the sixtieth anniversary of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

to the throne. It was situated close to where

now stands. The site retains its sporting connection in present times as the home East London RFC and Phantoms RFC Rugby Clubs. Aside from a football pitch, the stadium contained a cinder running track for athletics, a cycle track and tennis courts, as well as one of the biggest outdoor swimming pools in

. It was said at the time that the grounds were "good enough to stage an English Cup Final." On 11 September 1897, in their first game of the new season of the London League and also at their new ground, Thames beat

1–0. West Ham United would continue to use the stadium until their move to the Boleyn Ground in 1904.

Players

Player records

*''These lists feature appearances & goals in the Southern League, London League,

South Essex League The South Essex League was a football league that was held in Essex and East London. History The league was formed for the 1892–93 season. Only four clubs in the league managed to fulfill all their fixtures, with Barking Excelsior winning th ...

, Thames & Medway Combination, FA Cup, London Senior Cup, Essex Senior Cup and West Ham Charity Cup. They do not include friendly or reserve statistics.''

Club captains

Statistics

Honours

* Southern League Division Two Champions: 1898–99 * London League Champions: 1897–98, Runners Up: 1896–97 *

Winners: 1895–96, Runners Up: 1896–97

League status

*1896–1898: London League *1898–1899: Southern League Division Two *1899–1900: Southern League Division One

In popular culture

Thames Ironworks F.C. is featured in the TV series '' Ripper Street'' episode 4.5 "Men of Iron, Men of Smoke"

References

Bibliography

* * * * *