Tilbury Football Club is a

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

Tilbury Tilbury is a port town in the borough of Thurrock, Essex, England. The present town was established as separate settlement in the late 19th century, on land that was mainly part of Chadwell St Mary. It contains a 16th century fort and an ancie ...

Thurrock Thurrock () is a unitary authority area with borough status and unparished area in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. It is part of the London commuter belt and an area of regeneration within the Thames Gateway redevelopment zone. The l ...

, England. The club play in black and white stripes, are currently members of the and play home matches at Chadfields.

History

The club was established in 1889 by workers from

Tilbury Docks The Port of Tilbury is a port on the River Thames at Tilbury in Essex, England. It is the principal port for London, as well as being the main United Kingdom port for handling the importation of paper. There are extensive facilities for contai ...

.History
Tilbury F.C. They joined the Gravesend League, later becoming members of the Grays & District League and then the Romford & District League. After returning to the Grays & District League, the club were league champions in 1901–02, 1902–03, 1906–07 and 1907–08. In 1903 they had also started playing in the

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 ...

; the club were Division Two champions in the South Essex League in 1921–22, and went on to win the league championship in 1922–23 and 1924–25. After finishing as runners-up in the league in 1926–27, they moved up to Division One of the Kent League. In 1931 Tilbury transferred to the Premier Division of the London League.London League 1928–1950
Non-League Matters At the start of

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 joined the South Essex Combination, but temporarily disbanded at the end of the 1939–40 season after their ground was commandeered by the army. Upon resuming play at the end of the war, they were Premier Division runners-up in 1946–47 and 1947–48, and again in 1949–50, a season that saw the club reach the first round proper 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 ...

for the first time after playing nine qualifying matches. Drawn away to Third Division South club

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League (division), National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 2 ...

in the first round, they lost 4–0. The club then switched to the

Corinthian League The League of Corinth, also referred to as the Hellenic League (from Greek Ἑλληνικός ''Hellenikos'', "pertaining to Greece and Greeks"), was a confederation of Greek states created by Philip II in 338–337 BC. The League was created ...

, in which they played for seven seasons before returning to the London League in 1957. They were London League champions and League Cup winners in 1958–59 and went on to retain the title for the next three seasons, as well as winning the League Cup again in 1960–61 and 1961–62. After their fourth title win, the club joined the

Delphian League The Delphian League was an English amateur football league covering Greater London and the surrounding area. The league was formed in 1951 with 14 clubs and was effectively a level below the Corinthian League.1962–63 league season had to be abandoned due to extensive adverse weather conditions and the league then folded, leading to the club (and most of the rest of the Delphian League) becoming members of the new Division Two of the

Athenian League The Athenian League was an English amateur football league for clubs in and around London. The league was originally to be called the Corinthian League,Athenian Football League minutes 1912-1921 (National Football Museum, Preston). but this nam ...

. Tilbury won the Division Two title at the first attempt, earning promotion to Division One. They went on to win the Division One title in 1968–69 and were promoted to the Premier Division. Following a third-place finish in the Premier Division in 1972–73, the club joined the newly formed Division Two 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 ...

. They won the division in 1975–76 and were promoted to Division One, which was renamed the Premier Division in 1977. In 1977–78 the club reached the FA Cup first round again; after defeating

Kettering Town Kettering Town Football Club is a football club based in Burton Latimer, Northamptonshire, England. They are currently members of and play at Latimer Park in Burton Latimer. Kettering were the first club to wear sponsorship on their shirts in ...

3–2 in a second replay (the first match was declared null and void as Tilbury had used an ineligible player), they went on to beat

Nuneaton Borough Nuneaton Borough Football Club is an English football club that is based in Nuneaton, Warwickshire. The men's 1st team competes in the , the seventh tier of English football. In 1889, Nuneaton St. Nicholas FC was the first team in Nuneaton t ...

2–1 in the second round, before being drawn away to Second Division

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...

in the third round, a match they lost 4–0. In 1979–80 Tilbury finished bottom of the Isthmian League's Premier Division and were relegated to Division One. At the end of the 1986–87 season they were relegated to Division Two North, where they played until being transferred to Division Three in 1991 as a result of league reorganisation. The 1991–92 season saw the club finish third in Division Three, earning promotion to Division Two. Although they were relegated back to Division Three at the end of the 1997–98 season, another third-place finish in 1999–2000 saw the club promoted to Division Two again. League reorganisation led to the club being moved in to Division One North in 2002. They were subsequently transferred to Division One East of the Southern League for the 2004–05 season, in which they finished bottom of the table, resulting in relegation 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 ...

. Tilbury finished third in their first season in the Essex Senior League and were promoted back to Division One North of the Isthmian League. A third-place finish in Division One North in 2011–12 saw them qualify for the promotion play-offs, in which they lost 4–3 to

Needham Market Needham Market is a town in Suffolk, England. The town of Needham, Massachusetts, was named after Needham Market. History It initially grew around the wool combing industry, until the onset of the plague, which swept the town from 1663 to 1665. ...

in the semi-finals.

Ground

The club played on several different grounds in their early years, including the Green & Siley Weir ground, Daisy Field and at

Tilbury Fort Tilbury Fort, also known historically as the Thermitage Bulwark and the West Tilbury Blockhouse, is an artillery fort on the north bank of the River Thames in England. The earliest version of the fort, comprising a small blockhouse with artill ...

, before returning to the Green & Siley Weir ground in 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 ...

they moved to the Orient Field, a ground owned by one of the directors of

Clapton 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 profess ...

.Tilbury
Pyramid Passion During World War II the ground was commandeered by the Army for anti-aircraft guns being used to protect the docks. After the war, the club were told that they could only return to the Orient Field if they agreed to become a

feeder club In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

for Orient. After refusing, the club moved to an adjacent site named Chadfields in 1947, which had previously been used as a

greyhound racing Greyhound racing is an organized, competitive sport in which greyhounds are raced around a track. There are two forms of greyhound racing, track racing (normally around an oval track) and coursing; the latter is now banned in most countries. Tra ...

track.Tilbury Chadfields
Greyhound Racing Times, 27 March 2019 In the first year at the new ground, a small grandstand was built on the east side and basic terracing was installed. The ground's record attendance of 5,500 was set for the FA Cup fourth qualifying round match against

Gorleston Gorleston-on-Sea (), known colloquially as Gorleston, is a town in the Borough of Great Yarmouth, in Norfolk, England, to the south of Great Yarmouth. Situated at the mouth of the River Yare it was a port town at the time of the Domesday Book ...

that the club won to set up their first round tie with Notts County in the 1949–50 season. The money raised from the cup run, together with the sale of

Tom Scannell Thomas Scannell (3 June 1925 – 30 November 1993) was an Irish professional footballer. Club career Born in Youghal, Ireland, Scannell began his career in England with Essex-based club Tilbury. In November 1949, Scannell signed for Southend U ...

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of English football. Southend are known as ...

, enabled the club to buy the site. A clubhouse was built in 1958 and floodlights were erected in 1966. In 1970 the original grandstand was replaced with a two-level concrete stand with dressing rooms on the ground floor and a spectator area. Another seated stand was built on the west side of the pitch in 1996, replacing three separate covered areas and five steps of terracing.Jon Weaver (2005) ''The Football Grounds of Rural Essex'', p44

Hashtag United Hashtag United Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Essex, England. They are currently members of the and play at the Len Salmon Stadium. Founded in 2016 by YouTube personality Spencer Carmichael-Brown, the club original ...

also played at Chadfields in 2019–20, with

Brimsdown Brimsdown is a neighbourhood of eastern Enfield in the London Borough of Enfield, north London, on the west side of the mid-to-lower Lea Valley. Geography The east of Brimsdown, that is, east of the eastern Lea Valley line is one of the borough ...

becoming tenants for 2020–21.

Honours

*Isthmian League **Division Two champions 1975–76 **League Cup winners 1974–75, 2008–09 *Athenian League **Division One champions 1968–69 **Division Two champions 1963–64 *London League **Champions 1958–59, 1959–60, 1960–61, 1961–62 **League Cup winners 1958–59, 1960–61, 1961–62 *South Essex League **Champions 1922–23, 1924–25 **Division Two champions 1921–22 *Grays & District League **Champions 1901–02, 1902–03, 1906–07, 1907–08 *East Anglian Cup **Winners 2008–09Honours
Tilbury F.C. *Essex Elizabethan Trophy **Winners 1963–64 *Essex Junior Cup **Winners 1908–09, 1924–25 *Essex Professional Cup **Winners 1975–76 *

Essex Senior Cup The Essex Senior Cup is a Single-elimination tournament, knock-out system football competition that has been running since 1884, and is the most prestigious cup competition in the county of Essex. The competition is run mainly for Non-League foot ...

**Winners 1960–61, 1963–64, 1971–72, 1974–75 *Mithras Cup **Winners 1971–72, 1972–73, 1974–75, 1975–76, 1977–78

Records

*Best

performance: Third round, 1977–78 *Best

FA Amateur Cup The FA Amateur Cup was an English football competition for amateur clubs. It commenced in 1893 and ended in 1974 when the Football Association abolished official amateur status. History Following the legalisation of professionalism within footba ...

performance: Quarter-finals, 1946–47 *Best

FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the FA Trophy, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after the English Football Association and competed for primarily by semi-professional teams. The compet ...

performance: Third round, 1982–83 *Best

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: Fourth round, 1988–89, 1999–2000 *Most appearances: Nicky Smith, 424 (1975–1982) *Most goals: Ross Livermore, 282 *Record attendance: 5,500 vs

, FA Cup fourth qualifying round replay, 1949 *Record transfer fee received: £2,000 from

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 ...

for Steve Connor, 1995; £2,000 from

Grays Athletic Grays Athletic Football Club is a football club based in Grays, Essex, England. They are currently members of the and play at Parkside in nearby Aveley. History The club was established as Grays Juniors in 1890, before merging with former S ...

for Tony Macklin, 1990

References

External links