Bishop's Stortford Football Club is a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club based in

Bishop's Stortford Bishop's Stortford is a historic market town and civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district, in the county of Hertfordshire, England. It is in the London metropolitan area, London commuter belt, near the border with Essex, just west of the ...

, Hertfordshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Woodside Park.

History

The club was established at the Chequers Hotel on 28 January 1874.Club history
Bishop's Stortford F.C. Initially playing in crimson and green, their first match was played two weeks later, losing 2–1 to East of England Nonconformist Grammar School. In 1885 they were founders of the Hertfordshire County Football Association, and subsequently started playing in local leagues in the 1890s. They joined the Stansted & District League, winning it in 1910–11 and 1912–13, and also entered a team in the Saffron Walden & District League during the same era, winning it in 1911–12, 1912–13 and 1913–14. After

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Bishop's Stortford won both the Stansted & District League and the East Hertfordshire League in 1919–20. In 1921 they joined the North-Eastern Division of the Hertfordshire County League. In 1923 the league was reduced to a single division, and it disbanded entirely in 1925, making a brief comeback in 1926–27, when Stortford were one of only six clubs to play in it. In 1929 they joined the new Division Two East of 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 establi ...

, which they went on to win in 1931–32, earning promotion to Division One.Spartan League 1907-1934
Non-League Matters Following

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the league resumed in 1945, with Bishop's Stortford in the Eastern Division. Despite finishing in last place in 1945–46, they were placed in the Premier Division the following season. However, after finishing bottom of the Premier Division in 1948–49,Spartan League 1934-1955
Non-League Matters they were relegated to Division One. In 1951 the club were founder members of 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.1954–55. After the league was disbanded in 1963 they joined Division Two of the

Athenian League The Athenian League was an England, English amateur association football, 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 ...

, winning Division One in 1965–66 and the Premier Division in 1969–70. In the 1970–71 season Bishop's Stortford reached the first round of the FA Cup for the first time, losing 6–1 at

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

. In 1971 the club joined to the

Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional Association football, football league covering Greater London, East of England, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, th ...

, and in 1973 they reached the second round of the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

, losing 3–1 at

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third level of the English football league system. Peterborough United formed in ...

after a replay. They also reached the semi-finals of the

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 footb ...

, losing 1–0 to Slough Town. However, the following season they won the final edition of the cup, beating

Ilford Ilford is a large List of areas of London, town in East London, England, northeast of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Redbridge, Ilford is within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London. It had a po ...

4–1 at

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in the London Borou ...

. In 1974–75 they reached the FA Cup first round again, but lost 2–0 at

Leatherhead Leatherhead is a town in the Mole Valley district of Surrey, England, about south of Central London. The settlement grew up beside a ford on the River Mole, from which its name is thought to derive. During the late Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon ...

in a replay. The following season they reached the second round again, losing 2–0 at

Aldershot Aldershot ( ) is a town in the Rushmoor district, Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme north-east corner of the county, south-west of London. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Farnborough/Aldershot built-up are ...

. In 1977–78 Bishop's Stortford finished bottom of the Isthmian League Premier Division, and were relegated to Division One. They returned after winning Division One in 1980–81, a season in which they also won the

FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, also known as the Isuzu FA Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after The Football Association (the FA) and competed by mainly National League ...

with a 1–0 win over

Sutton United Sutton United Football Club is a professional association football club from Sutton, South London, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. Sutton started out playing in junior, ...

at Wembley, becoming the first club to win both the FA Amateur Cup and the FA Trophy. In 1982–83 the club beat

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

opposition in the FA Cup for the first time, winning 2–1 at Reading in the first round. After beating Slough Town 4–1 in the second round, they held Second Division

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

to a 2–2 draw at

Ayresome Park Ayresome Park was a football stadium in the Ayresome area of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. It was the home of Middlesbrough F.C. from its construction in time for the 1903–04 season, until the Riverside Stadium opened in 1995. It ...

, before losing 2–1 at home. They reached the first round again in 1984–85, 1985–86 and 1986–87, but failed to progress on each occasion, with the club losing to

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

, Peterborough United and

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its ea ...

respectively. Bishop's Stortford finished bottom of the Premier Division in 1991–92, and were relegated back to Division One. They returned as champions in 1993–94, but were relegated again in 1998–99. After a second-place finish in 2001–02 the club returned to the Premier Division, and after finishing eleventh in 2003–04, were placed in the newly formed

Conference South The National League South, officially Vanarama National League South, is a professional Association football league in England. National League South is the second division of the National Leagues and step 2 of the NLS and sixth-highest ti ...

. The 2003–04 season also saw them reach the FA Cup first round again, eventually losing 6–0 at

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third level of the English football league system. The club was formed in 1897 as Mans ...

. In 2006–07 another first round appearance resulted in a 5–3 defeat to

King's Lynn King's Lynn, known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn and colloquially as Lynn, is a port and market town in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk in the county of Norfolk, England. It is north-east of Peterborough, north-north-east of Cambridg ...

Rushden & Diamonds Rushden & Diamonds Football Club was an association football club based in Irthlingborough, Northamptonshire, England. Nicknamed "The Diamonds", the club played at Nene Park. The club's main rivals were county neighbours Kettering Town F.C., Ket ...

' expulsion from the

Football Conference The National League of English Football Clubs is a professional Association football, football league in England that consists of 72 teams, divided equally between the National League (division), National League North and National League South ...

led to the club being transferred to the

Conference North The National League North, officially known as Vanarama National League North for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Association football league in England. National League North is the second division of the National Leagues and step 2 o ...

in 2011. In

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

they reached the FA Cup first round for the twelfth time, losing 2–1 at home to Hastings United. At the end of the season they were transferred back to the Conference South, and the following season saw another FA Cup first round appearance, a 2–1 defeat at home to

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the c ...

. Stortford were relegated to the Premier Division of the Southern League at the end of the 2016–17 season after finishing second-from-bottom of the renamed National League South. The club were transferred to the Premier Division of the Isthmian League a year for the 2018–19 season. In

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 ...

they reached the first round of the FA Cup, losing 3–2 on penalties at

Brackley Town Brackley Town Football Club is a Association football, football club in Brackley, Northamptonshire, England. They are currently members of and play at St James Park. The club won the FA Trophy in 2018. History Established in 1890, the club sp ...

after a 3–3 draw. The 2021–22 season saw the club finish as runners-up in the Premier Division, before losing 3– to

Cheshunt Cheshunt (/ˈtʃɛzənt/ CHEZ-ənt) is a town in the Borough of Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, England, situated within the London commuter belt approximately north of Central London. The town lies on the River Lea and Lee Navigation, bordering th ...

in the play-off final. They went on to win the Premier Division title in

2022–23 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 ...

, earning promotion to the

National League North The National League North, officially known as Vanarama National League North for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Association football league in England. National League North is the second division of the National League (English footb ...

. However, they finished bottom of the division the following season and were relegated to the Premier Division Central of the Southern League.

Ground

The club initially played home matches at Silver Leys, which they shared with the

polo Polo is a stick and ball game that is played on horseback as a traditional field sport. It is one of the world's oldest known team sports, having been adopted in the Western world from the game of Chovgan (), which originated in ancient ...

club.Rhodes Avenue
Stortford History In 1897 they moved to the playing fields of the Grammar School on Hadham Road, remaining there until moving to Havers Lane in 1900 and Laundry Field on Dunmow Road in 1903. Following

, local businessman Joe Brazier allowed the club to start playing at a piece of land near South Road, which became known as Brazier's Field and later the Town Ground. The ground was opened on 4 October 1919 with a match against

Ware WARE (1250 AM) is a commercial radio station broadcasting a classic hits format. Licensed to Ware, Massachusetts, United States, the station serves the Springfield radio market. The station is currently owned by Success Signal Broadcasting ...

in front of a crowd of 400, which saw Stortford win 2–1. A wooden pavilion was later erected on site, having been moved from Silver Leys. In 1927 the club bought the land from Brazier, and a wooden stand was built in 1931. Covered terracing was installed behind both goals in the 1950s, and a new 250-seat main stand was built in 1961. Some uncovered terracing was added alongside the main stand in 1968.Peter Miles (1997) ''The Non-League Football Grounds of Hertfordshire'', p7 Floodlights were installed in 1967, and the following year saw the ground renamed the George Wilson Stadium after a former chairman,Bishop's Stortford
Pyramid Passion although by then the ground was commonly known as simply Rhodes Avenue. Due to financial problems, the club sold the ground in 1997, with the last match played against Ware in December that year. Mirroring the result in the first-ever game at the ground, Stortford won 2–1. After eighteen months groundsharing at

Boreham Wood Borehamwood (, historically also Boreham Wood) is a town in southern Hertfordshire, England, from Charing Cross. Borehamwood has a population of 36,322, and is within the London commuter belt. The town's film and TV studios are commonly known ...

Dagenham & Redbridge Dagenham & Redbridge Football Club (), often known simply as Dagenham and abbreviated when written to Dag & Red, is a professional association football club based in Dagenham, Greater London, England that play in the , the sixth level of the En ...

, Hitchin Town, St Albans City and Ware, the club returned to Bishop's Stortford in 1999 when Woodside Park was completed. The first match was played on 17 July 1999, a friendly against

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

. There are seated stands on either side of the pitch, with covered terracing at each end.

Coaching staff

Boardroom staff

Honours

*FA Amateur Cup **Winners 1973–74 *FA Trophy **Winners 1980–81 *Isthmian League **Premier Division Champions 2022–23 **Division One champions 1980–81, 1993–94 *Athenian League **Premier Division Champions 1969–70 **Division One champions 1965–66 *Spartan League **Division Two East Champions 1931–32 *Delphian League **Champions 1954–55 *Stansted & District League **Champions 1910–11, 1912–13, 1919–20 *Saffron Walden & District League **Champions 1911–12, 1912–13, 1913–14 *East Herts League **Division One Champions 1919–20 *

Herts Senior Cup The Hertfordshire County Football Association Senior Challenge Cup, commonly called the Herts Senior Cup, is the oldest County-based football Cup competition based exclusively in Hertfordshire, England. It was first contested in the 1886-87 sea ...

**Winners 1932–33, 1958–59, 1959–60, 1963–64, 1970–71, 1972–73, 1973–74, 1975–76, 1986–87, 2005–06, 2009–10, 2011–12 *

London Senior Cup The London Senior Cup is the County Senior Cup of the London FA. The London Senior Cup was first won by Upton Park in 1882. Although the leading professional sides in London no longer compete, the Cup has been won in the past by the likes of ...

**Winners 1973–74

Records

*Record attendance: 6,000 vs

, FA Cup second round, 1972–73; vs

, FA Cup third round replay, 1982–83Mike Williams & Tony Williams (2012) ''Non-League Club Directory 2013'', p169 *Biggest victory: 11–0 vs Nettleswell & Buntwill, Herts Junior Cup, 1911 *Heaviest defeat: 13–0 vs

, Herts Senior Cup, 1926 *Most appearances: Phil Hopkins, 543 *Most goals: Jimmy Badock, 123 (postwar)

References

External links

* {{coord, 51, 52, 21, N, 0, 11, 31, E, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title Football clubs in Hertfordshire Football clubs in England 1874 establishments in England Association football clubs established in 1874 Hertfordshire Senior County League Spartan League Delphian League Athenian League Isthmian League clubs National League (English football) clubs Southern Football League clubs el:Μπίσοπς Στόρτφορντ#Μπίσοπς Στόρτφορντ ΦΚ