Thornbury Town Football Club is a football club located in Thornbury, South Gloucestershire, England. They are currently members of the Hellenic League Premier Division and play at the Mundy Playing Fields.
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| Full name | Thornbury Town F.C. | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1898 | ||
| Ground | Mundy Playing Fields, Thornbury | ||
| Chairman | Jake Shutler | ||
| Manager | Richard Joyce | ||
| League | Hellenic League Premier Division | ||
| 2023–24 | Hellenic League Premier Division, 18th of 20 | ||
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The club is affiliated to the Gloucestershire County FA and is a FA Charter Standard Club.
As well as a first and reserve team, the club also operates youth teams from Under 6s to Under 18s. The youth teams were part of Thornbury Falcons until they merged in 2010 with the adults team and adopted the "Thornbury Town" name.
History
editThe exact date of the formation of the club is uncertain, but there are records of football being played in the late 1800s, with the first mention of "Thornbury Town" in 1898.[1] Before the outbreak of World War I, Thornbury played in the Dursley & Wotton League, with records of games against Chipping Sodbury Town, Wickwar and Westbury Park. During this time Dr. E. M. Grace, elder brother of W G Grace, played for the team.
After the war, the club re-formed and joined the Bristol and Suburban League. The club played in what is now the upper end of The Castle School Sixth Form Playing Field, on a pitch surrounded by an iron fence. They used changing rooms at a social club on the High Street which is now the Thornbury branch of HSBC.
In 1933, multiple clubs in the area merged to form Thornbury Sports, later becoming Thornbury A.F.C., and later, Thornbury Town A.F.C.
At the end of World War II, the club moved to its current home at the Mundy Playing Fields. After using various establishments for changing room facilities, a pavilion at the playing fields was built in 1964. After playing in the Bristol and District League, they became founding members of the Bristol Premier Combination, winning the league in the 1956–57 season.[2]
In the 1968–69 season, the club became founding members of the Gloucestershire County League and in the following season recorded attendances in excess of 500 spectators. In 1971, the club was accepted into the Western Football League after finishing third in the County League. However, the Mundy Playing Fields didn't meet the requirements, therefore, the club remained in the county until their relegation to the Bristol Premier Combination in 1977.
The club returned to the Gloucestershire County League in 2002 after many steady, but unsuccessful, seasons in the Bristol Premier Combination, finally winning the title by 13 points. The club finally won their first County League title in 2009–10, but history repeated itself with the club unable to make the step up to a higher level due to lack of facilities at the Mundys. That summer, the local youth football team, Thornbury Falcons, merged with Thornbury Town in a bid to cement the long term tradition of developing local youth talent.
After the title winning season in 2009–10, Thornbury Town struggled to repeat the success and went through multiple changes of management in the following seasons. Under the stewardship of Andy Davies, the club won the Les James League Cup for the first time beating league winners, Cheltenham Civil Service 1–0. That season the club also finished in a respectable 4th place, which they repeated for the next two seasons.
In 2017–18, the club finally improved on their three consecutive fourth-place finishes, winning the league for a second time. The club also completed the double by winning the Les James League Cup for a second time, beating Frampton United 1–0.[3] Work behind the scenes by committee members, meant the club were also in a position to apply for promotion to Step 6 of the Non-League System after receiving planning permission for a 50-seater stand, floodlights and perimeter fencing.[4] The club's application was successful and they were placed in the Hellenic Football League Division One West for the 2018–19 season.[5] The improvements to the Mundy Playing Fields were officially opened by the Mayor of Thornbury, Shirley Holloway on Tuesday 23 October 2018 before Thornbury Town's Hellenic League Subsidiary Cup game against local rivals Tytherington Rocks, which they won 6–0.[6] After staying in the race for the top spot until the final weeks, the club finished in a respectable 3rd place behind Easington Sports and Cheltenham Saracens. Thornbury also finished the season winning the league's Supplementary Cup, beating Wallingford Town 2–1 at the ASM Stadium in Thame.[7]
Ahead of the 2019–20 season, manager Andy Davies announced he was stepping aside as first team manager to take a break from football management, ending Thornbury Town's most successful era. Former player Jason Rees and ex-Gloucester City player Gary Kemp were announced as the new management team.[8]
On 12 July 2019, it was announced that the club would take part in the FA Cup and FA Vase for the first time in the club's history, falling at the first hurdle against Leighton Town in the FA Cup, whilst reaching the second round in the FA Vase.[9]
In Summer 2021, as part of a restructure of the Hellenic League, the club successfully applied for promotion to the Hellenic League Premier Division after finishing 2nd.[10]
In June 2022, manager Jason Rees and assistant Gary Kemp stepped down from their positions.[11] They were replaced by joint-managers Andy Parry and Richard Joyce.[12] However, during the season Andy Parry stepped down leaving Joyce to remain as Manager, with former assistant manager Gary Kemp returning to the club.
Season-by-season record
editCurrent staff
edit| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| President | Paul Wisbey |
| Chairman | Jake Shutler |
| Vice-chairman | Luke Jones |
| Secretaries | Mike Pengelly & Pam Howard |
| 1st XI Managers | Richard Joyce |
| 1st XI Assistant | Gary Kemp |
| 2nd XI Manager | Jake Shutler |
| 2nd XI Assistant | Simon Evans |
| 3rd XI Manager | Joe Cobb |
| 3rd XI Assistant | George Bush |
| 3rd XI Linesman | Alex Evans |
| 3rd XI Security Guard | Dom Ball |
| 3rd XI Penalty Taker | Matt Chapman |
Honours
edit- Hellenic League
- Supplementary Cup Winners 2018–19
- Gloucestershire County League
- Champions 2009–10, 2017–18
- Les James League Cup Winners 2014–15, 2017–18
- Bristol Premier Combination
- Premier Division Champions 1956–57, 2001–02
- Division Two Champions 1965–66
- Bristol & District League
- Division Three Champions 1949–50
- Harry Greening Memorial Trophy
- Winners 2003–04[14]
Records
edit- Highest League Position – 14th, Hellenic League Premier Division (2021–22)
- Record Attendance – 570 vs Worcester City F.C. (9 April 2024)[15]
- Best FA Cup Performance – Extra Preliminary Round (2019–20, 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24, 2024–25)
- Best FA Vase Performance – Second Round Proper (2019–20), (2024–25)
References
edit- ^ "Thornbury Town FC - Homepage". Thornbury Town FC. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
- ^ Phillips, Wallace. "Thornbury AFC". Thornbury Roots. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
- ^ Palmer, Jon (13 May 2018). "Thornbury Town win cup and do the double as they beat Frampton United". Thornbury Gazette. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
- ^ Sims, Aaron (6 April 2018). "Pitch upgrades approval boosts Thornbury Town promotion bid". Thornbury Gazette. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
- ^ "The FA's League Committee reveal provisional Step 5&6 club allocations for the 2018/19 season". The Non-League Football Paper. 25 May 2018.
- ^ Association, The Football. "Home Improvements for Thornbury Town FC as stadium redevelopment unveiled in South Gloucestershire". www.gloucestershirefa.com. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
- ^ "Cup triumph for Thornbury Town". Thornbury Voice. 29 May 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
- ^ "Rees takes the reigns at Thornbury". Gazette Series. 27 May 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
- ^ Loveridge, Ashley (16 July 2019). "Thornbury set to make FA Cup and FA Vase bow".
- ^ "Thornbury Town on Twitter". 18 May 2021.
- ^ "Jason Rees quits as Thornbury Town manager". Gloucestershire Gazette. 9 June 2022.
- ^ "Thornbury Town announce new management duo". Gloucestershire Gazette. 29 June 2022.
- ^ "Committee and others :: Thornbury Town Football Club". www.thornburytownfc.co.uk. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
- ^ "Thornbury Town Vs Patchway Town". Issuu. Tom Shorey.
- ^ "Thornbury Town FC : First Team 0 - 1 Worcester City". Retrieved 10 April 2024.