Hampton & Richmond Borough F.C.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Hampton & Richmond Borough FC | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Full name | Hampton & Richmond Borough FC | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname(s) | The Beavers, Hampton | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1921 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ground | Beveree Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Capacity | 3,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chairman | David Cole | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Manager | Alan Devonshire | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| League | Isthmian League Premier Division | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2005-06 | Isthmian League Premier Division, 5th | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hampton & Richmond Borough F.C. are a football club based in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, London, England, Great Britain. They were founded in 1921 and formerly known as Hampton F.C. until 1999 when they changed their name in an attempt to draw a wider support base from around the Borough. Since 2004, they have been playing in the Isthmian League Premier Division under manager Alan Devonshire.
The club has a support base of around 300 to 350 people, average attendances have been rising for the past two seasons and continue to do so. The club remains the only senior level football club to represent the borough, and is consequently seen as the borough's football club, which includes towns such as Twickenham, Richmond and Teddington. However, the club struggles in attendance due to the popularity of rugby union in the borough.
The club's record victory is an 11-1 defeat of Eastbourne United in the division two South of the Isthmian League in 1990/1991.
Their record defeat is a 13-0 loss against Hounslow in the Middlesex Senior Cup in 1962/1963.
Contents |
[edit] Club Information
Hampton & Richmond Borough FC play at: Beveree Stadium, Beaver Close, Off Station Road, Hampton, TW12 2BX. To telephone the clubhouse, ring: 020 8979 2456. This number is also for fax. Information from the club's official website. Visit for directions and other general info. The club has a supporters club which any supporters are welcome to join and a separate group for Under 16's, the 'junior Beavers'.
[edit] Formation & Early Years
Hampton's early years were spent in the Kingston & District and the South West Middlesex Leagues. Although twice winning the Kingston & District title in the early 1930s the club never managed to capture the South West Middlesex League title during their 26 year stay.
[edit] Leagues and Status
In 1959, Hampton entered the Senior football ranks as members of the Surrey Senior League, despite being based in Middlesex. In 1964 they won the championship and stepped up into the Spartan League where they enjoyed seven seasons of unparalleled success. The club captured the Spartan League title four times in 1965, 1966, 1967 and 1970 as well as finishing runners-up in 1968. They never finished outside the top four places.
In 1971 they were elected to the Second Division of the Athenian League. After narrowly missing promotion in their first season, Hampton finished runners-up to Ruislip Manor in 1973. By this time, though, the Beavers had already been elected to the newly formed Second Division (now First Division) of the Isthmian League.
The club were to remain in this division of the Isthmian League until 1990, when they suffered their first relegation. Worse was to follow as the two regionalised Second Divisions were split in 1991 to form a Second and Third set-up. The Beavers found themselves one place below the dividing line and were relegated to the Third Division for the 1991/92 season. Although missing automatic promotion by one place, the club was promoted at the Isthmian AGM to fill a vacancy in the Second Division and so began the recovery.
By 1998, Hampton had worked their way up to the Premier Division - the top tier of Isthmian League football. Despite relegation in 2002/2003, promotion was won back and the club remain a Premier Division outfit today, who are now pushing for promotion to the Conference South. Source: History section of the official club website.
[edit] Honours
Hampton & Richmond Borough FC's most recent honour is winning the Middlesex Super Cup, a regional cup for the old county of Middlesex, whereby the winners of the previous season's two local tournaments face each other. Hampton & Richmond entered as the Middlesex Senior Cup holders, and were victorious over Harrow Borough, the Middlesex Charity Cup holders.
Throughout their days in the Isthmian League, Hampton & Richmond Borough have picked up a respectable amount of honours. These are as follows;
ISTHMIAN LEAGUE DIVISION ONE SOUTH
Promoted: 2003/2004
ISTHMIAN LEAGUE DIVISION ONE
Promoted: 1997/1998
ISTHMIAN LEAGUE DIVISION TWO
Promoted: 1995/1996
ISTHMIAN LEAGUE DIVISION THREE
Promoted: 1991/1992
ISTHMIAN LEAGUE CUP
Runners-up: 2001/2002and 2004/2005
MIDDLESEX SENIOR CUP
Runners-up: 2004/2005, winners: 2005/2006
MIDDLESEX SUPER CUP
Winners: 2006/2007
[edit] Stadium
The home of Hampton & Richmond Borough is the Beveree Stadium, sometimes referred to as the 'M.E.M. Stadium, Beveree' due to a sponsorhip deal. It is situated in Beaver Close, off Station Road in the heart of Hampton village. It has a total capacity of 3,000, with roughly 300 of this being seated and 900 in covered terracing. On 11th October 2005, that capacity was tested with a record crowd of 2,520 turning out for an Isthmian League match between Hampton & Richmond Borough and AFC Wimbledon. The match ended in a 2-1 victory for the home side.
The Beveree, which can be shortened to 'the Bev', has been the home of the club since 1959. It is also the home of other affiliated clubs such as Hampton & Richmond Borough Women F.C., Hampton Under 18's, and before its cancellation in 2004, the Hampton & Richmond Borough reserve team.
Not just a football ground, the Beveree is also used for social events. The clubhouse is available for hire, and the club's ground has been used as a polling station for all local, general and European elections for a long time.
In June 2006, work began on transforming the clubhouse and changing rooms at the Beveree into a more modern facility. Work was completed by the end of Summer, and the new look clubhouse was officially opened by FA Chief Executive, Brian Barwick, on 26th August 2006. The new facility has a pool table, flat screen TV's and is WiFi enabled.
[edit] The Nickname
Some years ago, a popular Football Magazine voted Hampton's nickname 'The Beavers' as the worst in Football! There is some debate as to its origins. The ground is known as Beveree and it lies adjacent to Beaver Close, which would seem to suggest as to where the tag originates. Furthermore, the ground is only about 200 yards from the River Thames, similar to Craven Cottage. Following the renaming of the club from Hampton to Hampton & Richmond Borough, occasionally 'come on the Borough' is heard but in essence the fans prefer 'Beavers' to anything else.
[edit] Club Rivals
Over the years, Hampton's biggest rivalry is with Staines Town F.C. A rivalry which started around 40 years ago when the two sides played each other in a thrilling match. Although the two clubs have always enjoyed a smooth relationship, this is one of the oldest and most important rivalries in the pyramid.
More recent local rivals, which have resulted from Hampton playing in the same division as the sides, are with Walton & Hersham, Molesey and Chertsey Town.
[edit] Famous connections
Famous scriptwriter Alan Simpson is the president of Hampton & Richmond Borough Football Club. Alan is noted for the famous TV series that he co-wrote with Ray Galton, Steptoe & Son. Simpson and Galton were awarded OBE's in the 2000 Honours List for their contribution to British television. The seating stand behind the goal at the Beveree Stadium is named after Alan Simpson, the 'Simpson Stand'. Alan has been club president since 1967, so is now approaching 40 years in the role.
For a period in the 1950's, famous pianist Winifred Atwell was club patron.
In December 2005, it was reported on a Staines Town FC website that TV personality, Paul Merton, had been present at Hampton & Richmond's recent clash with Staines Town as a guest of Alan Simpson OBE. This seems to be accurate as some supporters' also claimed to have seen him. Hampton & Richmond won the match 2-1 infront of their guest.
[edit] Current Squad
|
|
-Squad information correct as of: 29th October 2006.
[edit] External links
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
AFC Wimbledon | Ashford Town | Billericay Town | Boreham Wood | Bromley | Carshalton Athletic | Chelmsford City | East Thurrock United | Folkestone Invicta | Hampton & Richmond Borough | Harrow Borough | Hendon | Heybridge Swifts | Horsham | Leyton | Margate | Ramsgate | Slough Town | Staines Town | Tonbridge Angels | Walton & Hersham | Worthing edit |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
