Blackwell Miners Welfare F.C.
Blackwell receives an entry in the Doomsday book of 1085 showing that there was a Lord of the manor, 13 Villeins, 4 Bordars with ploughs, 7 acres of meadow, 1 wood and 1 priest with bordar. Whether the villeins were the first football team in the village was not recorded. The meaning of Blackwell is attributed to a 'Dark Spring' and is believed to be a spring on the hill known as 'Sinai' opposite the church. As coal deposits are close to the surface in that area it may well be they coloured the water to a dark appearance. The community was served by the mining industry throughout the 1800s. The community expanded around this time and records from the Derbyshire Times show that organised football took place in the village even around this era. Without the distractions of television, sport was a major interest for all the villagers. In 1900 the present sports ground was opened and Rugby and cricket was played. Football matches tended to be played on other pitches in the village. The cricket ground has staged many important games during its history & holds the world record for the 9th wicket stand, 283 Derbyshire v Warwickshire in 1910. The village produced many good 'home-grown' teams and everyone turned out to see family, friends and work-mates in action. One record from a treasurers account showed an entry for one game of £40 gate money @ sixpence each, equating to 1600 paying customers. Teams around the early to middle of the century competed in the Ripley and District leagues.In the early 1950s the team moved to the Notts. Alliance and enjoyed instant success when they finished runners-up to a very strong Gedling Colliery side who dominated local football at that time. The following 2 seasons saw them finish 3rd and in 1954/55 the team won the Notts Alliance Championship and finished runners-up to Boots Athletic in the Senior Cup, losing 6-3 in front of 6,000 people at Meadow Lane. They returned to the Ripley league in the late 1950s and then had a brief spell in the East Midlands League before joining the Sutton & Skegby League in the early 1960s. During that time they enjoyed more success, winning the Stamper Cup. The club disbanded in 1972 but reformed in 1974 winning the Sutton & Skegby Division 'C' title followed by Section 'A' runners-up in 1975/76 & 82/83, Premier division runners-up in 1977-78. Section 'A' Cup was won in 1976/77 and this year began the return of the clubs proud record in Derbyshire County F.A. competitions. The Junior Cup just eluded them that season but it was returned in 1978 / 83 / 84, with the Divisional Cup being won in 1986In 1984-85 the club moved into the Central Midlands Football League and became Senior division champions and Cup winners. The club continued to occupy the top half of the tables during the late 1980s, but in the 1990s the club struggled at the wrong end of the table, finishing bottom or second bottom on 3 occasions. Despite this downfall in circumstances the club kept going and at the beginning of 1998, the present committee came together to try to revive the fortunes of the club. In season 1998-99 the club achieved fifth spot and were offered the opportunity to play in the Supreme division for the first time. This offer was accepted and although the club finish bottom in the 1999/2000 season they retained Supreme status. In 2000/01 they finished next bottom and were relegated. Despite this set back the club remained positive and a new manager was installed for season 2001-2002. Trevor Hammond, previously at Shardlow St. James took the helm, and with floodlights installed during the season, promotion back to the Supreme division was achieved with the club also enjoying excellent runs in the cup competitions, bowing out to Shirebrook Town in the Floodlit semi-finals. In 2002/3 they played in the FA Vase for the 1st time and enjoyed more cup success, getting to the league cup semi-final before bowing out to Dunkirk after extra time. However the club finished 2nd bottom but were saved from relegation. Graham Brentnall returned to the manager's chair to try and keep the clubs Supreme status with a very young squad of mainly local players. Kevin Jackson and Ben Calpin took charge in 2005 and guided the club to their best ever position of 17th in the Supreme and hopes were high that the club can improve on that in 2005/6. In the end the club could not break into the top half of the table and before joining the EML we played the most games in the CML at the time than any other club. In the first three seasons of the EML we have found it difficult and hard to avoid the bottom three places but the club still looks forward and hopes for better days. In 1984, the club joined the Central Midlands League.
1 The ground was built by the Blackwell Mining Company at the end of the 18th century for use by the closely knit mining community of the day.
2 The ground is surrounded by a 6 foot high wall constructed from bricks produced from the mining companies own brick yard. At the Primrose Hill end of the ground the playing surface is some 8 feet above the road level and it is believed that tonnes of ash was used to level up the ground, hence the excellent drainage.
3 The clubs present changing facilities are on the ground in what the locals have always called ‘The Rifle Range’. The building was erected in 1908 according to the date stone that stands above the main entrance. It must be assumed that the building would have been used by the local army etc. for rifle practise, hence the name. Since its erection the building has undergone many changes and modifications with changing rooms, showers, tea bar, guest room, toilets & gymnasium being installed.
4 The main use-age of the ground in the late 1800s and early 1900s was by the Rugby club, who played at a very high standard with fixture cards showing games against for 3 teams and the use of the ground for County fixtures.
5 The football club used the ‘Brigade Hall’ for its changing facilities up to the late 1960s. This building stands adjacent to the present entrance gate on Colliery Road and was used by the local ‘Home Guard’ for their activities, Percy Topliss, the infamous monocled mutineer would have frequented the building. The building became a night club in the 1970s and is now ‘The Cottage Inn’ restaurant, but still has the old stone bathes that were used by the teams after games.
6 The field had a cricket pavilion that was erected circa 1900 but was finally demolished in the 1960s. The pavilion was situated in the corner of the ground adjacent to the double gates on the ground.
7 Primrose Hill was the venue for Derbyshire County cricket matches and between 18 to 21 June 1910 the world record for a ninth wicket stand was set up between Warren and Chapman when they scored 283 in the second innings to force a draw in Derbyshire’s game against Warwickshire.
8 In the days of limited entertainment, the villagers all turned out to watch the team play & one record from a treasurers account showed an entry for one game of £40 gate money, which @ sixpence each, equated to 1600 paying customers.
9 The football club is probably the oldest registered club in Derbyshire with records showing that they affiliated to the Derbyshire County Football Association in 1890. In 1910-11 Blackwell almost reached the competition proper of the FA Cup, disposing of Ashbourne, Long Eaton, South Normanton and Clay Cross in qualifying rounds. They then travelled to Mansfield in the next round and created a minor sensation by winning 1-0. The run came to an end in the fourth qualifying, as they lost 1-6 to the powerful Darlington side (who went on to beat the mighty Sheffield United in Round One!)
10 The football club are the were the longest serving members of the Central Midlands League having joined in 1984 till leaving in the 2008/09 season for the East Midlands League.
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