Hemel Hempstead Town F.C.

Hemel Hempstead Town

Full name	Hemel Hempstead Town Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Tudors
Founded	1885 (as Apsley)
Ground	Vauxhall Road Hemel Hempstead (Capacity: 3,152 (250 seated))
Chairman	Chris Brooks
Manager	Tommy Widdrington
League	Southern League Premier Division
2010–11	Southern League Premier Division, 15th
Home colours Away colours

Hemel Hempstead Town are a football club based in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England, who currently play in the Southern League Premier Division. They are known as the Tudors and play their games at Vauxhall Road. They are managed by Tommy Widdrington.

Contents 1 History 2 Club records 3 Sources 4 References 5 External links

History

The club was formed in 1885 as Apsley F.C. and first played in the West Herts League, before joining the Herts County League in 1899. They played in this league off and on until 1952 when they joined the Delphian League, by which time they had changed their name to Hemel Hempstead F.C.

In 1955 the name was changed once again to Hemel Hempstead Town F.C. In 1962, with the dissolution of the Delphian League, the club joined the Athenian League in its new Division Two. They were promoted twice in consecutive seasons to reach the Premier Division but by 1969 had dropped back to Division Two. In 1971 the club merged with Hemel Hempstead United, with the merged club reverting to being called simply Hemel Hempstead.

In 1977 the Tudors joined the Isthmian League, where they were to play for over 25 years. They found success hard to come by in this league, even dropping to Division Three for one season, but since the arrival of new chairman Dave Boggins in 1997 their fortunes have improved. In 1997-98 the club won the Isthmian League Division Three title, followed by the Division Two title in 1999-00, although in the latter instance they were not promoted due to ground grading issues. Nonetheless, a sixth-place finish in what was now Division One North in 2003-04 was enough to secure a place in the Southern League Premier Division after the reorganisation caused by the creation of Conference South.

Hemel's first season in the Southern Premier was a disappointing one, as they finished fourth from bottom and were relegated. After a somewhat middling campaign in the Division 1 West the following season, a late surge saw Hemel promoted via the playoffs after a dramatic 3-2 win over Brackley Town, having been 2-1 behind until the 81st minute.

A more prepared Hemel side took to the Premier Division for the 2006-07 season, where a sequence of ten wins in fifteen games took the Tudors to their highest ever finish of fifth, taking the last playoff spot. A long campaign took its toll as Hemel lost 3-1 in the semi-final to Team Bath.

Hemel made the playoffs again in the 2008-2009 season, going through a succession of managers in the process. Another fifth-placed finish saw them pitted against Farnborough in the semi-final, where they were defeated 4-3 on penalties.

Hemel had a poor 2009–10 season, eventually finishing in 19th position. They were spared relegation by virtue of clubs from further up the pyramid being reprieved, demoted or ceasing to exist. During pre-season Colin Payne was appointed manager as they prepared for another season in the Southern League Premier Division.

In September 2011, due to a poor start to the season, Payne was relieved of his duties as manager, later to be replaced by Widdrington.

Club records

• Best league performance: 5th in Southern League Premier Division, 2006–07
• Best FA Cup performance: 3rd qualifying round, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1965–66, 1966–67, 2006–07
• Best FA Trophy performance: 1st round proper, 2007–08, 2008–09
• Best FA Vase performance: 3rd round, 1999-00, 2000–01

Sources

• Hemel Hempstead Town at the Football Club History Database
• Hemel Hempstead at the Football Club History Database

References

External links

• Official website

Southern League Premier Division Arlesey Town AFC Totton Banbury United Barwell Bashley Bedford Town Brackley Town Cambridge City Chesham United Chippenham Town Cirencester Town Evesham United Frome Town Hemel Hempstead Town Hitchin Town Leamington Oxford City Redditch United St. Albans City Stourbridge Swindon Supermarine Weymouth Division One Central Ashford Town AFC Hayes Aylesbury Barton Rovers Beaconsfield SYCOB Bedfont Town Bedworth United Biggleswade Town Burnham Chalfont St. Peter Chertsey Town Daventry Town Fleet Town Leighton Town Marlow North Greenford United Northwood Rugby Town Slough Town St Neots Town Uxbridge Woodford United Division One South & West Abingdon United Bideford Bishop's Cleeve Bridgwater Town Cinderford Town Clevedon Town Didcot Town Gosport Borough Halesowen Town Hungerford Town Mangotsfield United North Leigh Paulton Rovers Poole Town Sholing Stourport Swifts Taunton Town Thatcham Town Tiverton Town Wimborne Town Yate Town Seasons 1894–95 1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898–99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12