Wroxham F.C.

Wroxham
Full name Wroxham Football Club
Nickname(s) The Yachtsmen
Founded 1892
Ground Trafford Park, Wroxham
(Capacity: 2,000)
Chairman Tom Jarrett
Manager David Batch
League Eastern Counties League
Premier Division
2010–11 Eastern Counties League
Premier Division, 3rd
Home colours
Away colours

Wroxham Football Club is an English football club based in Wroxham, near Norwich, in Norfolk. The club are currently members of the Eastern Counties League Premier Division. They joined the league from the Anglian Combination in 1988 when it added a second division and were promoted to the Premier Division at the first attempt. Since then they have won the Premier Division on seven occasions and reached the FA Vase final, losing 6–1 to Whitley Bay in 2009–10. The club have played home matches at Trafford Park since World War II.

Contents

History

Wroxham F.C. were established in 1892 by GE Preston, a former captain of the Norfolk County team, and initially played on Wroxham Park.[1] The club played friendly matches until joining the East Norfolk League and the Norwich City Junior League. In 1935 they joined the East Anglian League, before dropping down to the Norwich and District League in the 1950s, a time during which they suffered a record 24–0 defeat.

In 1963 the club became founder members of the Anglian Combination. A successful spell during the mid-1970s saw the club rise through the divisions. In 1975 the club won its first major trophy, the Norfolk Junior Cup. The following season they won Division Two, and the season after, Division One. In 1981 the club won the Knock-Out Cup, and in 1981–82 they won the Premier Division, retaining the title in 1982–83, 1983–84 and 1984–85, also winning the knock-out cup in 1983 and 1985. They did another league and cup double in 1986–87

In 1988 the club joined the newly-formed Division One of the Eastern Counties League. They won the division in their first season, beating Halstead Town to tht title on goal difference. After finishing twelfth in their first season in the Premier Division, the club have never finished lower than eighth. They won the title with a record 99 points in 1991–92, before beating their own record with 100 points and another title the following season, the club's centenary, in which they also won the League Cup and the Norfolk Senior Cup. In 1993–94 they won a third consecutive title. After a gap of two seasons, the club won the Premier Division again with 109 points in 1996–97,[2] also winning the Senior Cup again. They retained the title and the Seniro Cup in 1997–98, before winning the league for a third time in a row in 1998–99.

They won the Senior Cup again in 2000, 2002, 2004, the Premier Division in 2006–07, and the Norfolk Senior Cup in 2008. In 2009–10 the club reached the final of the FA Vase, but lost 6–1 to holders Whitley Bay.[3]

Stadium

Since the club was formed, Wroxham F.C. have played several venues. The first was just off Norwich Road and subsequent grounds were at The Avenue and Keys Hill. The Avenue ground has now reverted back to agricultural use, whilst the others have been built upon.

Around the time of World War II, Wroxham moved to their current ground, Trafford Park, a field close to the railway line in Skinners Lane. The club took with them an old timber pavilion that was erected and used as a primitive clubhouse. Fifteen years later this was replaced by pre-fabricated buildings, which were themselves flattened to make way for a new permanent clubhouse that was opened in 1994.

The current main stand, the Les King Stand, was built in 1990, replacing an earlier structure that had stood on the same site for around 10 years. The capacity at Trafford Park is 2,000 but the record attendance to date is 1,262 for the FA Vase semi-final aganist Whitehawk in 2010.

Honours

References

  1. ^ A brief history of Wroxham Football Club Wroxham FC
  2. ^ Wroxham at the Football Club History Database
  3. ^ History as Bay clinch third Vase The FA, 9 May 2010

External links