Bungay Town F.C.

Bungay Town

Full name	Bungay Town Football Club
Nickname(s)	Black Dogs
Founded	9 July 1925
Ground	Maltings Meadow Sports Ground, Bungay
Chairman	Tony Sprake
Manager	Tim Clarke
League	Anglian Combination Division Two
2012–13	Anglian Combination Division Two, 3rd

Bungay Town F.C. is an English football club based in Bungay, Suffolk. The club are currently members of Anglian Combination Division Two and play at the Maltings Meadow Sports Ground.

History

The club was founded following a public meeting on 9 July 1925 following a poor season for both Bungay United and Bungay Harriers in the South Norfolk League.^[1] The new club entered both the Lowestoft & District League and the North Suffolk League, and after doing well in both, moved up to the East Anglian League in 1926. In 1933 they switched to the Norwich & District League, before joining the Norfolk & Suffolk League in 1935.

After World War II they won the league three years in succession between 1946–47 and 1948–49 and again in 1951–52, after which they applied to join the Eastern Counties League, but were unsuccessful. They also won the League Cup three years in a row from 1948 to 1950 and again in 1956, as well as the Suffolk Senior Cup, which they picked up in 1950 and 1961. They also began entering the FA Cup in 1950, which they continued to do until 1963. During their period of success, crowds reached four figures.^[2]

In 1963 the club entered the Eastern Counties League. However, they finished bottom in their first season, and withdrew at its end to become founder members of the Anglian Combination, which had been formed by a merger of the Norfolk & Suffolk League and the East Anglian League. They were placed in Division One, and were promoted to the Premier Division at the end of the 1968–69 season. Following relegation back to Division One in 1972–73 they went on to become somewhat of a yo-yo club, as they were promoted in 1974–75, relegated in 1978–79, promoted in 1980–81, relegated in 1983–84, promoted in 1987–88 and relegated again in 1989–90.^[1] In 1992 they were relegated to Division Two, before returning to Division One in 1998. They were demoted back to Division Two in 2002, before returning to Division One in 2008. They were relegated back to Division Two after finishing bottom of the table in 2010–11.

The club entered the FA Vase between 1974 and 1983, but have not done so since.

Ground

The club initially played at the Recreation Ground. A grandstand was built in 1934, but it was destroyed by a bomb during World War II and was not rebuilt.^[1] The ground was in a flood plain, resulting in the pitch being described as "frequently reduced to a quagmire".^[3] Matches were sometimes moved to Outney Common or Honeypot Meadow on Bardolph Lane (now a police station). In 1953 they moved to their current ground at Maltings Meadow, a move which had first been suggested in 1947. The new ground was opened with a match against Lowestoft club Eastern Coachworks on 27 August 1953 attended by 300.^[1]

Although Bungay is in Suffolk, both the club's main grounds have been across the border in Norfolk, and the only times they have played home matches in Suffolk were the temporary arrangements at Outney Common and Honeypot Meadow.^[1]

Honours

• Norfolk & Suffolk League
  • Champions 1946–47, 1947–48, 1948–49, 1951–52
  • League cup winners 1947–48, 1948–49, 1949–50, 1955–56
• Suffolk Senior Cup
  • Winners 1949–50, 1960–61
• Anglian Combination
  • Division One champions 1974–75, 1980–81, 1987–88

Records

• FA Cup
  • Third Qualifying Round 1956–57, 1959–60, 1960–61

• FA Vase
  • First Round 1974–75, 1975–76, 1976–77, 1979–80, 1981–82

• Attendance
  • 2,498 vs Wycombe Wanderers, FA Amateur Cup first round, January 1950 (at the Recreation Ground)
  • 1,618 vs Great Yarmouth Town, FA Cup third qualifying round, 20 October 1956 (at Maltings Meadow)

References

External links

• Official website
• Bungay Town at the Football Club History Database

Coordinates: 52°27′42.87″N 1°26′41.62″E / 52.4619083°N 1.4448944°E / 52.4619083; 1.4448944