Shildon

Shildon AFC is a non-league football club who come from the town of the same name in County Durham in the north east of England, which is know for its railway industry.

The club was formed in 1890 as Shildon Town, going on to join the Auckland and District League in 1892 before merging with Rangers & Heroes to become Shildon Athletic. The original club folded before reforming to become members of the Northern League in 1903-04 as replacements for  Stockton St John’s.

In 1907 the club became semi-professional rather than following the traditional amateur route playing in the North Eastern League. In 1923 ‘Athletic’ was dropped from the club name as they became Shildon AFC as the grandstand was erected at their Dean Street home.

‘The Railwaymen’ rejoined the Norther League for the 1932-33 season. The following eight years proved to be an unparalleled success at Dean Street. Shildon reached the FA Cup for the first time in 1927-28 before falling to New Brighton.

The team reached the same stage in 1929-30, where they were eliminated after a second replay at Bootham Crescent York against Doncaster Rovers.

Shildon were crowned as Northern League champions in 1933-34, after finishing as runners-up in their second debut season. The team would go on to win the league for a further four consecutive campaigns; in 1934-35, 1935-36 and 1936-37.

In the 1936-37 campaign the side went all season unbeaten in the league, with forward Jack Downing scoring an incredible 61 league and cup goals. The four consecutive league wins would remain a record until it was equalled by Blyth Spartans in the 1980’s.

The 1930’s also saw Shildon continue to perform well in the FA Cup. The first round was competed in 1934-35; going out to Lincoln City, before going one round better in 1936-37 with an appearance in round two.

Stalybridge Celtic were seen off to set up a home draw against Dartford, in which the team from Kent won 3-0. Shildon went on to become league runners-up in 1938-39 before regaining the Northern League title for a fifth time in 1939-40.

Following the golden era, Shildon settled into a team who traditionally finished in the top half of the Northern League table, with the occasionally foray into the ‘proper’ rounds of the FA Cup.

In 1955-56 Shildon battled through four qualifying rounds before going out in round one to Scunthorpe & Lindsey United at The Old Show Ground. In 1959-60 the Railwaymen held Oldham Athletic to a draw at home before going out in the replay at Boundary Park.

Shildon made a return visit to Oldham in 1961-62 in round one of the FA Cup, with the game ending in a 5-2 defeat. The game would mark the clubs last appearance at that stage of the competition for forty one years.

The team hit a period of lower table finishes in the 1970’s before recovering for a spell. However, Shildon were relegated to the recently formed Division Two of the Northern League at the end of the 1984-85 season, a couple of years after new dressing rooms and a social club had been built beneath the stand.

Shildon regained their Division One status in 1986-87 before being relegated again in 1991-92. The Railwaymen put the disappointment behind them and won promotion at the end of the following season.

Shildon remained a Division One club until 1998-99 when the team finished bottom of the table and returned to the second tier. The 2001-02 campaign saw the club win the Division Two title and netting 135 goals in the process.

A return to the first round of the FA Cup came in 2003-04 as Workington, Durham City, Frickley Athletic, Shirebrook Town and Stocksbridge Park Steels were dismissed in the preliminary rounds before Shildon went out after a 7-2 defeat away to Notts County.

Tragedy struck the club in February 2004 when 26-year-old player, Lee Hainsworth was killed in a road accident on his way to training. He had been with the club for six years. The Brown Street stand was renamed in his memory.

The future of Shildon AFC came under threat through financial difficulties at the end of the 2003-04 season as the chairman of the time resigned and cut all ties with the club. Brian Bunn came in as new chairman, while Gary Forrest was appointed as team manager.

After a couple of difficult league seasons, Forrest put together a steady side who returned to top half finishes in the league, before finishing as runners-up in 2009-10. The same season saw the side reach the quarter finals of the FA Vase before going out to Northern League rivals Whitley Bay.

Shildon came even closer to a Wembley FA Vase final in 2012-13 as they went all the way to the semi-final by defeating South Shields and Consett along the way. The Railwaymen went out in the last four against Tunbridge Wells 4-3 on aggregate.

Consolation of sorts came with a third place league finish in 2013-14, which was bettered by a runners-up spot the following year. Shildon were crowned as Northern League champions for a sixth time in 2015-16.

In January 2017 the clubs long serving manager Gary Forrest resigned. Daniel Moore was appointed as his successor, with the team going to end the 2016-17 campaign in fourth position in the Northern League. 

Restructuring of some non-league divisions after the Covid-19 pandemic gave Shildon the opportunity to move up to the fourth tier. They were given a place in Division One East of the Northern Premier League, where they ended in fifth place, with Marske United ending dreams of further promotion with victory in the semi-final of the play-offs after which Moore departed.

Facilities were constantly upgraded at Dean Street to match the new lofty status of the club. The team was relegated in 2022-23 under Jamie Tunstall who lasted a few months, Ian Clark whose spell consisted of five days and then Chris Hughes who was left to pick up the pieces.

Shildon AFC will play in the Northern League Division One in the 2023-24 season.

My visit

Wednesday 25th January 2017

My visit to Shildon came as part of a jaunt around County Durham with the use of a one day bus ticket to kick off a week of football on the road around the north of England and Germany. I arrived in the town from Darlington by the Max x1 bus, which dropped me at the Hippodrome stop.

The town was covered in a blanket of fog as I walked down Main Street before heading up Dean Street, where I was delighted to find the gates to the ground were open. Even in the gloom I recognised a fine venue.

The magnificent Main Stand on the far side had raised seating behind a few steps of terracing. Opposite was a long low cover with a few steps, set back from the pitch. The rest of the ground had hard standing all around, with a slight grass bank in places down the sides.

Once done with my photography I headed back on my same route back to the Hippodrome stop, just as the sun began to break through the fog. I was tempted to return and take some more snaps, but I continued on my way towards my next venue, which was to be Heritage Park, Bishop Auckland.