Amersham Town

Amersham Town FC was formed on 30th October 1890 after a meeting at the Crown Hotel in Amersham, the market town twenty-seven miles northwest of London in the Chiltern Hills.

The account of that opening meeting and the club rules offer an excellent insight into how the game was back then. The following is taken from the pages of Wikipedia:

The chairman at that first General Meeting was the headmaster of Dr Challoner’s Grammar School, The Reverend E B Cooper. He had been recommended to the school by Dr WG Grace and was a capable all-round sportsman. Also present at that meeting was the local blacksmith, a draper, a saddler, a grocer, a wood stapler and other local noteworthies. 

By way of contrast, the General Committee one hundred and eleven years later includes a salesman, an electrician, two software engineers, a butcher, a wine merchant, a civil servant, a librarian and a van driver. 

Spratley Meadow with its original main stand

The first set of rules for the club were approved on 17 October 1890. They included, amongst the usual regulations establishing the Committee and so forth: i. that the club be called Amersham Town Football Club (its name to this day); ii. that the subscription be one shilling and sixpence (7.5p in today's currency); 

iii. the bad language on the field be strictly prohibited; iv. that no member shall wear any nails, iron plates or gutter perches on the soles of his boots; v. that the club colours be black and white (leading to their nickname “The Magpies”). Squire Tyrwhitt Drake was elected President.

The club played in local competitions until joining the Spartan League. Spratley Meadow was first leased in 1920 with changing rooms added in 1930 and a new "lofty" stand following in 1935. In 1953 The Magpies became founder members of the Hellenic League going on to win the title in 1963-64.

In 1972 Amersham joined the London Spartan League, remaining there until moving to the newly formed South Midlands Spartan League South Division in 1997. In between times, they added floodlights to the ground and a brick extension to the clubhouse. 

Unfortunately, the stand blew into nearby allotments in 1989 during a gale with a smaller replacement being erected in time for their move to the new league, with it being kindly formally opened by Graham Taylor.

In recent years the club have made strides off the pitch if not on it. A new stand, floodlights, brick facilities to replace the old ones which were commandeered during the war as an emergency mortuary, and a new levelled pitch have all made massive improvements to Spratley Meadow, for which the club signed a new ninety-nine-year lease in 1998.

In 2003 Town embarked on a fine run in the league and FA Vase. However, it transpired that had fielded two ineligible players under false names. The club had to hand back their prize money, were deducted seven points and banned from the FA Cup and Vase for three years.

The 2003-04 season saw the Magpies regain their Division One spot, where they would remain until 2014-15 when they dropped back down a level. They returned to their previous level in 2017-18. Ryan Luke departed as manager in October 2019 to be replaced by Dwaine Bryan.

James Hall was appointed as the new team boss in December 2020 remaining in the position through the difficult two pandemic seasons before the arrival in July 2022 of Stuart Atkins as the club looked to become more visible throughout the non-league scene.

A major fund-raising effort and significant investments by the Football Foundation and HS2 Community & Environment Fund allowed for the clubhouse to be replaced so it become somewhere staging community events. Investment was also made on the pitch as Town reached the playoffs in 2022-23.

That ended in a semifinal defeat to Rugby Borough before the club was switched sideways to Division One of the Combined Counties League. Amersham won the title in 2023-24. The form continued in Premier Division North the following campaign which also saw a run in the FA Cup to the third qualifying round.

Amersham Town will play in the Combined Counties League Premier Division North in the 2024-25 season.

My visits

Wednesday 6th April 2005

I visited Spratley Meadow, home of The Magpies in the spring of 2005. I used my London Underground staff pass to travel to Amersham which is one of the terminus stations at the north end of the Metropolitan Line. I had my A to Z and it didn't seem too extreme a walk. Unfortunately, such guides don't show hills or footpaths.

My route had a severe hill and no path! I was well and truly in the sticks. It seems the station covers the new part of town whereas the club are based over the hill in the charming old town, which would be a treat on match days with its traditional pubs and shops. It's a short walk from there along School Lane to the ground.

The ground was refurbished after my visit while the club decamped elsewhere for a season. At the time I was there the pitch had a huge slope across it. The changing rooms and clubhouse were behind the goal where the entrance five-bar gate was situated. Along the roadside, there was a small stand with maybe 100 seats.

Over the road, the club has two training pitches. It's certainly nothing spectacular but has room for development if it's ever required. It's a pleasant venue (or it was on my visit) but I'm not sure I'd want to be there in hostile weather.

On my way back I found a more conventional main road back to the station which had a bus service for the less energetic.

Amersham Town 5 Sun Postal Sports 0 (Saturday 22nd October 2011) Spartan South Midlands League Division One (att: 22)

I was on my final day of annual leave after abandoning a trip to a cricket tournament in Bangkok owing to the floods out there. I wanted a nice venue that was near to home but just a bit too awkward for a midweek visit in winter. I made an inspired choice.

I had forgotten just how far the Metropolitan line stretched as I arrived around 2.30 at Amersham. I got my skates on and walked past the huge Tescos and into Old Amersham. It was much further than I remembered. 

I walked past some very smart and expensive-looking pubs and went past a local league game being played on a school field before arriving at Spratley Meadow where the gateman gave me a warm welcome as he took my £3 admission, which included a basic but decent quality programme.

It was about 2.55, but I still popped into the clubhouse. The barman kindly sold me a bottle of Pedigree and put it in a plastic glass so I could take it out with me. I headed for the raised stand which was named in the honour of two men Mike Gahagan and Graham Taylor. 

Since my visit, the slope on the pitch had more or less gone as land had been dug out, forming small banks around three sides of the pitch. The surface looked in great condition, which was as well, as Town were hosting the home games of Tokyngton Manor in the same league from the start of the season.

The game lacked quality in the early stages, particularly in the two defences. There were plenty of opportunities being squandered through poor finishing or the lack of a decent final pass. It was pretty even until the hosts went one up after about twenty-five minutes.

I had a lovely view looking down on the very picturesque venue while enjoying my beer and keeping abreast of action everywhere by radio and text. At half time I went back to the clubhouse for a rewarding top-up. I was impressed with the friendliness of the place. There were lots of smiles and hellos.

In the second half Town pushed their left back forward and this made a huge difference as they quickly took control. I felt quite sorry for the Sun keeper as he looked around while commenting, obviously looking for a bit of sympathy. He was under siege and gradually the goals came, some with cracking finishes. Sun were bottom of the league and it wasn't hard to see why.

My team Scarborough Athletic were having a torrid day at Parkgate with a defeat and sending-offs at the hands of an alleged cheating referee so my texts were coming in thick and fast. I took the shortcut back up the steep Rectory Lane as traffic whizzed past. It was far quicker and I got some good exercise in. A train was waiting as I reached the station meaning a quick return home.

It had been a lovely afternoon out, which would have been even better had Stevenage not missed a late penalty which would have completed my fixed odds coupon. Still, you can't have everything!