Harpenden Town

Harpenden Town FC is a non-league football club from the town of the same name which is located in north Hertfordshire, close to Luton Airport. The club was formed as Harpenden FC, who were founder members of Herts County League in 1898. 

The club became Harpenden Town in 1908 going on to lift the Herts County League Western Division title in 1910-11, 1911-12, when they went on to be crowned as overall champions and again in 1920-21 before they left the league in 1922.

Harpenden returned to the Herts County League in 1948, going on to be crowned champions in 1950-51, 1952-53 and 1954-55. Town remained there until joining the South Midlands League in 1957. 

Further honours followed as Harpenden lifted the South Midlands League crown in 1961-62 and 1964-65. The team were relegated to Division One in 1973 before returning to the Premier Division in 1973-74. 

A further relegation followed in 1982. Once again 'The Harps' fought their way back to top flight status in 1989-90 when they won the Division One title. In 2000 Town were demoted, but promoted to the Premier Division at the end of the 2002-03 campaign.

In 2006 Town were relegated once again. The side became regulars in the top eight places in Division One in the ensuing seasons.

Harpenden Town FC will compete in the Spartan South Midlands League Division One in season 2016-17.

My visits

Tuesday 23rd June 2009

As part of a summer afternoons groundhop, I decided it was time to call in at a club, who's town I'd never previously visited despite it not being too far away from me in North West London. I knew that the late great Eric Morecambe was a resident of Harpenden so it already had a massive tick for it in my book.

Within getting off the train and walking down the hill to the High Street and I was already in love with the place. I know the weather was at its best which always helps ones opinions of somewhere, but it really is a beautiful little town. 

The people all seemed pleasant with kids playing nicely in the well kept streets. The High Street is wide with greens and independent shops with traditional looking pubs sitting comfortably against modern cafes.

I found a map and set off to where I thought the ground was, well roughly anyway! I walked too far up Amenbury Lane, past the huge Lawn Tennis Club and up to a private road with massive estates. I could see the floodlights of the ground at Rothamsted Park so I knew I was nearby but they were across the far side of the club. I walked back and into the car park of the leisure centre where a signpost guided me in the right direction.

The clubhouse was the first thing I come across. The ground was in a beautifully manicured public park, surrounded by lots of trees to make a lovely backdrop which also shields the pitch from the wind. The only gaps were for the small spectators and players entrances behind the goal. 

The pitch was surrounded by a single white rail and had a thin path around it and a couple of feet of grass. The only cover was along the same side as the entrance. It was a small simple construction called The Centenary Stand with a row of white bench seats at the front with a couple of wide steps behind.

The club would be unlikely to go any further than their present league status unless they move grounds. I personally hoped they never get too ambitious and stay exactly where they are and serve the community in their wonderful surroundings.

I left the ground and enjoyed an immaculate pint of Young's in the beer garden of a pub just over the road before enjoying some great food at the traditional fish and chip shop. If I need to chill out and watch football at that level I will certainly return, leaving time afterwards to discover the pubs of the town.

What a lovely place. I dreamt of living there and then I looked in the estate agents window....

Harpenden Town 1 Wodson Park 1 (Saturday 7th May 2016) Spartan South Midlands League Division One (att: 137)

Despite facing an extremely testing period at work and being on night shifts I was determined to enjoy the promised sunny weather and do something constructive in my spare time. I had wanted to tick off Harpenden Town for a game after visiting the ground several years earlier.

I set off for West Hampstead Thameslink station impressed with the fare with my railcard of £5.50 return and a fast twenty minute service. I brushed past Michael Atherton who’d just alighted from a southbound train. In all honesty I wasn’t expecting too much from the game or to see many other spectators in attendance. I was in for a pleasant surprise.

Stopping in the stunning main street for a bottle of water I was soon at Rothamsted Park. There was nobody taking admission and no programmes to be seen. This was soon rectified by visiting the clubhouse and Kicks Café where I purchased an issue for just 50p.

The crowd was building while an outside burger griddle was pluming out some tempting spells. I wasn’t to be tempted as I was attempting to get some weight off following my holiday in Thailand. The ground had remained unaltered since my previous visit.

After a sit in the homely stand I took up a standing position, gradually moving around the pitch throughout the first half. The pitch was hard and bobbly in places, which didn’t help fluent play. I had to applaud the locals who would go through nettles and into the tall surrounding hedges to retrieve the match balls.

Garry Starr, the referee, was taking plenty of advice from the players of both sides. If only they had made as few mistakes as the man in black, then we would have had far more entertainment, as the first half petered out without very much to comment on.

At the interval I went to the café and purchased a tea for a quid and put £2 in a collection bucket for Cancer Research UK in lieu of the free admission. The man grilling the burgers was busy. I discovered that the club had decided to make the game free for spectators to try and attract more fans, and it certainly worked.

For the second half I took up a position near the corner flag as I listened to the radio. A visiting player had asked me the Man Utd full time score on his was off at half time. The crowd seemed to grow as the game developed, with many enjoying a beer at pitchside.

The game looked certain to end without a goal, so it was a slight shock when the visitors from Ware took the lead when a free kick from out wide went straight in at the far post without anyone getting a touch.

The Harps levelled things up when a cross was superbly headed into the far corner by James Hill. The home sides number 7, Jimmy Hartley was a joy to watch with his skilful runs taking on his opponents and general football skills. His final delivery was slightly lacking, but much of that had to go down to the condition of the pitch. I’d have loved to watch him on a decent surface.

With around fifteen minutes remaining, I decided to head off. I could catch a fast service back down to West Hampstead at 4.42. This was too tempting with another night shift looming.

I thoroughly enjoyed my brief visit to Harpenden. What a stunning little town it was. Hopefully those attending Rothamsted Park for a game would become regulars at the friendly club.