Woodford Town (1937)

Woodford Town FC

Ground: Snakes Lane

Capacity: 4,000

Club Founded: 1937

Club Dissolved: 2003

The original Woodford Town FC saw Jimmy Greaves play for them, compete in the Anglo-Italian Trophy, and create many memories before being evicted from their ground and replaced by a new club of the same name.

Club History

The club playing at their ground on Snakes Lane East joined the London League after World War II, finishing as league runners-up in 1950-51 before becoming founder members of the Delphian League the following season. Just over a decade later, they moved to the Metropolitan League.

An ambitious move to join the Southern League as members of Division One South followed. Not for the first time, the Woods took a short sabbatical, this time returning as an Essex Senior League club before moving to the League in 1979-80 as Jimmy Greaves played out his final season with the club.

My drawing of the old ground and some former team kits.
Click on the image if you require an enlarged view.

Woodford transferred to the Southern League Southern Division in 1982-83, then competing against Piacenza in the Anglo-Italian Trophy four years later. The following season saw a first-ever appearance in the FA Cup first round, where Town went down 1-0 at home to Orient as the club erected a temporary stand for the occasion.

Despite the relative success, the club decided to drop back down to the Essex Senior League, finishing as runners-up in 1989-90. They were evicted from their home ground in 1993, dropping down to Division One of the Spartan League.

The club played home games at various East London venues before becoming a founder member of the Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division South in 1997-98. Twelve months later, Town went on to join the London Intermediate League.

Their spell in that competition lasted just a season before re-joining the Essex Senior League in 1999-00. Woodford struggled on for a few more seasons at the bottom end of the table, playing out a final campaign in 2002-03 as tenants at Clapton FC’s Old Spotted Dog Ground.

A few miles away, a club called Goffs Oak, which played in the Herts County League, changed their name to Bush Hill Rangers in 2012. They joined the Spartan South Midlands League in 2014-15 before changing their name to Woodford Town, playing at the Goldsdown Stadium in Brimsdown and lasting just one season. A new Woodford Town FC was formed in 2017.

My visit

February 1984

Woodford Town played at Snakes Lane East at a basic venue. I popped in on a winter's day, groundhopping in February 1984 while at college. I arrived by Central line tube at Woodford station and took the ten-minute walk to the ground. The gates were open, so I had no problem gaining access.

There was nothing aside from flat grass standing behind either goal, apart from high netting to retrieve loose shots at goal. The entrance side had a small, low-seated Main Stand with the clubhouse behind it. Further along the touchline were toilets, a snack bar and a supporters' club hut. There was a smaller basic cover on the opposite side of the pitch with bench seating.