Ware

Ware FC

Ground: Wodson Park

Capacity: 3,300

Club Founded: 1893

League: Southern League Division One Central - Step 4/8th Tier (current level)

Ware FC is one of Hertfordshire's oldest football clubs, playing at Buryfield in the town centre before moving north to Wodson Park, which better suits the club's needs and ambitions.

A Potted History of Ware FC

Early Years

The club is based in the town on the River Lea around twenty-two miles north of London. Their early years were spent as Ware Town before dropping the suffix, while playing in the 

Herts County League, of which they became champions.

After a second title win, the original Herts County League was disbanded in 1925 as ‘The Blues’ moved to the Spartan League. Ware won a couple of divisional titles before capturing the Premier Division crown in 1951-52, before moving on to play in the Delphian League. 

Post-War to the 80s

In the FA Amateur Cup, a record attendance of 3,800 flocked to Buryfield to see the clash with Hendon in January 1957. The Delphian League was disbanded six years later, with Ware becoming members of the Athenian League, where they were soon promoted to Division One. 

The Blues went on a fine FA Cup run in the 1968-69 campaign, going all the way to the first round before going out 6-1 to Luton Town at Kenilworth Road. The club became a member of the Isthmian League at the start of the 1975-76 season. The team struggled and were relegated to the bottom tier of the competition in the early 80s.

In 1996 Ware moved from their historic Buryfield home ground in the centre of town to Wodson Park on the edge of the town, which formed part of a sports village. This was the catalyst for improvement, as the team was crowned Division Two champions in 2005-06 under manager Glen Alzapiedi.

A couple of seasons later, Ware reached the first round of the FA Cup. Kidderminster Harriers won the tie 3-1 at Wodson Park in front of a crowd of 2,123. Mike Varney, the former Tottenham Hotspur physio, became club chairman, as Kem Kemal and then former Football League forward Ken Charlery took charge of the team.

My drawing of Buryfield, along with the Ware team kits of the past.
Click on the image for an enlarged view.

The Southern League Era

During this period, Ware were transferred to the Southern League and back again. Managers came and went before legendary striker John Frendo returned, with Paul Halsey taking over as manager during the 2017-18 campaign. 

In Division One Central of the Southern League at the turn of the new decade, Ware reached the playoff finals but were defeated by North Leigh. They reached the same stage in 2022-23 when Didcot Town came out on top. The following season, the Blues lost their playoff semifinal to Bedford Town.

My visits

At Buryfield

Ware 0 St Albans City 5

Isthmian League Division Two - Saturday 24th March 1984 

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In 1984, I was at college in Boreham Wood in Hertfordshire. I decided to have a day out to watch the FA Vase semi-final between Stansted and Whickham. I caught the bus to Brimsdown station to take the train. Unfortunately, once I'd bought my ticket, I realised I wouldn't get there in time. 

I scanned my paper and asked the ticket seller if it was possible to change my destination. He kindly did, so I headed for the Isthmian League clash between Ware and St. Albans City. Ware was a pretty small market town, and I soon walked to the Buryfield ground to spend some time in the clubhouse before the game.

Image of Buryfield taken from an online source

Buryfield was nothing flash. It had a basic seated stand on the clubhouse side with a small covered terraced stand opposite. The rest of the ground was open. It was, however, very conveniently located on Park Road in the town centre. City waltzed to a win on their way to a runner-up position in the final league table and promotion.

A memory from the day was something not seen since the advent of the digital era. To find out the final scores from across the country, I joined other men outside a TV shop which was showing Grandstand on one of its sets in the window.

Monday 10th August 2009

Many years later, I took a bus for the short journey from Hertford to Ware while spending the day visiting the grounds of Herts. I was waiting to board when a man with learning difficulties asked the foreign driver if he was going to Ware. 

The driver didn't understand and said, "Where?" The passenger said Ware, and this continued for a minute or so of pure comedy. The locals are nice folk, and they solved the situation while I was trying not to wet myself.

I got off in the town centre, and it was still as nice as I remembered from my previous time there. I couldn't see a bus that went near the ground, so I set off walking. It seemed a fair distance on a map, but even worse, street plans don't show hills. 

A local told me I was heading in the right direction, but it was quite a distance. I checked a timetable for returning buses and quickly worked out I had twenty minutes to get to the ground, take some photos, and catch the hourly bus back into town.

I set off running up quite a hill. Well, part of the reason I groundhopped was to get fit. I was in a bit of a state when I got to Wodson Park! It turned out to be well worth the effort. Wodson Park is a large sports centre with the football ground being part of the complex. It was built near the new bypass around the turn of the century and hosts a multitude of sports. 

I am very much a traditionalist, but Ware FC undoubtedly got the better deal out of the move to the new stadium. I just wish it had been in the same location as the old place!

I didn't have much time before my next bus, which was a bit of a shame because if I had hung around, I could have watched the League Cup match between "Donnington" and Leeds in the Saracen Pub overlooking the waterway, as they somehow managed to advertise it!

Hoddesden Town 3 Edgware Town 2

Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division - Wednesday 31st August 2016

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I had a further visit and a fine day out when Hoddesdon Town used Wodson Park as a home venue while their home ground hosted cricket.