Winterton Rangers

Winterton Rangers FC

Ground: The MKM Stadium (West Street)

Capacity: 3,000

Club Founded: 1934

League: Northern Counties East League Division One - Step 6/10th Tier (current level)

Winterton Rangers, based between Scunthorpe and the Humber Bridge, have played consistently in the Northern Counties East League (NCEL) for many years, along with occasional cup runs.

Club History

Initially, Rangers joined the Scunthorpe & District League in 1935, playing their home games at Watery Lane until 1950 when they moved to a new ground at West Street. Progression to the Lincolnshire County League followed in 1965 before joining the Yorkshire League in 1970-71 as a Division One side.

A couple of titles followed, backed up with a last-eight match in the FA Vase. A year later, the team won the Philips six-a-side floodlight cup and were awarded six floodlights as their prize. 1978-79 saw a third Yorkshire League title being collected with Keith Walwyn banging in the goals.

The club became a founder member of the Northern Counties East League in 1982-83, where they won Division Two before the end of the decade, going up to the Premier Division. However, the side was relegated five years later. Peter Daniels led Winterton to promotion in 2006-07, winning the NCEL title a year later.

The club declined promotion to the Northern Premier League despite many ground improvements at West Street. Richard Sennett and Mark Turner were given the joint manager job in 2009-10, taking the side to a couple of trophy wins.

A reliance on young players led to relegation at the end of the 2013-14 campaign. Several managers came and went over the next few years. The team's performances during the abandoned pandemic seasons were rewarded with promotion to the Premier Division.

Rangers ended runners-up in 2022-23, followed by a 2-1 win in the Inter-step playoff away to Coggeshall Town through a Josh Walker brace to send the side to Division One East of the Northern Premier League. 

The step up proved to be too steep as Winterton returned to the NCEL a year later. A second successive relegation followed before Rangers again finished in the drop zone but were handed a relegation reprieve.

My visit

Saturday 10th July 2010

I was on my way to watch the pre-season friendly between Barton Town Old Boys and Scarborough Athletic. I decided to travel up the day before using the excellent value Megabus Plus deal, which took me by train and bus to Scunthorpe. The previous evening, I had fitted in the pre-season friendly between Brigg Town and Grimsby Town.

My original plan was to visit Winterton the previous day, but buses, or lack of them, tested out my resourcefulness. I arrived on Saturday lunchtime at Barton station to await my bus. The Fastcat service took me through the pretty village of Wintringham before the town of Winterton came into view.

I got off a little earlier than I should of so I had to take a brisk walk around to the ground as time was tight. I got a friendly welcome from an old guy measuring out the pitch who was more than happy for me to take some pictures.

West Street was a very smart venue. There were small neat stands facing each other along the touchlines. One contained seats, and the other was for standing spectators. The West Street End acted as a car park for the large clubhouse.

I went on my way to try and get to the bus stop so I could have a few convivial pints in Barton before the match. I made it with a few minutes to spare as I listened to the One Day Cricket between England and Bangladesh, as a reminder of how ludicrously early the season was starting. The World Cup Final was to be played the following day.