East Cowes Victoria Athletic AFC is a non-league football club based in East Cowes on the Isle of Wight that was formed in 1885. The ground on Beatrice Avenue was in the grounds of Osborne House; one of Queen Victoria’s homes, hence the club title.
‘The Vics’ became founder members of the Isle of Wight League in 1898 becoming inaugural champions and retaining top spot in 1899-00 before adding further titles in 1930-31, 1934-35 and 1935-36.
In 1947 the club moved to the Hampshire League as members of Division Two; where three runners-up positions were followed up by promotion and the title in 1952-53 before relegation in 1954-55. A further demotion to Division Three came in 1960-61.
The Division Three title was won in 1963-64 to go back up a level, before dropping back down after the 1966-67 campaign. The league was expanded in 1968, with Vics being placed in Division Three West.
Hampshire League re-organisation in 1971 saw East Cowes being put in Division Three; where they became champions to win promotion to Division Two. A third place finish in 1977-78 saw Vics going up to Division One.
A demotion in 1981-82 was countered by the team regaining their top-flight place twelve months later. East Cowes were crowned as Hampshire League champions in 1985-86 before retaining the title in 1986-87 leading to promotion to the Wessex League.
A bottom-place finish in 1999-00 saw the club relegated back to the Premier Division of the Hampshire League. The team were runners-up in 2001-02 before the competition merged with the Wessex League in 2004.
East Cowes were placed in Division Two; which was retitled Division One for the 2006-07 campaign. Vics finished in fourth position in 2011-12 but aside from that generally ended in the lower half of the table.
Tenth place was achieved in 2018-19 under manager Steve Brougham. Newport FC moved in as tenants in the summer of 2019 as they awaited the construction of their new home ground. Vics, like other clubs lower down the non-league chain saw two seasons abandoned owing to the worldwide pandemic.
In November 2021 Richhie Woodburn was appointed as team boss at Beatrice Avenue, remaining in charge until he was succeeded by Alex Smith in December 2022. He led the side to sixth place in the league season of 2023-24.
East Cowes Victoria Athletic AFC will play in the Wessex League Division One in the 2024-25 season.
My visit
Thursday 5th September 2019
London and the modern world had got to me and I needed somewhere to escape. I had three days off work and wanted to visit somewhere I’d never been to before. Somewhere relaxed near the coast was my preference. Then I thought of the Isle of Wight.
With a B&B booked for the evening I set out from Waterloo; arriving slightly later than planned by Hovercraft to Ryde. I was already in a good mood after the journey and seeing somewhere that reminded me of the resorts I’d visited with my parents in the 70s.
A £10 all-day bus pass was bought from the driver of the number 4 service. The journey took us past the stunning village of Wootton Bridge; where it was tempting to abandon ship and spend the afternoon looking at the water from the attractive pub.
The Ashes Test from Old Trafford was keeping me entertained on the radio, even if England were floundering badly. I alighted from the bus at Barton Lodge and walked for less than ten minutes to the entrance of the ground.
A five-bar gate was across the entrance to the venue. I clambered over and then opened the iron gate to get inside the ground so that I could take my usual collection of photos on what was a most pleasant afternoon.
It wasn’t a bad venue. All the facilities were down the Beatrice Avenue side in the form of a low cover for standing spectators and then a neat seated stand on the halfway line, which had the changing rooms and clubhouse behind.
The rest of the ground was open with hard standing all the way around the pitch. Trees behind both goals gave it an enclosed feel, while a practice pitch stood down the far touchline.
Once complete I took the fifteen-minute walk down into the port, taking the East Cowes-Cowes Chain Ferry across the River Medina in search of the bus towards Cowes Sports FC, Newport and then Shanklin, which was my destination for the evening.
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