Elmore

Elmore FC is a non-league football club from the town of Tiverton, which is in Devon in England's southwest. The club were formed in 1947, spending their first twenty-seven years playing in local competition as Elmore Sports FC.

They were admitted to the Junior Division One of the Exeter & District League in 1953 where they finished runners-up on a couple of occasions before they won the division and were promoted to Senior Division One of the competition.

The club had used several home grounds prior to settling and buying a plot of land called Slaughterhouse Field in 1958. They built their new home, Hordson Park on it, gradually developing it over the years.

Further success followed, as another runners-up place in 1964-65 led to promotion to the Premier Division where they remained until 1974 when the club became members of the South Western League.

The club remained in that league for the next four years before progressing to the Western League in time for the 1978-79 season. Promotion was achieved to the Premier Division through a runners-up place in 1990-91.

The 1994-95 season was the most successful in Elmore's history as they reached the fourth round of the FA Vase, where they were defeated by local rivals Taunton Town as well as finishing as league runners up.

In 2000 local youngster Adam Stansfield was spotted by Yeovil Town. He went on to have a successful career before losing his life to cancer ten years later. Elmore would later name their Main Stand in honour of him.

Elmore suffered relegation in the 2003-04 season after finishing bottom of the league after previously being reprieved owing to a restructuring of the competition. The 2005-06 season saw the side finish bottom of the table, a performance that was repeated in 2010-11.

Elmore were transferred from the Western League at the end of the 2012-13 season to the South West Peninsula League. The teams’ record was expunged midway through the 2014-15 season. The reserve team was playing in the Devon & Exeter League and took over as the first team.

They won the league title in 2017-18 to return to Division One East of the South West Peninsula League. League restructuring saw Elmore placed in Premier Division East for the 2019–20 season.

The 2022-23 season ended in relegation to the Devon League despite the valiant efforts late in the season by manager recently appointed boss Tony Radford and his team. He departed to be replaced by Luke Andrews, whose side finished the 2023-24 campaign in eighth position.

Elmore FC will play in the Devon League  in the 2024-25 season.

My visit

Wednesday 15th August 2012

I was in Devon after spending the previous evening watching the League Cup match between Exeter City and Crystal Palace. My plans for the day included visiting some football and cricket grounds before taking in an FA Cup replay on my way back to London.

I had my breakfast looking out of the tired Great Western Hotel at an awful morning weather wise. It really was pouring down. However, I was determined not to let getting wet spoil my day and I carried on regardless, although I was questioning myself after getting a soaking when only crossing the forecourt to St David's Station.

I took the Cross Country train which would eventually terminate in Glasgow. I was only staying on for fifteen minutes to Tiverton Parkway, which turned out to be quite some distance from the town itself and required the bus service which was waiting for passengers when we arrived.

I could just about see through the windows of the double decker bus as its route took it through villages which I'm sure would look very pretty with the sun on them. I could only imagine! Fortunately, I used the map app on my iPhone to track our journey as we neared Tiverton. 

As luck would have it, we were to pass Horndon Park on the way into town. I rang the bell, crossed the road by elevated footbridge and came out on Heathcoat Way for the short walk to the grounds entrance. Fortunately a gate was open as the ground also had a community nursery school in one of its buildings. 

The ground itself was neat enough, being treen lined on three sides. The Adam Stansfield Stand was on the half way line, with the rest of the arena consisting of flat open grass and hard standing. The entrance end had a car park and all the changing rooms, offices and clubhouse buildings.

I went on my ever dampened way as I tried to find the way to Ladysmead, the home of Elmore's cross town rivals Tiverton Town. It's as well I had the phone app as my paper map that I had prepared earlier was a bundle of mush in my rain jackets pocket.

Tiverton seemed a really nice place and one I'd readily return to for football and to check out some of the nice old ale houses!