Tiverton Town

Tiverton Town FC is a non-league football club from the town that stands on the confluence of the Rivers Exe and Lowman in Mid Devon in the south west of England. The club were initially formed as Tiverton Athletic in 1913 playing games at the Athletic Ground.

For their first sixty years 'Tivvy' played in local competition; North Devon League, East Devon League and the Exeter & District League winning several honours along the way. In 1921 the club moved to Elm Field and then Ladysmead in Bolham Road in 1946 after their previous ground was virtually destroyed in World War Two.

 

The Exeter & District League title was delivered in 1964-65 and again twelve months later as the likes of Alec Collard and Terry Lee proved too good for opposing sides. In 1973 the club entered the Western League.

The team were relegated to Division One in 1980-81, with the club facing extinction not long after, before they recovered and regained their Premier Division place in 1988-89, the club began a period of huge success initially under manager John Owen with Mark Seatherton and Clive Jones providing the goals.

 

The 1992-93 season saw Martyn Rogers in charge of the team that would end up as runners-up in the league as well as reaching Wembley in the FA Vase Final, where they were defeated 1-0 by Bridlington Town. The FA Cup first round was also reached for the first time.

The following 1993-94 season saw Tivvy crowned Western League champions, a title they went on to the retain at the end of the next campaign. After a season of runners up, the club went on to win the league title in 1996-97, and 1997-98.

 

Leyton Orient became the first Football League club to visit Ladysmead in this period, prior to a great day in the history of the club when they also reached the final of the FA Vase in 1997-98. A goal from Peter Varley was enough to defeat Tow Law Town at Wembley.

The trophy was retained in 1998-99 when a late goal from Scott Rogers was enough to defeat the highly fancied Bedlington Terriers in the final Vase final at the old stadium. The win coincided with a league runners-up place which was rewarded with promotion to the Western Division of the Southern League.

 

Promotion to the Premier Division followed in 2000-01 season, where Tivvy remained for ten years, with the highlight being fourth place in 2002-03. The club was given a chance to progress to the newly formed second tier of non-league in 2003-04, where they defeated Chelmsford City but lost to Dorchester Town in the playoffs.

After nineteen years at the helm Rogers stood down in May 2010 to be replaced by Chris Vinnicombe. He lasted just four months before Mark Saunders was appointed. The 2010-11 season ended in relegation to Division One South & West.

 

John Clarkson became manager in the summer of 2013, taking the side to the playoffs which ended in semifinal defeat to Paulton Rovers. Rogers returned for a second spell, taking his side to the playoffs in 2016-17.

This time Tiverton defeated Taunton Town and then Salisbury to win promotion to the Premier Division. The Southern League expanded in 2018-19, which saw the club being placed in Premier Division South of the competition.

 

Scott Rogers became joint manager alongside his uncle before the senior partner departed but then returned once again in sole charge in December 2022. Leigh Robinson was named as his successor in October 2023, leading his side to a midtable finish a few months later.

Tiverton Town FC will play in the Southern League Premier Division South in the 2024-25 season.

My visit

Wednesday 15th August 2012

I making my way back from Exeter having been to their League Cup tie the previous evening, while determined to visit some clubs in the area on the way. 

The weather was terrible with heavy rain and I was soaked walking towards Tiverton town centre after visiting Tivvy's cross town rivals, Elmore AFC. I sheltered for a while under shop overhangs to look at the map app on my IPhone as my printed map had been reduced to mush. 

As is often the case the size of the town I was visiting was deceiving to my initial estimations. It was far larger than I had expected. Locals scurried about trying and failing to keep dry, whereas I was so wet I just got on with it. 

I walked up Castle Street and found what I'm sure was a very pretty Peoples Park, at least on a sunny summers day. Fortunately the path took me to the top of the steps offering a view of Ladysmead and a way down to the grounds entrance. Fortunately the gate by the clubhouse was opened so I walked in and had a look around and got my bearings in the dry. 

Ladysmead looked just about the perfect non league ground to my eyes. There was a long seated stand along the far touchline. Both ends had covers and a few rows of terracing, which continued to the final side where a roof continued in front of the clubhouse. It was a decent size and all four sides offered covered accommodation.

I walked back towards the town centre in search of the bus station, past the castle and the fine St Peters church. I was most impressed with the tidiness of the town and the amount of maps on display. They obviously cared that people found their way around and appreciated the town. It looked the sort of place I could really enjoy over the course of a pleasant afternoon.

I had a twenty minutes wait for the bus to Taunton, which turned out to be a plush coach. This met very much with my approval as I relaxed near the back in a reclining seat and had a doze. It hadn't met with the same enthusiasm with the elderly residents as they struggled up the steps, and there was no bell to ring when they neared their stop. 

Fortunately the driver was a kind man with a sense of humour and this soon won the hearts of his passengers. Despite the awful weather I really liked Tiverton, the area around it and the friendly people. I really should make an effort to return.