Billericay Town Football Club is a football club based in Billericay, Essex, England. The club are currently members of the Isthmian League Premier Division, the seventh tier of English football, and play at New Lodge. They are the second most successful club in FA Vase history, having won the competition on three occasions.
History
The club was established as Billericay Football Club in 1880.[3] They joined the Romford & District League in 1890, where the club played until World War I.[4] They also started playing in the Mid-Essex League, winning Division Two in 1912–13, 1931–32 and 1932–33.[5] The club remained in the Mid-Essex League until joining the Southern Essex Combination League in 1947.[6] In 1946 they adopted their current name.[3] In 1966 the club were founder members of the Essex Olympian League.[6] The 1969–70 season saw them win the league and League Cup double, a feat they repeated the following season.[4] Following their back-to-back titles, the club became founder members of the Essex Senior League in 1971, finishing as runners-up in its first season and winning the title in 1972–73.[6]
After finishing as runners-up again, Billericay won back-to-back league titles in 1974–75 and 1975–76. The latter season also saw them reach the final of the FA Vase and beat Stamford 1–0 at Wembley,[6] as well as a first Essex Senior Cup title when they beat Epping Town 3–2 in the final.[4] Although they only finished third in 1976–77, they retained the FA Vase, beating Sheffield 2–1 in a replay at the City Ground in Nottingham after a 1–1 draw at Wembley.[6] In 1977 the club switched to the Athenian League, which they won at the first attempt. The 1978–79 season saw them retain their Athenian League title and win a third FA Vase in four seasons, beating Almondsbury Greenway 4–1 in the final,[6] with Doug Young becoming the only player to score a hat-trick in an FA Vase final at the old Wembley.[7] The following season saw them move up to Division Two of the Isthmian League, which they also won at the first attempt, earning promotion to Division One.
Billericay's success continued in 1980–81 as they finished as runners-up in Division One and were promoted to the Premier Division,[6] the first time back-to-back promotions had been achieved in the league by a new club.[4] The club remained in the Premier Division until being relegated to Division One at the end of the 1985–86 season. This began a spell as a yo-yo club, as they were relegated to Division Two North at the end of the 1988–89 season. The club were placed in Division Two in 1991 after league restructuring, before being promoted back to Division One in 1992–93 and then to the Premier Division in 1997–98 after finishing as Division One runners-up.[6] The 1997–98 season also saw them reach the first round of the FA Cup for the first time, losing 3–2 at home to fellow non-League club Wisbech Town.[6]
In 2004–05 Billericay reached the first round of the FA Cup again, losing 1–0 at home to Stevenage Borough.[6] They also finished as Premier Division runners-up, qualifying for the promotion play-offs. However, the club were beaten 2–0 at home by Leyton in the semi-finals.[8] A fourth-place finish in 2006–07 saw them qualify for the play-offs again, this time beating local rivals Chelmsford City 5–3 on penalties in the semi-finals after a 1–1 draw, before losing 4–2 on penalties to Bromley in the final following another 1–1 draw.[9] In 2007–08 they qualified for the first round of the FA Cup again, losing 2–1 at home to Swansea City.[6]
In 2010–11 Billericay won the Essex Senior Cup for a second time, beating Aveley 2–0 in the final.[4] The following season saw the club win the Premier Division, earning promotion to the Conference South. However, they were relegated back to the Isthmian League the following season after finishing second-from-bottom of the Conference South.[6] In December 2016 the club was taken over by Glenn Tamplin, who funded several high-profile signings including Jamie O'Hara, Jermaine Pennant and Paul Konchesky.[10] They won the Isthmian League Cup in 2016–17, beating Tonbridge Angels 8–3 in the final. The club reached the first round of the FA Cup for a fourth time in 2017–18, drawing 1–1 at Leatherhead in the first match and losing the replay 3–1. The season also saw them retain the League Cup, beating Metropolitan Police 5–3 in the final, as well as winning the Premier Division title, earning promotion to the National League South. Tamplin announced that he was leaving the club in September 2019.
Another FA Cup first round appearance in 2018–19 saw Billericay lose 3–1 at home to Chesterfield in a replay.[11] The club finished bottom of the National League South in 2021–22 and were relegated to the Premier Division of the Isthmian League.[12]
Ground
New Lodge in 2018Harry Parker Stand
Archer Hall became the club's permanent home ground during the 1930s, although it remained an unenclosed pitch.[13] In 1970 the club moved to New Lodge, which had previously been a sports ground used by Outwell Common Football Club.[14] The ground was enclosed using a loan from Basildon Borough Council and Charrington Brewery and dressing rooms and a clubhouse were built.[13] During the 1970s a covered standing area was built on the clubhouse side of the pitch, which became known as the Cowshed.[13] Temporary seated stands loaned from Essex County Cricket Club were later installed on the other side of the pitch.[13] In 1977 the club won a set of floodlights by winning the Philips Electrical Floodlight Competition final against Friar Lane Old Boys,[15] a six-a-side tournament played at the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre the day after their FA Vase final against Sheffield.[4] The floodlights were inaugurated with a friendly match against West Ham United, which attracted a then-record crowd of 3,841.[16]
In 1980 a permanent 120-seat stand was built between the Cowshed and the clubhouse; its shape led to it becoming known as the Pacman stand.[13][14] During the 1980s a 200-seat stand was built on the side that had previously hosted the temporary seating, with the supporters club erecting several small areas of terracing.[13] In 1995 Billericay bought two stands that had been in use at Newbury Town's Faraday Road ground after the club went bust. One was installed next to the Cowshed and the other at the Blunts Wall End, with seats later installed in the Blunts Wall End stand.[13] The new stand adjacent to the Cowshed was soon moved to the other end of the pitch.[13] An area of covered terracing was added alongside the 200-seat stand.[14] Chelmsford City groundshared at New Lodge between 1998 and 2005.[17] In 2002 the club announced plans to move to a new 4,000-capacity stadium at Gloucester Park. However, the relocation was scrapped by new chairman Steve Kent in 2004.[18] By the summer of 2017 the ground had a capacity of 3,500, of which 424 was seated and 2,000 was covered.[16]
In the summer of 2017 New Lodge was completely redeveloped. Covered terraces were built at both ends of the ground covering the full width of the pitch; a new seated stand was built next to the clubhouse where the Pacman stand and Cowshed had previously been located, and was named the Harry Parker Stand. On the other side of the pitch the seating was extended to the full length of the pitch.[13] The ground's capacity was raised to around 5,000 with 2,000 seated. A friendly match against West Ham on 8 August 2017 attracted a record crowd of 4,582.[13]
1969-70 Murrell Cup winners 1969-70 Essex Olympian League champions 1970-71 Kershaw Challenge Cup winners 1970-71 Essex Olympian League Cup winners 1970-71 Essex Olympian League champions 1971-72 Essex Olympian League Challenge Cup (shared) 1971-72 Essex Senior League runners-up 1971-72 Essex Senior League Challenge Cup winners 1972-73 Essex Senior League Champions 1972-73 Essex Senior League Cup winners 1972-73 Essex Senior League Challenge Cup winners 1973-74 Essex Senior League runners-Up 1973-74 Essex Senior League Challenge Cup winners 1974-75 Essex Senior League champions 1974-75 Essex Senior League Cup runners-up 1974-75 J. T. Clark Memorial Trophy winners 1975-76 Essex Senior League champions 1975-76 F.A. Vase winners 1975-76 Essex Senior Cup winners 1975-76 J. T. Clark Memorial Trophy winners 1976-77 F.A. Vase winners 1976-77 Essex Senior League Cup winners 1976-77 J. T. Clark Memorial Trophy winners 1977-78 Athenian League champions 1977-78 Athenian League Cup winners 1977-78 Essex Senior Trophy winners 1977-78 J. T. Clark Memorial Trophy winners
