Clevedon Town Football Club is a semi-professional football club representing Clevedon, Somerset, England. Affiliated to the Somerset County FA, they are currently members of the Western League Premier Division and play at the Hand Stadium in Kenn.
The club's motto 'vigilate et orate' is Latin for 'watch and pray'.
History
Clevedon Town (wearing blue kit) playing at the Hand Stadium on 26 December 2007
The club was established in 1880 as Clevedon Football Club.[2] They were founder members of the Bristol & District League in 1892, but left after finishing bottom of the league in 1894–95.[3] The club subsequently became members of Division One of the South Bristol & District League, which was renamed the Bristol & District Alliance and then the East Bristol & District League before becoming new Bristol & District League in the late 1890s after the original one had been renamed the Western League. They returned to the Western League in 1910 and finished bottom of the league in 1911–12 and 1912–13. When football resumed after World War I the club were back in the Bristol & District League.[4]
Clevedon transferred to the Bristol & Suburban League in 1925 and went on to win the new league at the first attempt. They were champions again in 1927–28 and 1928–29.[5] In the early 1930s the club transferred to the Somerset County League, going on to win the league in 1936–37.[6] During World War II they played in the Weston-super-Mare & District League, winning it in 1939–40, 1943–44 and 1944–45.[5] After the war the club returned to the Western League, and were placed in Division One when it gained a second division in 1946.[3] However, after finishing second-from-bottom of Division One in 1948–49 the club were relegated to Division Two.[3]
Clevedon remained in Division Two until resigning from the league at the end of the 1957–58 season for financial reasons.[7] They dropped into Division Two of the Bristol Premier Combination and were promoted to Division One after finishing as Division Two runners-up in their first season in the league. In 1974 the club absorbed Western League club Ashtonians, taking their place in the league.[3] When the league expanded again in 1976, they were placed in the Premier Division, and were renamed Clevedon Town the following year.[3]
The 1991–92 season saw Clevedon finish as runners-up in the Premier Division.[8] They were league champions the following season, earning promotion to the Midland Division of the Southern League. The club were transferred to the Southern Division in 1994 and back to the Midland Division in 1998. They went on to win the Midland Division in 1998–99 and were promoted to the Premier Division.[8] However, the club were relegated from the Premier Division at the end of the 2000–01 season, dropping into the renamed Division One West.[8]
A fourth-place finish in 2004–05 saw Clevedon qualify for the promotion playoffs, in which they lost 3–2 to Bromsgrove Rovers in the semi-finals. However, they were Division One West champions the following season and were promoted to the Premier Division.[8] In 2006–07 the club reached the first round of the FA Cup for the first time, losing 4–1 at home to Chester City in front of a record Hand Stadium crowd of 2,261.[8][9] After four seasons in the Premier Division they were relegated to Division One South & West at the end of the 2009–10 season. Although they won the League Cup in 2011–12,[5] the club resigned from the Southern League after the 2014–15 season and dropped into the Premier Division of the Western League.[8]
Ground
The club originally played at Dial Hill, now a cricket ground, before moving to Old Street in 1895. The ground was later renamed Teignmouth Road.[4] They bought the site in 1949,[7] and floodlights were installed in the early 1980s.[2] However, the cost of the lights and a new clubhouse caused financial problems that led to the club selling the ground,[2] with the last match played there on 20 April 1992.[9] Clevedon then relocated to the Hand Stadium, named for the Hand family who had been heavily involved in the club since the 1890s.[2] A 300-seat stand was built on one side of the pitch, with a 1,000-capacity covered terrace on the other.[2]
