Barking Football Club is a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club based in Barking,

Greater London Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...

, England. They are currently members of the and play at Mayesbrook Park.

History

The origins of the modern club are unclear, with several potential claims; Barking Institute was either formed around 1896 as Barking Working Lads' Institute (or possibly earlier as Barking Working Men's Institute) or was a renamed Barking Rovers, who had been established in 1880 and later renamed by the Church Institute when they took over running it.Club history
Barking FC They won the Essex Senior Cup in 1893–94 and 1895–96, before becoming champions of Division One of the South Essex League in 1898–99, the Leyton & District League in 1899–1900, Division Two of the South Essex League in 1900–02 and Division Two A in 1901–01, before changing its name to Barking in 1902. They also played in the London League, winning Division One A in 1909–10, before winning the South Essex League again in 1911–12, a season in which they also won the

London Senior Cup The London Senior Cup is the County Senior Cup of the London FA. The London Senior Cup was first won by Upton Park in 1882. Although the leading professional sides in London no longer compete, the Cup has been won in the past by the likes of ...

for the first time. In 1912 Barking became founder members of the

Athenian League The Athenian League was an England, English amateur association football, football league for clubs in and around London. The league was originally to be called the Corinthian League,Athenian Football League minutes 1912-1921 (National Football ...

, but withdrew after only two matches and their record was expunged. In 1919 the club changed its name to Barking Town, going on to win the Essex Senior Cup in the 1919–20 season. The following season they won the Premier Division of the London League and the London Senior Cup, before rejoining the Athenian League in 1923. The 1926–27 season saw them reach the first round of the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

, eventually losing to Gillingham in a replay. They also reached the final of the

FA Amateur Cup The FA Amateur Cup was an English football competition for amateur clubs. It commenced in 1893 and ended in 1974 when the Football Association abolished official amateur status. History Following the legalisation of professionalism within footb ...

, where they lost 3–1 to

Leyton Leyton ( ) is a town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It borders Walthamstow to the north, Leytonstone to the east, and Stratford to the south, with Clapton, Hackney Wick and Homerton, across the Ri ...

, but did win the London Senior Cup for a third time. They reached the first round of the FA Cup again in 1928–29, but lost 6–0 at

Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third level of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...

. In 1932 they reverted to the name Barking, and in 1934–35 won the Athenian League title. Following

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Barking won the 1945–46 Essex Senior Cup. In 1952 they switched to the

Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional Association football, football league covering Greater London, East of England, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, th ...

, but had to wait until 1978–79 before winning the league again; during that period they won further Essex Senior Cup titles in 1962–63 and 1969–70. The 1978–79 season also saw them reach the second round of the

, defeating Yeovil Town in the first round, before losing 2–1 at home to

Aldershot Aldershot ( ) is a town in the Rushmoor district, Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme north-east corner of the county, south-west of London. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Farnborough/Aldershot built-up are ...

, as well as winning the London Senior Cup for a fourth time. The following season they reached the second round again, defeating Third Division

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club () is a professional association football, football club based in Oxford, England. The club compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football league system, English football. Founded as Headingto ...

before losing 3–1 to

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

. In 1981–82 they took Gillingham to a replay in the second round, losing 3–1. Their last appearance in the second round came in 1983–84, when they lost 2–1 at Plymouth Argyle. A seventh Essex Senior Cup final win was achieved in 1989–90. They remained in the Isthmian League Premier Division until relegation to Division One at the end of the 1990–91 season. After finishing bottom in 1995–96 the club was relegated to Division Two. In 2001 Barking ceased to exist when they merged with East Ham United to form Barking & East Ham United. However, when the new club folded in 2006, Barking were re-established and joined the Essex Senior League. In 2016–17 the club won the Essex Senior League, earning promotion to the North Division of the Isthmian League. At the end of the 2018–19 season they were transferred to the South Central Division. In 2021 the club was transferred back to the North Division. They finished second-from-bottom of the division in 2021–22 and were relegated to the Essex Senior League. In 2022–23 the club won the Essex Senior League's Errington Cup, beating Redbridge 5–4 on penalties in the final, following a 1–1 draw.Errington Cup final match report
Essex Senior League The 2023–24 season saw Barking finish fourth in the Essex Senior League, qualifying for the promotion play-offs. They went on to lose 1–0 to

Romford Romford is a large List of places in London, town in east London, east London, England, located northeast of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Havering, the town is one of the major Metropolitan centres of London, metropolitan centr ...

in the semi-finals.

Ground

Barking Institute originally played at the Recreation Ground in Barking Park, before moving to Vicarage Field, which had been in use by Barking Rovers since 1884. Floodlights were installed in 1958 and they were the first Isthmian League club to play a league match under lights. In 1973 the club were forced to leave the ground by the council and moved to Mayesbrook Park. The club brought the floodlights from Vicarage Field and installed a temporary trailer stand on the northern side of the pitch.Jon Weaver (2006) ''The Football Grounds of Essex Metropolitan'', pp7–8 This was later replaced by a permanent stand on the south side with 210 seats and standing for 450. An uncovered terrace was installed behind the western end of the pitch, which had a roof added in 2001 when Barking merged with East Ham United.

Honours

*Isthmian League **Premier Division champions 1978–79 **Dylon Shield winners 1979–80 *Athenian League **Champions 1934–35 *London League **Premier Division champions 1920–21 **Division One A champions 1909–10 *Essex Senior League **Champions 2016–17 **Errington Cup winners 2022–23 **Gordon Brasted Memorial Trophy winners 2014–15Honours
Barking F.C. *South Essex League **Division One champions 1898–99, 1911–12 **Division Two champions 1900–01 **Division Two A champions 1901–02 *Leyton & District League **Champions 1899–1900 *Essex Senior Cup **Winners 1893–94, 1895–96, 1919–20, 1945–46, 1962–63, 1969–70, 1989–90 *London Senior Cup **Winners 1911–12, 1920–21, 1926–27, 1978–79 *

London Charity Cup The London Charity Cup was one of the London Football Association's cup competitions. History The London FA previously ran three senior cup competitions, the London Challenge Cup, the London Senior Cup (known also as the London Senior Amateur C ...

**Winners 1961–62 * East Anglian Cup **Winners 1937–38, 1953–54 (joint) *Essex Thameside Trophy **Winners 1952–53 (joint), 1956–57, 1958–69, 1996–97 *Essex Elizabethan Trophy **Winners 1966–67 *Mithras Cup **Winners 1965–66, 1966–67, 1970–71

Records

*Best

performance: Second round replay, 1981–82 *Best

performance: Runners-up, 1926–27 *Best

FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, also known as the Isuzu FA Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after The Football Association (the FA) and competed by mainly National League ...

performance: Second round, 1979–80 *Best

FA Vase The Football Association Challenge Vase, also known as the Isuzu FA Vase for sponsorship reasons, is an annual football competition run by and named after The Football Association (The FA), for teams playing in Steps 5 and 6 of the English Nation ...

performance: Fifth round, 1996–97 *Record attendance: 1,972 vs

, FA Cup second round, 16 December 1978 *Most appearances: Bob Makin, 566 *Most goals: Neville Fox, 241 (1965–73)

References

External links