Codicote Football Club is a
football club based in
Codicote
Codicote is a large village, and civil parish about south of Hitchin in Hertfordshire, England. It has timber-framed and chequered brick houses, of special interest being the 18th-century Pond House and the half-timbered Taverners Place (form ...
, near
Hitchin
Hitchin () is a market town and unparished area in the North Hertfordshire district in Hertfordshire, England, with an estimated population of 35,842.
History
Hitchin is first noted as the central place of the Hicce people, a tribe holding 300 ...
, Hertfordshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at the John Clements Memorial Ground.
History
The club was established in 1913 and joined the Eastern Division of the
Hertfordshire County League
The Hertfordshire Senior County League is a football competition based in Hertfordshire, England. Founded in 1898, there are currently two divisions at senior level and two divisions at reserve and development level. Sitting at step 7 of the Nat ...
in the same year.
[Mike Williams & Tony Williams (2012) ''Non-League Club Directory 2013'', p767 ] They had only one season in the league before the outbreak of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
, but returned to the Eastern Division when football resumed in 1919, finishing bottom of the division in the 1919–20 season.
[ They were moved into the North & East Division when the league was reorganised in 1921, and finished bottom of the division for the next two seasons. In 1923 the league was reduced to a single division, with the club again finishing bottom in 1923–24. The league was disbanded in 1925, only to be reformed in 1927 (with Codicote as members) and disbanded again in 1928.][
Codicote subsequently joined the North Hertfordshire League,][Club History]
Codicote F.C. They won Division One in 1929–30 and the Greg Cup in 1932–33.[Honours]
Codicote F.C. After World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
they won the Division Two League Cup in 1949–50 and again in 1968–69, a season in which they were also Division Two champions.[ The club won Division One in 1974–75 and the Premier Division in 1977–78.][ By the mid-1980s they were back in Division One, winning the Division One League Cup in 1984–85.][ The 1989–90 season saw them win the Division One League Cup, the Benevolent Shield and the Greg Cup.][
In 1993 the club were promoted to Division One the Hertfordshire Senior County League. Although they left the league in 2001, they returned to Division One in 2002. After finishing third in 2003–04, they were promoted to the Premier Division.][ A third-place finish in 2011–12 saw them promoted to Division One of the Spartan South Midlands League.][ In 2018–19 they finished second-from-bottom of Division One and were relegated to Division Two.
]
Ground
The club plays at the John Clements Memorial Ground. The ground was named for John Clements, a headmaster at Sherrardswood School in nearby Welwyn Garden City
Welwyn Garden City ( ) is a town in Hertfordshire, England, north of London. It was the second garden city in England (founded 1920) and one of the first new towns (designated 1948). It is unique in being both a garden city and a new town an ...
who was killed in a fire at a ski resort in in 1976 whilst rescuing other. Clements was born in Codicote and was subsequently awarded the George Cross
The George Cross (GC) is the highest award bestowed by the British government for non-operational gallantry or gallantry not in the presence of an enemy. In the British honours system, the George Cross, since its introduction in 1940, has be ...
. During the 1990s Knebworth
Knebworth is a village and civil parish in the north of Hertfordshire, England, immediately south of Stevenage. The civil parish covers an area between the villages of Datchworth, Woolmer Green, Codicote, Kimpton, Whitwell, St Paul's Walden an ...
also played at the ground.[Peter Miles (1997) ''The Non-League Football Grounds of Hertfordshire'', p32]
With the club aiming to move up to the Spartan South Midlands League and spectator facilities being limited to a small covered stand between the two dugouts, Codicote spent two years groundsharing at Hertford Town's Hertingfordbury Park and then several years at Hatfield Town's Gosling Sports Park in Welwyn Garden City, before returning to the John Clements Memorial Ground in September 2016 after a new stand had been built.[Leeroy Williams hat-trick ensures happy homecoming for Codicote]
Welwyn Hatfield Times, 19 September 2016
Honours
*North Hertfordshire League
**Premier Division champions 1977–78
**Division One champions 1929–30, 1974–75
**Division Two champions 1968–69
**Greg Cup winners 1932–33, 1974–75, 1989–90[
**Benevolent Shield winners 1974–75, 1989–90][
**Division One League Cup winners 1984–85, 1989–90][
**Division Two League Cup winners 1949–50, 1968–69][
* Herts Centenary Senior Trophy
**Winners 2005–06
*Welwyn Hospital Cup
**Winners 1926–27, 1932–33, 1954–55, 1973–74][
]
Records
*Best FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competit ...
performance: Preliminary round, 2014–15[
*Best ]FA Vase
The Football Association Challenge Vase, usually referred to as the FA Vase, is an annual football competition for teams playing in Steps 5 and 6 of the English National League System (or equivalently, tier 9 or 10 of the overall English footb ...
performance: First round, 2008–09, 2012–13[
]
See also
*Codicote F.C. players
Codicote is a large village, and civil parish about south of Hitchin in Hertfordshire, England. It has timber-framed and chequered brick houses, of special interest being the 18th-century Pond House and the half-timbered Taverners Place (form ...
*Codicote F.C. managers
Codicote is a large village, and civil parish about south of Hitchin in Hertfordshire, England. It has timber-framed and chequered brick houses, of special interest being the 18th-century Pond House and the half-timbered Taverners Place (form ...
References
External links
*
{{coord, 51, 51, 19.62, N, 0, 14, 04.42, W, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title
Football clubs in England
Football clubs in Hertfordshire
Association football clubs established in 1913
1913 establishments in England
North Hertfordshire League
Hertfordshire Senior County League
Spartan South Midlands Football League
Codicote