Darlington Town is a football club based in

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...

, in

County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. The club was formed in 2018, taking the place in the

Wearside League The Wearside Football League is a non-league football competition based in northern England. It consists of three divisions which sits at steps 7 to 9 of the National League System (levels 11 to 13 of the Football pyramid) and is a feeder to the ...

of the reserve side for

Darlington F.C. Darlington Football Club is an association football club based in Darlington, County Durham, England. As of the 2024-25 season, the team competes in the National League North, at the sixth level of English football. The club was founded in 188 ...

, which itself had formed by the movement in 2016 of Horden Colliery Welfare F.C. to Darlington. They are currently members of the EBAC Northern League Division 2 and play at Eastbourne Community Stadium in

History

Horden Colliery Welfare had been formed in 1908, and had competed from 1975 until 2013 in the Northern League, but were relegated to the Wearside League at the end of the 2012–13 season. In 2016, Horden Parish Council demanded that the club vacate their ground at Horden Welfare Park (where the club has been based since their inception in 1908). On 29 January of that year, a court case upheld the council's decision and the club has been ordered to vacate by 25 February 2016 as well as awarding them legal costs. In October 2016, in order to save the club, it was announced that Horden would move 30 miles to Darlington to become the Reserve Team of National League North Club

Darlington 1883 Darlington Football Club is an association football club based in Darlington, County Durham, England. As of the 2024-25 season, the team competes in the National League North, at the sixth level of English football. The club was founded in 188 ...

. The changed their name to Darlington 1883 Reserves and play on the 4G Surface at Eastbourne Sports Complex in Darlington. Horden Chairman Norman Stephens said 'If the move had not have happened, Horden would have been dead by Xmas'. Norman Stephens and some of the playing staff have been retained by Darlington who took Horden's place in the

. They played their first game under the new name on 6 October in a 1–0 away defeat to Boldon C.A. and played their first home game against

Annfield Plain Annfield Plain is a village in County Durham, in England. It is situated on a plateau between the towns of Stanley, to the north-east, and Consett, to the west. According to the 2001 census, Annfield Plain had a population of 3,569. By the tim ...

on 15 October at Eastbourne Sports Complex. The club signed its first international player in January 2018 when Gibraltar under-21 player Richie Parral joined the club. In 2018, the club separated from Darlington 1883, and became known as Darlington Town, taking the reserve team's place in the Wearside League. They won their first championship in 2021, taking the league with a 19–0 victory over

. In May 2024, Town moved to a different pitch at the Eastbourne Complex, complete with a seated stand, allowing them to be promoted to the

Northern Football League The Northern League is a British men's association football, football league in North East England, north east England. Having been founded in 1889, it is the second-oldest football league in the world still in existence after the English Footb ...

Second Division for the 2024/5 season. The club no longer wears wear the black and red of Horden CW, but plays in white shirts and black shorts.

Honours

2021–22.

References

External links

{{Coord, 54, 45, 52.06, N, 1, 19, 01.88, W, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title Football clubs in England Football clubs in County Durham Association football clubs established in 2018 Wearside Football League Northern Football League