St. Margaretsbury Football Club is a
football club based in
Stanstead Abbotts
Stanstead Abbotts (alternatively Stanstead Abbots) is a village and civil parish in the district of East Hertfordshire, Hertfordshire, England; it lies on the county boundary with Essex. At the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 1,983. ...
, near
Ware
Ware may refer to:
People
* Ware (surname)
* William of Ware (), English Franciscan theologian
Places Canada
* Fort Ware, British Columbia
United Kingdom
*Ware, Devon
*Ware, Hertfordshire
* Ware, Kent
United States
* Ware, Elmore County, A ...
,
Hertfordshire,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
. They are currently members of the and play at the Recreation Ground.
History
The club was established in 1894 as Stanstead Abbots.
[ They joined the East Herts League, later transferring to the Hertford & District League.][ In 1921 the club entered the North & East Division of the ]Hertfordshire Senior 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 Na ...
.[ The club then returned to the district leagues, including the Waltham & District League,][ before rejoining the Hertfordshire Senior County League in 1947, becoming members of Division Two. They went on to win the Division Two title in 1948–49, earning promotion to Division One.][
Stanstead Abbots remained in Division One until 1955, when they were placed in Division One B for a transitional season. After finishing seventh of the twelve clubs, they were placed in Division One (now the second tier below the Premier Division) for the following season.][ In 1962 the club were renamed St. Margaretsbury after moving to the St Margaretsbury Recreation Ground.][ After finishing as runners-up in Division One in 1969–70, they were promoted to the Premier Division, where they remained until being relegated at the end of the 1973–74 season, having finished second-from-bottom of the division.][
St. Margaretsbury were relegated to Division One at the end of the 1987–88 season, but were promoted back to the Premier Division after finishing third in Division One in 1990–91.][ In 1992 the club moved up to the Premier Division of the ]Spartan League
The Spartan League was a football league in England covering London and adjacent counties. Established in 1907, it merged with the South Midlands League in 1997 to form the Spartan South Midlands League.
History
The Spartan League was establi ...
. After winning the Herts Senior Centenary Trophy in 1992–93,[ they were Premier Division runners-up in 1994–95, before winning the league title the following season.][ When the league merged with the ]South Midlands League
The South Midlands League was a football league covering Bedfordshire and some adjoining counties in England. It was founded in 1922 as the Bedfordshire County League and merged with the Spartan League in 1997 to form the Spartan South Midla ...
to form the Spartan South Midlands League
The Spartan South Midlands Football League is an English football league covering Hertfordshire, northwest Greater London, central Buckinghamshire and southern Bedfordshire. It is a feeder to the Southern Football League or the Isthmian League, ...
in 1997, the club were placed in the Premier South Division for a transitional season that ended with a ninth-place finish (enough to secure a place in the Premier Division for the following season) and victory in the final of the Herts Charity Shield.[
Prior to the 2018–19 season, due to regional changes imposed by the FA, St. Margaretsbury fell into a different catchment area and were transferred from the Spartan South Midlands League to the ]Essex Senior League
The Essex Senior Football League is an English men's football league. It contains clubs from the Essex FA, Hertfordshire FA, London FA, Middlesex FA and the Amateur Football Alliance. It is a feeder league to Division One North of the Isthm ...
. They finished second-from-bottom of the Essex Senior League in 2021–22 and were relegated to Division One South of the Eastern Counties League
The Eastern Counties Football League, currently known as the Thurlow Nunn League for sponsorship purposes, is an English football league at levels 9 and 10 of the English football league system. It currently contains clubs from Norfolk, Suffol ...
.
Ground
The club originally played at Mill Field in Stanstead Abbots, before moving to the Recreation Ground in 1962.[St Margaretsbury]
Pyramid Passion The site had originally been owned by the Croft family, who sold it to the parish councils of Stanstead Abbotts, Great Amwell
Great Amwell is a village and civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district, in the county of Hertfordshire, England. It is southeast of Ware and about north of London.
History
On a hill above the church there are some traces of an Iron A ...
and St Margarets with the requirement that it be used for sport and recreation.[ The club initially shared a pitch with the ]cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...
club, meaning that only three sides were railed off for spectators, with facilities limited to a single wooden stand.[Peter Miles (1997) ''The Non-League Football Grounds of Hertfordshire'', p27] However, in the mid-2000s the football club moved to a new pitch nearby, installing two seated stands and floodlights.[
]
Honours
*Spartan League
**Premier Division champions 1995–96
*Hertfordshire Senior County League
**Division Two champions 1948–49
*Herts Senior Centenary Trophy
**Winners 1992–93
*Herts Charity Shield
**Winners 1997–98
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: Third qualifying round, 2001–02, 2003–04[
*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: Third round, 1985–86, 2014–15, 2016–17[
*Record attendance: 450 vs ]Stafford Rangers
Stafford Rangers Football Club is a semi-professional English football team from Stafford which plays in the Northern Premier League Premier Division.
The team wear black and white stripes with black shorts. Stafford Rangers' rivals include T ...
, FA Cup third qualifying round, 2001–02[
]
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Margaretsbury FC
Football clubs in England
Football clubs in Hertfordshire
Association football clubs established in 1894
1894 establishments in England
Hertford and District Football League
Hertfordshire Senior County League
Spartan League
Spartan South Midlands Football League
Essex Senior Football League
Eastern Counties Football League