Colchester Town Football club was an amateur

football club A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an all- ...

based in

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colc ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

, England. Established in 1873, the club folded in 1937 after the formation of

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its earl ...

History

Colchester Football Club was established in October 1873 as an association football club. In 1876 the club resolved to change to rugby union rules, but played under both codes for a season, and were subsequently founder members of the

Essex FA The Essex County Football Association, also simply known as the ''Essex FA'', is the governing body of football in the county of Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridge ...

in 1882.Blakeman, M (2010) ''The Official History of the Eastern Counties Football League 1935–2010, Volume II'' They were the first winners of the

Essex Senior Cup The Essex Senior Cup is a knock-out system football competition that has been running since 1884, and is the most prestigious cup competition in the county of Essex. The competition is run mainly for non-League clubs in the region, although le ...

, defeating Braintree 3–1 in the final. In 1890 Colchester Excelsior merged into the club. The club played in the Colchester Borough League, which they won in 1894–95 but then withdrew at the end of the season. In 1899 the club was renamed Colchester Town and entered the North Essex League, in which they played for two seasons, winning it in both. They returned to the Borough League in 1901. Despite almost folding after losing their ground in 1902, they finished as runners-up in 1902–03, by which time the league had been renamed the Colchester & District League. At the end of the season they also joined the South East Anglian League, which they played in until 1910, winning it in 1906–07. The following season they won the Colchester & District League. In 1910 they joined the

South Essex League The South Essex League was a football league that was held in Essex and East London. History The league was formed for the 1892–93 season. Only four clubs in the league managed to fulfill all their fixtures, with Barking Excelsior winning the ...

, continuing to play in the Essex & Suffolk Border League (as the Colchester & District League had been renamed in 1911), and also rejoined the East Anglian League (formerly the South East Anglian League) in 1912. In 1912–13 they were champions of all three leagues, and retained the East Anglian League title the following season. After

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, ...

the club left the East Anglian League, but continued to play in the South Essex and Essex & Suffolk Border leagues. In 1921 they left the South Essex League, but the following year they joined the Middlesex League, winning it in their only season. In 1923–24 the club won the Border League, and a year later joined 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 ...

. In 1935 they were founder members 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 ...

. Two years later they left to establish the Essex County League. However, Town's poor performances in the ECL had convinced supporters that the club should turn professional like nearby

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn professio ...

. Officials at the club were against the idea, resulting in a new professional club, Colchester United, being formed in March 1937, which would also play at Layer Road. United joined the Southern League and crowds at Town matches quickly dwindled. In December United formed a reserve team, signing many Town players. As a result of this and financial problems (the club were £300 in debt), they folded in the same month.

Grounds

The club initially played at Cambridge Road, a ground which was shared by the local

lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensi ...

club. In 1902 the ground was built on, so the club moved to Reed Hall, not playing a home match in the 1902–03 season until 6 December. In 1903–04 they played at Drury Lodge on the junction of Drury Road and Maldon Road. The following season they moved to Spaldings Meadow in Albert Road, before moving to the Oval in Sheepen Road in 1908. A brief period at the Oval in Water Lane was followed by a move to

Layer Road Layer Road was a Football League stadium in Colchester, England. It was only used for football matches and was the home ground of Colchester United before being replaced by the Colchester Community Stadium. The stadium held spectators and wa ...

in April 1903. The ground had been the home of the 4th Battalion King's Royal Rifle Corps team since 1906. During

the ground was handed over to the army for use as a drill ground. Seven Town players were killed in action during the war, a tablet with their names inscribed on it was hung in the changing rooms. They were: *Lieutenant Charles Carrington (Durham Light Infantry, 5th Btn) *Private Will Chaplin (Suffolk Regiment, 4th Btn) *Sgt T E Ellison *Lance Corporal Albert Edward Pitchford (Royal Suffolk Regiment, 2nd Btn) *Acting Bombardier Arthur Knox (Royal Horse Artillery, 1st/1st Essex Bde) *AB W Boyle *Sapper T W Bagley (Royal Engineers, "L" Signal Bn). In 1919 the club bought the ground. The main stand (which remained until the ground closed) was opened in 1933. After the club folded, Colchester United took over the ground, where they remained until moving to the

Colchester Community Stadium Colchester Community Stadium, known for sponsorship reasons as the JobServe Community Stadium, is a football stadium in Colchester, England. It is the home of Colchester United Football Club. It has a capacity of 10,105 and opened in August 2 ...

in 2008.

Colours

The club originally played in red and white caps, jerseys, and stockings, but in 1875 changed to light blue, which the club wore into the 1880s.

Honours

*Essex & Suffolk Border League **Champions 1894–95, 1907–08, 1912–13, 1923–24 *North Essex League **Champions 1899–1900, 1900–01 *South East Anglian League **Champions 1906–07 *South Essex League **Champions 1912–13 *East Anglian League **Champions 1912–13, 1913–14 *Middlesex League **Champions 1922–23 *Essex Senior Cup **Winners 1883–84 *East Anglian Cup **Winners 1906–07

References

{{reflist Defunct football clubs in England Association football clubs established in 1873 Association football clubs disestablished in 1937 Defunct football clubs in Essex Sport in Colchester Essex and Suffolk Border Football League East Anglian League Spartan League Eastern Counties Football League 1873 establishments in England 1937 disestablishments in England South Essex League North Essex League