Horden Community Welfare Football Club, usually abbreviated to Horden CW is a football club based in
Horden
Horden is a village and electoral ward in County Durham, England. It is situated on the North Sea coast, to the east of Peterlee, approximately 12 miles south of Sunderland. Horden was a mining village until the closure of the Horden Collier ...
,
County Durham,
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 ...
. The club was formed as Horden Colliery Welfare in 1908 and joined the
North Eastern League
The North Eastern League was an association football league for teams in the North East of England.
The league was founded in 1906 and was initially successful, with teams defecting from the rival Northern Football Alliance to play. Although so ...
in 1935, reaching the second round of the
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 ...
in the 1938–39 season. After the assets of the original Colliery Welfare were transferred to
a new club in Darlington in 2016, Community Welfare was formed in 2017 and has regained the former club's place in the Northern League.
They are currently members of the and play at Welfare Park in Horden. The ground has one stand, which consists of mainly seating, however below this there is some terracing as well.
History
Horden Colliery Welfare jointed the
North Eastern League
The North Eastern League was an association football league for teams in the North East of England.
The league was founded in 1906 and was initially successful, with teams defecting from the rival Northern Football Alliance to play. Although so ...
in 1935, winning it in 1938.
When that league collapsed in 1958 they spent several years with brief periods in a number of leagues: the
Midland League
The Midland Football League is an English football league that was founded in 2014 by the merger of the former Midland Alliance and Midland Combination. The league has four divisions that sit at levels 9–12 of the football pyramid.
History ...
, the
Northern Counties League
The North Eastern League was an association football league for teams in the North East of England.
The league was founded in 1906 and was initially successful, with teams defecting from the rival Northern Football Alliance to play. Although s ...
, the reformed North Eastern League (which they won in 1964), and 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 (or levels 11 to 13) of the National League System and is a feeder to the Northern League Divi ...
, before being elected to the
Northern League Northern League may refer to:
Sport
Baseball
* Northern League (baseball, 1902–71), a name used by several minor leagues that operated in the upper midwestern U.S. and Manitoba from 1902 to 1971
* Northern League (baseball, 1993–2010), an indep ...
in 1975.
Horden finished third in the
Northern League Division One
The Northern League is a men's football league in north east England. Having been founded in 1889, it is the second-oldest football league in the world still in existence after the English Football League.
It contains two divisions; Division ...
in 1980 and 1983 and in 1984 beat
Blyth Spartans
Blyth Spartans Association Football Club is a football club based in Blyth, Northumberland. They are currently members of and play at Croft Park.
They were founded in September 1899 by Fred Stoker, who was the club's first secretary before ...
in the League Cup final under former Middlesbrough coach John Coddington.
There is a great FA cup tradition at Welfare Park, a run to the second round in 1938–1939 when they lost 3–2 at home to
Newport County, and five more first round appearances. All brought narrow defeats against
Southport F.C.
Southport Football Club is an association football club based in Southport, Merseyside. They play their home matches at Haig Avenue, which has a capacity of 5,414. They are known by their nickname "the Sandgrounders". The club's m ...
(1948, 1–2),
Accrington Stanley
Accrington Stanley Football Club is a professional association football club based in Accrington, Lancashire, England. The club competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They have spent their complete histor ...
(1952, 1–2),
Wrexham F.C. (1953, 0–1),
Scunthorpe United
Scunthorpe United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England. The side currently competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The tea ...
(1954, 0–1) and
Blackpool F.C.
Blackpool Football Club is a professional association football club based in the seaside town of Blackpool, Lancashire, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1887, th ...
(1981, 0–1). In 1985 Horden CW faced the biggest challenge of their history when the club was relegated and around the same time Horden Colliery closed. The impact of the pit closure on the community and the loss of the club's main sponsor meant that Horden CW found life a struggle, but in the late 1990s under the management of Peter Todd and later Kevin Taylor things started to look up. Still, Horden spent all but 5 seasons from 1986 to 2013 in the second division of the Northern League, which they won once in 2009.
On 21 July 2010, Martin Wilson, a 24-year-old businessman, took over the club. He was believed to be the youngest Chairman in the Football Pyramid. Under the new direction of Wilson, the club aimed to re-brand itself in an attempt to make the club more appealing to younger supporters. However in November 2010 Mr Wilson left the club leaving, and previous owner Norman Stephens regained his place as Chairman of the club once again. Horden were later relegated to the Wearside League in 2013.
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) for unknown reasons. On 29 January of that year, a court case upheld the council's decision and the club was ordered to vacate by 25 February 2016 as well as awarding them legal costs. In October 2016, it was announced that Horden would move 30 miles to Darlington to become the reserve team of
National League North
The National League North, formerly Conference North, is a division of the National League in England, immediately below the National League division. Along with the National League South, it is at the second level of the National League Sy ...
club
Darlington
Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town.
In the 19th century, Darlington under ...
. 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 were retained by Darlington who took Horden's 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 (or levels 11 to 13) of the National League System and is a feeder to the Northern League Divi ...
. 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 has a population of 3,569. By the t ...
on 15 October at Eastbourne Sports Complex.
Following the loss of the original club, Horden Community Welfare were formed in 2017 to bring football back to Welfare Park in the village. Upon their formation, the club were placed into the Durham Alliance League, winning promotion to 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 (or levels 11 to 13) of the National League System and is a feeder to the Northern League Divi ...
in their first season. In 2021, the club was admitted into the
Northern League Northern League may refer to:
Sport
Baseball
* Northern League (baseball, 1902–71), a name used by several minor leagues that operated in the upper midwestern U.S. and Manitoba from 1902 to 1971
* Northern League (baseball, 1993–2010), an indep ...
Division Two.
Famous players with Horden connections include
Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pik ...
striker Bob Taylor, Stan Anderson, the only man to captain each of the North-East's big three. Colin Bell (
Manchester City
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The two ...
and England), Tommy Garrett (Blackpool), Ritchie Norman (
Leicester City
Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the Nation ...
) and Mick Fento (
York City
York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team compete in the National League, at the fifth tier of the English football league sys ...
).
Honours
*
North Eastern League
The North Eastern League was an association football league for teams in the North East of England.
The league was founded in 1906 and was initially successful, with teams defecting from the rival Northern Football Alliance to play. Although so ...
**Champions: 1937–38, 1963–64
*
Northern Football League
The Northern League is a men's football league in north east England. Having been founded in 1889, it is the second-oldest football league in the world still in existence after the English Football League.
It contains two divisions; Division ...
Division Two
**Champions: 2008–09
**Runners-up: 2002–03
Records
*
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 ...
**Second Round
1938–39
*
FA Trophy
The Football Association Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the FA Trophy, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after the English Football Association and competed for primarily by semi-professional teams. The compet ...
**First Round 1970–71, 1972–73, 1979–80, 1981–82, 1983–84, 1984–85
*
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 ...
**Fourth Round 2022–23
Former players
1. Players who have played/managed in the Football League or any foreign equivalent to this level (i.e. fully professional league).
2. Players with full international caps.
3. Players who hold a club record or have captained the club.
*
Tom Baker
Thomas Stewart Baker (born 20 January 1934) is an English actor and writer. He is well known for his portrayal of the fourth incarnation of the Doctor in the science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'' from 1974 to 1981.Scott, Danny. ( ...
*
John Hodgson
References
External links
Horden Colliery Welfare Supporters Club
{{Northern League (football)
Football clubs in England
Football clubs in County Durham
Association football clubs established in 1908
1908 establishments in England
North Eastern League
Wearside Football League
Northern Football League
Mining association football teams in England