Nunhead Football Club were an

English football Association football is the most popular sport in England, where the first modern set of rules for the code were established in 1863, which were a major influence on the development of the modern Laws of the Game (association football), Laws of ...

club from

Nunhead Nunhead is a suburb in the London Borough of Southwark in London, England.Southwark Council Nunhead and Peckham Rye Community Council It is an inner-city suburb located southeast of Charing Cross. It is the location of the Nunhead Cemetery.BBC ...

Greater London Greater may refer to: * Greatness, the state of being great *Greater than, in inequality * ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film * Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record * "Greater" (song), by MercyMe, 2014 * Greater Bank, an Austra ...

. The club were prominent in southern English non-league football prior to

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 ...

, but ceased all playing activities at the end of the 1940–41 season, and formally folded in 1949.

History

Founded as Wingfield House in 1888, the club won the Southern Suburban League Division One in 1903, becoming a senior team in the process. In 1904, the club changed its name to Nunhead, after merging with Honour Oak. The 1920s and 1930s were probably the most successful period in the club's history, with the team winning the

London Senior Cup The London Senior Cup is the County Senior Cup of the London FA. The London Senior Cup was first won by Upton Park in 1882. Although the leading professional sides in London no longer compete, the Cup has been won in the past by the likes of A ...

in 1923 and the

Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional men's football league covering Greater London, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, the league now consists of 82 tea ...

championship twice in successive seasons in 1928–29 and 1929–30. During the 1926–27 season, Nunhead reached 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 ...

second round, losing 2–1 to

Poole Poole () is a large coastal town and seaport in Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east. Since 1 April 2019, the local authority is Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council ...

. The campaign was also notable for Nunhead setting a record for the highest margin of victory by a non-league side in an FA Cup round proper match when they beat

Kingstonian Kingstonian Football Club is an English semi-professional football club based in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London which currently plays in the Isthmian League Premier Division. The club was founded in 1885 by YMCA ...

9–0 in the first round. In the 1931–32 season Nunhead were on the receiving end of that same nine goal margin of victory record when they lost 9–0 in the FA Cup first round to

Bath City Bath City Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Bath, Somerset, England. The club is affiliated to the Somerset FA and currently competes in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football. The club have ...

. In the mid-1930s

Denis Compton Denis Charles Scott Compton (23 May 1918 – 23 April 1997) was an English multi-sportsman. As a cricketer he played in 78 Test matches and spent his whole cricket career with Middlesex. As a footballer, he played as a winger and spent most o ...

played for the club. He would go on to play for

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

and

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

Second World War 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 ...

, the termination by the landlords of the club's lease on Brown's Ground, and other financial difficulties led to the end of the club. Day-to-day operations and all playing activities ceased at the end of the 1940–41 season, with the club surviving only on paper until 1949 when they officially resigned from

the Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world ...

and folded. In 2019, 80 years after the club had folded, a group of Nunhead residents began fundraising for charity in the name of Nunhead Football Club. To celebrate the 90th anniversary of Nunhead's consecutive Isthmian League title wins, a visual archive of the club's history was published online.

Ground

Whilst still known as Wingfield House, the club played at Wavertree Road in

Streatham Hill Streatham ( ) is a district in south London, England. Centred south of Charing Cross, it lies mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, with some parts extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. Streatham was in Surrey ...

. In 1904, Nunhead moved to

Forest Hill Forest Hill or Forrest Hill may refer to: Places Australia * Forest Hill, New South Wales, a suburb of Wagga Wagga * Forrest Hill, New South Wales, a suburb of Albury * Forest Hill, Queensland * Forest Hill, Victoria ** Forest Hill Chase Sh ...

to play at the Ivy Ground, before settling at Brown's Ground, formerly used by Southern United, in

upon election to the Isthmian League in 1908. The site of the club's ground now forms part of the playing fields of the Haberdashers' Aske's Federation. As late as the early 1980s the old football club's dressing rooms were used by the

Haberdashers' Aske's Boys School Haberdashers' Boys' School (also known as Haberdashers', Habs, or Habs Boys), until September 2021 known as Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School, is a public school for pupils age 4 to 18 in Elstree, Hertfordshire, England. The school is a mem ...

where they were affectionately referred to as the "Cowsheds".

Notable former players

Albert Cadwell Albert Cadwell (1 November 1900 – 13 July 1944) was an English footballer who played for West Ham United as a left-half. Cadwell was born in Edmonton, London, and joined West Ham from Nunhead during the 1923-24 season, the east London club ...

Emrys Ellis Emrys Ellis (29 June 1904 — 24 June 1981) was a Welsh international footballer. Career Ellis was a school master by profession. He joined non-league Nunhead in 1927, winning the Isthmian League in the 1928–29 and 1929–1930 seasons. He w ...

Les Henley Leslie Henley (26 September 1922 – 1996) was an English footballer and manager. Career Playing Born in Lambeth, London, Henley started his career with non-league Nunhead during the 1939–40 season before joining Arsenal in September 1940. H ...

Sidney Pugh Sidney James Pugh (10 October 1919 – 15 April 1944) was an English professional footballer who played as a half back. Career Pugh was born in Dartford, and spent his early career with Nunhead and Margate. He joined Arsenal in April 1936 and ...

Norman Sidey Norman William Sidey (31 May 1907 – 1969) was an English association football, footballer who played for Arsenal F.C., Arsenal. He was part of the Arsenal sides that won the FA Charity Shield in 1933 FA Charity Shield, 1933 and 1934 FA Charit ...

Honours

**Champions: 1928–29, 1929–30 **Runners-up: 1913–14, 1919–20, 1922–23, 1936–37 *

**Winners: 1923 *

Surrey Senior Cup The Surrey Senior Cup is the senior Saturday cup competition of the Surrey FA. It is currently competed for by teams playing in the top nine levels of the English football league system who are affiliated to the Surrey FA. The competition was i ...

**Winners: 1908 **Runners-up: 1930

References

External links

*{{fchd, id=NUNHEAD, name=Nunhead Association football clubs established in 1888 Association football clubs disestablished in 1949 Defunct football clubs in England Sport in the London Borough of Southwark Defunct football clubs in London Isthmian League clubs 1888 establishments in England 1949 disestablishments in England Nunhead