Nunhead Football Club were an

English football Football is the most popular sport in England. Widely regarded as the birthplace of modern football, the first official rules of the game were established in England in 1863. The country is home to the world's first football league, the oldest ...

club from

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

Greater London Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...

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

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, 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 ...

in 1923 and the

Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional Association football, football league covering Greater London, East of England, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, th ...

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 Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

second round, losing 2–1 to

Poole Poole () is a coastal town and seaport on the south coast of England in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area in Dorset, England. The town is east of Dorchester, Dorset, Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east ...

. 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 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. Nicknamed the "R ...

. 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 career with Middlesex. As a footballer, he played as a winger and spent most of his ca ...

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 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

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, 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 (the FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest footb ...

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 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 (formerly Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School) is a 4–18 boys Independent school (United Kingdom) in Elstree, Hertfordshire, England. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. The school wa ...

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 Association football, footballer who played for West Ham United F.C., West Ham United as a left-half. Cadwell was born in Edmonton, London, and joined West Ham from Nunhead F.C. ...

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 1929–30 seasons. He was ...

- Ellis is the only player ever to win international honours while with Nunhead. Ellis made his debut as one of 'The Unknowns' to face Scotland at Ibrox in 1930. The team was so-called because English Football League clubs refused to release their Welsh players for the fixture and so players with Welsh clubs were drafted in. Nine of the starting XI made their international debuts in the match, under the captaincy of

Fred Keenor Frederick Charles Keenor (31 July 1894 – 19 October 1972) was a Welsh professional footballer. He began his career at his hometown side Cardiff City after impressing the club's coaching staff in a trial match in 1912 organised by his former ...

. They held the strong Scottish team to a remarkable 1-1 draw. Ellis retained his place for the following match against England at

The Racecourse The Racecourse is an open area on the River Wear in Durham, England of total that has been used as a sports ground since at least 1733. It forms part of Durham University's sports facilities as well as hosting local sports clubs. The Racecour ...

, a 0-4 defeat. Ellis later won a third and final cap in 1932 having since moved to Oswestry FC. *

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 footballer who played for Arsenal. He was part of the Arsenal sides that won the FA Charity Shield in 1933 and 1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The Internat ...

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