East Thurrock United Football Club were a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club based in

Corringham, Essex Corringham is a town and former civil parish in the unitary authority area of Thurrock, in the ceremonial county of Essex, England, located directly next to the town of Stanford-le-Hope, about east of London and south of Basildon. Corringham ...

, England. They last competed in

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 ...

North Division and played at Rookery Hill. The club was placed into liquidation by owner Alfie Best on 1 September 2023. The club stated this was due to historic debts from the previous owners.

History

The club was founded on 27 April 1969 by a group of fans who felt that the area around Corringham and

Stanford-le-Hope Stanford-le-Hope is a town, former civil parish and Church of England parish in the unitary authority area of Thurrock, in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. Often known locally simply as Stanford, the town is located 24 miles (38.4&nbs ...

should have a senior

non-league football Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...

club, following the successful Corringham Social Sunday league team. The new club played in the Southern Essex Combination for the 1969–70 season and finished third in the league, before joining the reserve section of the

Greater London League The Greater London League was a football league for clubs in and around London. It was formed in 1964 by a merger of the London League and the Aetolian League, after the two leagues had run a joint league cup the previous season due to both strug ...

in 1970.Club History
East Thurrock United F.C. They went on to win the division at the first attempt. The league merged with the

Metropolitan League The Metropolitan League was a football league in the south-east of England between 1949 and 1971.Metropolitan–London League The Metropolitan–London League was a short-lived football league for clubs in and around London. It was formed in 1971 by a merger of the Greater London League and the Metropolitan League (which had lost several clubs to the Southern League). I ...

, with East Thurrock remaining in the reserve division. After winning the division in 1971–72, they moved up to the senior divisions, joining Division Two. They also won this division at the first attempt and were promoted to Division One. After the league merged with 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 ...

to form the

London Spartan League The Spartan League was a Association football, 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 Football League, Spartan So ...

in 1975, East Thurrock were placed in Division Two.London Spartan League 1975–1987
Non-League Matters They remained in Division Two until restructuring saw them moved into the Premier Division in 1978. In 1979 the club switched 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 Isthmia ...

. In 1988–89 they won the League Cup, a feat they repeated in 1991–92, a season that also saw them finish third in the league, earning promotion to Division Three of the

. In 1999–2000 they were Division Three champions, earning promotion to Division Two. Two seasons later they were placed in Division One North upon league reorganisation, before being moved into the Eastern Division of the Southern League for the 2004–05 season as part of wider restructuring of the non-League pyramid. After finishing as Eastern Division runners-up in the first season, they were promoted and moved back to the Isthmian League, joining its Premier Division. East Thurrock were relegated back to Division One North of the Isthmian League at the end of the 2007–08 season following a one-point deduction for fielding an ineligible player. They finished as runners-up in 2008–09, qualifying for the promotion play-offs, but lost 1–0 to Concord Rangers in the semi-finals. A fifth-place finish the 2009–10 saw the club qualify for the play-offs again, but they were again beaten 1–0 by Concord Rangers in the semi-finals. In

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

the club won the division and were promoted to the Premier Division. In 2011–12 they reached the first round of 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 ...

for the first time in their history, losing 3–0 at home to

Macclesfield Town Macclesfield Town Football Club was an association football club based in Macclesfield, Cheshire, England. Initially known as Macclesfield F.C., the club was formed in 1874 and from 1891 played home games at Moss Rose. It competed in the short ...

. The following season saw them finish fifth in the Isthmian League Premier Division, qualifying for the play-offs. However, they lost 1–0 to Lowestoft Town in the semi-finals. In 2014–15 East Thurrock reached the first round of the FA Cup again, this time losing 2–0 at

Hartlepool United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. They were founded in 190 ...

. In the following season they finished third in the Premier Division, again qualifying for the play-offs. The club beat

Tonbridge Angels Tonbridge Angels Football Club is a professional association football club based in Tonbridge, Kent, England. The team competes in the National League South, at the sixth tier of the English football league system. The club was founded as Tonb ...

2–0 in the semi-finals and

Dulwich Hamlet Dulwich Hamlet Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in East Dulwich in south-east London, England. They are currently members of and play at Champion Hill. History The club was formed in 1893, by Lorraine 'Pa' Wilson. The ...

3–1 in the final in front of a record crowd of 1,661, resulting in promotion to the

National League South The National League South, officially Vanarama National League South, is a professional Association football league in England. National League South is the second division of the National League (English football), National Leagues and step ...

. After three seasons in the sixth tier, the club finished second-from-bottom of the National League South in 2018–19, and were relegated back to the Isthmian League's Premier Division in a season that also saw them win the Essex Senior Cup for the first time in their history, defeating Chelmsford City 3–1 in the final. The club was placed into liquidation by owner Alfie Best on 1 September 2023, with the club stating this was due to historic debts from the previous owners. A phoenix club called East Thurrock Community Football Club was formed in 2023, who joined the Essex & Suffolk Border League for the 2024–25 season.

Ground

During the club's first season as members of the Southern Essex Combination, in 1969–70, home matches were played at Corringham Recreation Ground. They subsequently moved to the Billet Ground in Stanford-Le-Hope, before ground-sharing with nearby

Grays Athletic Grays Athletic Football Club is a football club based in Grays, Essex, England. They are currently members of the and play at Chadfields in nearby Tilbury. History The club was established as Grays Juniors in 1890, before merging with former ...

during the 1973–74 season in order to be granted senior status by the

Essex County Football Association The Essex County Football Association, also simply known as the ''Essex FA'', is the sport governing body, governing body of association football, football in the county of Essex. References External links Essex FA's official site
Count ...

, before returning to the Billet Ground after upgrading works had taken place.East Thurrock United
Pyramid Passion In 1977 the club left the Billet Ground again, groundsharing at

Tilbury Tilbury is a port town in the borough of Thurrock, Essex, England. The present town was established as separate settlement in the late 19th century, on land that was mainly part of Chadwell St Mary. It contains a Tilbury Fort, 16th century fort ...

until 1982, when they moved to the Thames Board Mill Ground. They remained at the new ground for two years. Still seeking their own ground, the club bought land on the edge of Corringham Marshes and began building the Rookery Ground, which opened in 1984. The site had previously been the home ground of Lathol Athletic.Jon Weaver (2005) ''The Football Grounds of Rural Essex'', p20 Temporary seating was installed in 1989 prior to an

FA Vase The Football Association Challenge Vase, also known as the Isuzu FA Vase for sponsorship reasons, is an annual football competition run by and named after The Football Association (The FA), for teams playing in Steps 5 and 6 of the English Nation ...

fifth round match against Bashley. A 160-seat main stand was erected, with a covered terrace built on the other side of the pitch, together with two covered areas behind one goal. In 2016 one covered terrace was converted into a 250-seat stand. The ground currently has a capacity of 3,000.

Honours

*Isthmian League **Division One North champions 2010–11 **Division Three champions 1999–2000 *Essex Senior Cup **Winners 2018–19 *Metropolitan–London League **Division Two champions 1972–73 **Reserve Division champions 1971–72 *Greater London League **Reserve Division champions 1970–71 *Essex Senior League **League Cup winners 1988–89, 1991–92 *East Anglian Cup **Winners 2002–03

Records

*Best

performance: First round, 2011–12, 2014–15 *Best

FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, also known as the Isuzu FA Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after The Football Association (the FA) and competed by mainly National League ...

performance: Third round, 2017–18 *Best

performance: Fifth round, 1988–89 *Record attendance: 1,661 vs

, Isthmian League Premier Division play-off final, 2016 *Biggest win: 7–0 vs Coggeshall Town, Essex Senior League, 1984 *Heaviest defeat: 9–0 vs

Eton Manor Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre is a sports and leisure venue located in Leyton, London Borough of Waltham Forest, to the north of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. It is regularly used for international field hockey fixtures by both the Great ...

, Essex Senior League, 1982 *Most appearances: Glen Case, over 600 *Most goals: Sam Higgins, 275Football: East Thurrock legend Sam Higgins set to leave club
Your Thurrock, 28 May 2019 *Record transfer fee received: £20,000 from

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club, commonly referred to as Orient, is a professional association football club based in Leyton, Waltham Forest, London, England. The team compete in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. ...

for

Greg Berry Greg Berry (born 5 March 1971) is an English retired Association football, footballer who played as a Midfielder#Winger, winger. He is the head coach and technical director at Peace Arch Soccer Club and is also coaching at Coastal WFC in Britis ...

, 1990

References

External links