Wealdstone Football Club ( ) is an English semi-professional football club based in Ruislip, London Borough of Hillingdon, and affiliated to the Middlesex County Football Association.Find a Club Middlesex County FA They currently play in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. Their traditional colours are royal blue and white, and they are nicknamed "The Stones" or "The Royals".
Whilst formally established in 1899, the club has roots dating back to 1887 and was created through a series of local team mergers. For most of its existence the club was based at the Lower Mead stadium in Harrow until 1991. After a long period of homelessness and ground sharing with various local clubs, since 2008 they have been based at Grosvenor Vale.
The club were the first to achieve the famed non-League 'double', winning both the FA Trophy and the Alliance Premier League (now the National League) in the same season (1984–85). The latter happened two years before automatic promotion to the Football League began; Wealdstone has never been a member of the Football League so far.
History Early years
The club was formed at the start of the 1899–1900 season, joining Division Two of the Willesden & District League."Today's visitors: Wealdstone – club history" Boreham Wood Football Club A previous "Wealdstone F.C." existed, for workers at a local gunsmith in Wealdstone, a Middlesex village to the north of Harrow Hill - itself has its origins in a club called The Oaks. An article published by the Harrow Observer states that the Wealdstone football club formed in about 1890, playing home games in a field in Hindes Road (present-day Harrow) and meeting at the Railway Hotel, close to Harrow and Wealdstone station. This club merged into another local club called Harrow Athletic F.C. in September 1894, while other clubs bearing the Wealdstone name soon formed. A merger between clubs called Wealdstone Rovers and Wealdstone Juniors resulted in the formation of Wealdstone Albion F.C. for the 1898 season, and using the same blue and white striped colours of the old Wealdstone F.C. A year later, Wealdstone F.C. took its place. At this time their home turf was a field between Headstone Drive and Marlborough Hill, Wealdstone.
Their first game was a friendly match on 7 October 1899 against Northwood, which they won 6–1. They were promoted to the league's Division One for the 1900–01 season after Division Two was scrapped. In 1903 they moved to the College Farm Ground in Locket Road, Wealdstone, and soon after another nearby ground in what is now Byron Park. In 1905–06 the club won Division One, but on 20 October 1906 a notice was posted in the local newspaper stating that the club was to be disbanded due to 'a lack of interest' from players and supporters.
The club was soon reformed in time for the 1908–09 season, rejoining Division One of the Willesden & District League. In 1910 they moved to Belmont Road, and won Division One again in 1912–13. Following World War I the club joined the London League and the Middlesex Senior League.
At the start of the 1922–23 season, Wealdstone F.C. switched to the Spartan League and at the same time moved south to a ground called Lower Mead in what is now central Harrow; this would become the permanent home ground of the club for 69 years. The club had their record win on 13 October 1923, beating the 12th London Regiment 22–0 in an FA Amateur Cup game.
Athenian League years (1928–1964) In 1928–29 they switched leagues again, this time joining the Athenian League. In 1929–30 the club won the Middlesex Senior Cup and the Middlesex Senior Charity Cup for the first time. On Saturday 16 November 1929, Wealdstone played Dulwich Hamlet in the FA Cup fourth qualifying round, with the match ending in a record-breaking 7–7 draw; there has never been a 7–7 scoreline in any other FA Cup match before or since, and none either in the top four divisions of the League Pyramid (including play-offs), the League Cup, League Trophy, FA Community Shield, FA Trophy or FA Vase. Four days later, Dulwich won the replay 2–1.
During World War II the club continued to play, playing at Wembley Stadium in the final of the Middlesex Senior Red Cross Cup in 1942. In December 1944, they recorded their heaviest defeat ever, losing 14–0 to Edgware Town in the London Senior Cup. In 1946 the BBC showed part of Wealdstone's Athenian League match at Barnet, the first post-war match to be televised live.
Television cameras followed Wealdstone in the FA Cup qualifying rounds in 1949-50, with a 1-0 success at Edgware Town in the Third Qualifying Round and a home victory against Colchester in the Fourth shown live on the BBC. Wealdstone reached the first round of the FA Cup for the first time, losing 1–0 to Port Vale.
In 1951–52 the club won the Athenian League, and went on to win the Middlesex Senior Cup in 1959, 1963 and 1964.
Amateur Cup win and turning professional (1964–1979) In 1964 they switched to the Isthmian League. In 1965–66 the club reached the first round of the FA Cup again, losing 3–1 at Millwall, but went on to win the FA Amateur Cup, beating local rivals Hendon 3–1 in the final at Wembley Stadium. The following season saw Wealdstone entering the FA Cup at the first round proper stage, losing 2–0 at home to Nuneaton Borough.
The club joined the Division One North of the Southern League in 1971, turning semi-professional. They were moved to Division One South the following season, and won the division in 1973–74, earning promotion to the Premier Division. In 1977–78 Wealdstone progressed beyond the first round of the FA Cup for the first time; after beating Third Division Hereford United 3–2 at Edgar Street in a first round replay, they went on to defeat Fourth Division Reading 2–1 at home in the second round, before losing 4–0 away at First Division Queens Park Rangers in the third round.
Conference and non-league double (1979–1988) In 1979 the club were founder members of the Alliance Premier League, the new national top division of non-League football. After finishing 19th in 1980–81 they were relegated back to the Southern League, but then made an immediate return after winning the South Division of the Southern League the following season; a play-off ensued against Midland Division champions Nuneaton, with Wealdstone winning on penalties after winning the home leg 2–1 and losing 1–0 away. Wealdstone's return to the Alliance Premier League was much more positive than their first stint, finishing 3rd in 1982–83, and then 4th the following season.
In 1984–85 the club had its most successful season to date. Under the management of Brian Hall, Wealdstone won the Alliance Premier League and also the FA Trophy, beating Boston United 2–1 in the final at Wembley Stadium. This was first occasion that the non-league "double" had been achieved by any team. However, in spite of this, Wealdstone were not promoted to the English Football League; automatic promotion from the Alliance Premier League would not be introduced until two years later, and in any case Lower Mead was deemed not to meet Football League stadium requirements, so the club was not eligible to apply for election.
Following the double, a period of sharp decline soon set in; after finishing tenth the season after with an aging team, they finished 19th in 1986–87, and were eventually relegated at the end of the following season.
Decline, ground loss and nomadic existence (1988–2004) By the end of the 1990–91 season, financial problems caused by boardroom impropriety were seriously exacerbated by the owner selling the club's Lower Mead ground for commercial redevelopment, for which the club, after a protracted legal wrangling, received only a very small share of the proceeds. The club then signed up to an expensive ground sharing arrangement at Watford's Vicarage Road stadium, and at the end of the 1991–92 season the club were relegated again, dropping from the Southern League Premier Division into the Southern League South Division.
Seeking to reduce expenditure, in 1993 the club began a two-season ground sharing agreement at The Warren, Yeading FC's ground. In June 1995, with the club's financial situation so perilous that it was formally in Administration, and only having two players registered to its name, Gordon Bartlett was appointed manager. Later that year, Wealdstone re-joined the Isthmian League to further reduce their travelling expenses, but in doing so had to agree to drop a level into Division Three in the process. Once again the club moved its home, this time entering into a ground share arrangement with Edgware Town at their White Lion ground, which continued for ten years.
Under Bartlett, stability and some success returned. After winning the Isthmian League Division Three in 1996–97, they finished second in Division Two in 1997–98 and were promoted again, this time to Division One. However, after finishing third in Division One in the 1998–99, the Isthmian League denied the club promotion to the Premier Division because required improvements at the White Lion ground were not completed until six days after a specified deadline.
Home search and recovery (2004–2019)
The club attempted to redevelop the local disused Prince Edward Playing Fields at Canons Park, owned by the London Borough of Harrow, into a new home ground. Construction of the new stadium started in 2003 but, when over 30% completed, building work was suddenly halted in April 2004 when the private company who were co-financing the project in partnership with the club went into insolvency. Unable to afford to complete the new stadium on their own, Wealdstone had to leave the project unfinished for two years. Eventually, Harrow Council, frustrated that the site remained unused and was falling into dereliction, eventually sold the property lease to Barnet, who used the site as a training centre before later moving permanently in to what became The Hive Stadium in 2013. The terms of the council's lease offer indicated that the new owner should complete the stadium for Wealdstone's use, but this was ultimately ignored and the club's original financial investment in the project was lost.
In 2004 Wealdstone were promoted to the Isthmian League Premier Division as a result of the creation of the Conference North and South. The club faced Dulwich Hamlet in the play-off final, with the game finishing 2–2 before Wealdstone won 5–4 on penalties. The club's first two seasons at Premier Division level saw them steer clear of relegation, with back to back 18th-placed finishes. Off the pitch, the club began a further new groundshare arrangement in 2005, this time moving to Northwood's Chestnut Avenue ground. In 2006 they were switched under FA reorganisation to the Southern League Premier Division for a single season, before returning to the Isthmian League the following season.
In January 2008, Wealdstone acquired the Ruislip Sports and Social club and the associated lease at Ruislip Manor's Grosvenor Vale ground, starting the 2008–09 season there. With the ground share agreement at Northwood coming to an end and still no specific completion date in sight for the club's Prince Edward Playing Field project, Wealdstone instead decided to invest in the Grosvenor Vale stadium to upgrade the playing facilities as a priority, in order to meet the necessary ground grading requirements to play Isthmian League Premier Division football in the 2008–09 season. The club's first 3 seasons at Grosvenor Vale saw the club fail to reach the playoffs, finishing 7th, 6th and then 12th. They did however reach the first round of the FA Cup in 2009–10, where they lost 3–2 at home to Rotherham United