 | ||||
| Full name | Chelmsford City Football Club | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nicknames | City The Clarets | |||
| Founded | 1878 (Chelmsford) 1938 (Chelmsford City) | |||
| Ground | Melbourne Stadium,Chelmsford | |||
| Capacity | 3,502 (1,300 seated)[1] | |||
| Chairman | Spencer Gore | |||
| Manager | Angelo Harrop | |||
| League | National League South | |||
| 2024–25 | National League South, 11th of 24 | |||
Chelmsford City Football Club is a professionalfootball club based inChelmsford,Essex, England. Currently members of theNational League South, the sixth tier of English football, they play at the Melbourne Stadium.
Chelmsford Football Club was established in 1878 by members of the Chelmsford Lawn Tennis and Croquet club to give them something to do in the winter.[2] Six years earlier, an attempt to form a football club by the same name had been proposed by Chelmsford West End Cricket Club, but the plans failed to materialise.[3] On 16 November 1878, Chelmsford played their first game, drawing 1–1 againstRomford at home, with Chelmsford's first ever goal being scored by E. H. Christy.[4] In May 1883, some members of the club proposed to fold the club and reform as a new club due to a lack of interest,[5] however nothing came of it. The club won theEssex Senior Cup in 1892–93 and again in 1901–02. In 1895 they were founder members of theNorth Essex League, but left in 1900 to join Division One of theSouth Essex League. In 1903–04 the club also entered a team into the newly formedSouth East Anglian League, but left after a single season. They finished bottom of Division One of the South Essex League in 1903–04, and again in 1910–11. In 1908–09 they spent a season playing in the Eastern Division of theSpartan League.[6]
In 1912 Chelmsford were amongst the founder members of theAthenian League, although they also continued to play in the South Essex League for another season. In 1922 the club failed to be re-elected and dropped into the Middlesex County League. In 1923–24 they also entered a team into theEssex & Suffolk Border League. That season saw the club win the Middlesex County League and finish second in the Border League, prompting them to step up to the Premier Division of theLondon League. In the following season, Chelmsford won the East Anglian Cup, a feat repeated in 1926–27 and 1928–29. The club won the London League Premier Division title in 1930–31, before becoming founder members of theEastern Counties League in 1935. Two years later they left the ECL to become founder members of theEssex County League.
In 1938, it was decided to form a professional club to join theSouthern League. Having seen howColchester Town had fared so badly after the formation of the professionalColchester United, it was decided to close down the existing club and to reform as "Chelmsford City", despite the fact that Chelmsford itself would not be granted city status until 2012. Chelmsford's last game as an amateur club came in the Chelmsford Hospital Cup, drawing 1–1 at New Writtle Street againstHoffman Athletic on 23 April 1938.[7]
The new club continued playing at New Writtle Street and were accepted into the Southern League. On 27 August 1938, Chelmsford City played their first game, drawing 3–3 againstBristol Rovers Reserves.[8] They made an immediate impact in theFA Cup, reaching the fourth round in their first season. After beating fellow non-League clubKidderminster Harriers 4–0 in the first round, they defeatedDivision Three NorthDarlington 3–1 in the second round andSecond DivisionSouthampton 4–1 in home matches with attendances in excess of 10,000.[9] In the fourth round they lost 6–0 atBirmingham City.[10] At the end of the season the club applied to jointhe Football League, but received only one vote.[9] In the1939–40 season the Southern League was split into Eastern and Western Divisions; City were Eastern Division champions and were declared joint overall champions after drawing a play-off withLovells Athletic 3–3. The club were the Southern League's first champions when football resumed afterWorld War II, also winning the Southern League Cupthat season. They applied for Football League membership in 1947, 1948, 1950 and 1951 and 1956 but were unsuccessful on each occasion; their eight votes in 1950 put them second amongst the unsuccessful clubs, and marked their highest-ever vote total.[9]
Chelmsford won the Southern League Cup again in 1959–60 and the league title in 1967–68 and 1971–72. They continued to apply to join the Football League, making bids in 1960, 1961, 1962, and every year between 1967 and 1971 and again from 1973 until 1976, but were unsuccessful;[9] In total the club had 17 unsuccessful attempts at election into the Football League between 1947 and 1976.[11] They remained in the top division of the Southern League until1976–77, when they were relegated to Division One South. In 1977, City were one of six clubs to represent England in theAnglo-Italian Cup. After the formation of theAlliance Premier League they regained their top division status in the Southern League. The club were relegated again in1987–88 but made an immediate return to the Premier Division after winning Division One South thefollowing season. Another relegation was experienced in1996–97 and after an issue with the seating at the ground meant they were refused promotion in1997–98, they did not return to the Premier Division until 2001.
In 2004, Chelmsford transferred to the Premier Division of theIsthmian League and were champions in2007–08, earning promotion to the Conference South. They reached the play-offs in thefollowing season but lost toHampton & Richmond in the play-off semi-finals. The club qualified for the play-offs again in2009–10 and2010–11, but lost in the semi-finals on both occasions. They reached the second round ofFA Cup in 2010–11, losing 3–1 atWycombe Wanderers.[12] In thefollowing season Chelmsford reached the second round again, takingMacclesfield Town to a replay after drawing at home, however they lost 1–0 in the replay atMoss Rose.[13] During the2012–13 season, the club reached the second round for the third consecutive year, defeating Essex rivalsColchester United 3–1 at Melbourne Park.[14] At the end of the season the club qualified for the play-offs for the fourth time in five years, but lost in the semi-finals toSalisbury City.[15]
After a period of mid-table finishes, Chelmsford qualified for the play-offs again in2016–17 after finishing fourth in the renamed National League South. After beatingDartford 2–1 on aggregate in the semi-finals, they lost 2–1 toEbbsfleet United in the final.[16] A third-place finish thefollowing season led to another play-off campaign, but the club were beaten 1–0 byHampton & Richmond Borough in the semi-finals. In the2018–19 season, Chelmsford finished fourth, however lost 3–2 in the play-offs away toWelling United; their ninth play-off campaign in total.[10] During the2022–23 season, the club qualified for the first round of the FA Cup for the first time in five years, losing againstBarnet in a replay, as well as qualifying for the play-offs for the first time since 2019, where they lost 1–0 againstSt Albans City. In the2023–24 season, Chelmsford recorded their highest finish and highest points total since being in the National League South, finishing second in the division before losing 3–2 in the play-off semi-finals to local rivalsBraintree Town.[10]
When Chelmsford City was formed in 1938 it entered a reserve team into theEastern Counties League. After World War II, the team were champions in 1946–47, 1947–48 and 1948–49 (a season in which they also won the East Anglian Cup), going unbeaten in the first season.[17] They also played in theLondon League between 1945 and 1948, winning the Premier Division in 1946–47 and 1947–48. Although the team's later years in the ECL were not as successful, they won the League Cup in 1960–61, before withdrawing in 1963 after losing the title toLowestoft Town on goal average.[2] They then joined theMetropolitan League, winning the league title and Professional Cup in 1967–68 before being disbanded in 1969 to reduce the club's running costs. However, the reserves were resurrected briefly in 1970–71 and then again in 1976 when the team joined theEssex Senior League, in which they played until 1990. The reserve team then joined the Essex & Herts Border Combination League and was disbanded again in 1997. Resurrected again in 2004, the reserve team rejoined the Border Combination, before moving to the Capital League in 2007. In 2014, the reserve team returned to the Essex & Herts Border Combination.[18] In June 2021, the club confirmed the reserve side would enter the Essex & Suffolk Border League Premier Division.[19] In June 2023, after two seasons in the Essex & Suffolk Border League, the club withdrew from the league.[20]
Chelmsford moved toNew Writtle Street in 1925, playing their first game at New Writtle Street againstWest Ham United's reserves on 7 February 1925.[21] having previously played at Broomfield Road, New Street and King's Head Meadow in the centre of the town.[22][23]
After their establishment, Chelmsford City continued to play at the New Writtle Street ground, which the club purchased in 1939. During the early parts of World War II the ground was shared bySouthend United,[9] before it became abarrage balloon site in 1942. On two occasions (the 1930s and 1940s) the stadium hostedgreyhound racing.[24][25][2] The record attendance of 16,807 was set for a local derby withColchester United on 10 September 1949. Floodlights were installed in 1960 and several plans were made to increase facilities at the ground, including installing a swimming pool and building office blocks or a hotel, but none came to fruition.[2] The club's first floodlit game was againstWisbech Town on 21 September 1960, with the official opening coming in a friendly againstNorwich City on 3 October 1960.[21]
In 1997 the site was sold to developers and the club had to move out of Chelmsford, with Chelmsford's last game at the ground being a 2–0 win againstClevedon Town on 16 August 1997.[26] They initially shared atMaldon Town's Wallace Binder Ground, before moving toBillericay Town's New Lodge in January 1998. In January 2006, the club moved back to Chelmsford when they became tenants at the Melbourne Stadium, also known as Chelmsford Sport and Athletics Centre. The centre first had a track in 1934, before a cinder track was opened in 1962 alongside two seated stands on one side of the track, together holding 700 spectators.[27] It hosted Chelmsford City Ladies matches, as the pitch inside the track was too small for men's football.[27] The Ladies team left the ground when the stands were dismantled, although a new 270-seat stand was built in the early 2000s.[27]
Chelmsford City announced that they would be moving to the Melbourne Stadium in March 2004.[27] Following the announcement another stand was built on the other side of the pitch.[27] The first game back in Chelmsford was against former landlords Billericay Town on 2 January 2006 and was played in front of a then-record crowd of 2,998. The club has plans to upgrade the stadium to a 5,000 capacity capable of achieving the necessary 'A' ground grading.[28] The current record attendance at Melbourne Stadium is 3,502 in an FA Cup first round game against Braintree Town on 1 November 2025. In July 2025, the stadium was renamed the Dunmow Group Community Stadium as part of a sponsorship deal.[29]
In 1928, a supporters' club was in operation during the existence of Chelmsford F.C., the town's former amateur club. With branches in the Essex towns ofBraintree,Maldon andWitham, the supporters' club had built up enough funding to improve the terracing at New Writtle Street and purchase houses to accommodate players that did not already live local to Chelmsford.[30] On 31 August 1939, "a number of small fights" broke out, according to theEssex County Standard, following Chelmsford's 2–1 win against Colchester United atLayer Road.[31] During the club's Southern League stay, Chelmsford regularly drew attendances of over 3,000 in the late 1950s,[32] reaching a seasonal high average attendance of 4,438 during the1960–61 season.[33] In January 1968, the club recorded an attendance of 16,403 for anFA Cup tie against Colchester United. Five years later, Chelmsford declared an attendance of 15,557 in the same competition againstIpswich Town with numerous supporters being charged in regards to spectator violence. In August 1976, the two clubs once again experienced violence during a pre-season friendly at New Writtle Street.[34] Nowadays, the club holds rivalries with Braintree Town, Billericay Town and Dartford.[35][36][37] During both clubs' tenure in the Southern League, Chelmsford andRomford also held a rivalry.[38]
In 1977, Chelmsford City were one of six clubs to represent England in theAnglo-Italian Cup. Former England internationalJimmy Greaves described the 1977 Anglo-Italian Cup as the "highlight" of his time at Chelmsford City.[39] In 1983, Chelmsford returned to Italy for a two-game stint in the Anglo-Italian Cup.[40]
| Season | Competition | Round | Date | Opposition | Home | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976–77 | Anglo-Italian Cup | First stage | 27 April 1977 |  Cremonese | 1–1 | — |
| 30 April 1977 | Lecco | 1–2 | — | |||
| Second stage | 22 June 1977 | Bari | — | 1–6 | ||
| 25 June 1977 | Turris | — | 1–2 | |||
| 1982–83 | Semi-final | 23 April 1983 | Padova | — | 2–4 | |
| Third-place play-off | 25 April 1983 |  Wycombe Wanderers | — | 2–2[a] | ||
| Source:RSSSF | ||||||
As of 4 November 2025[update][41]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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51°45′12″N0°27′05″E / 51.75333°N 0.45139°E /51.75333; 0.45139
