 | |||
| Full name | Edgware & Kingsbury Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Wares | ||
| Founded | 1939 | ||
| Ground | Silver Jubilee Park,Kingsbury | ||
| Capacity | 1,990 (298 seated)[1] | ||
| Chairman | Antony Manzi | ||
| Manager | Lee Grant | ||
| League | Combined Counties League Premier Division North | ||
| 2023–24 | Combined Counties League Premier Division North, 19th of 20 | ||
Edgware & Kingsbury Football Club is afootball club fromEdgware,London Borough of Barnet, England. Originally established in 1939, the club was dissolved at the end of the2007–08 season but reformed in 2014. They are currently members of theCombined Counties League Premier Division North and play at Silver Jubilee Park inKingsbury, about three miles from the club's original ground, the White Lion in Edgware.
The club was founded in 1939 by a group of football enthusiasts who worked for the construction and engineering firm, William Moss & Sons based in Cricklewood. The firm had taken over the sports ground located in the High Street, formerly used by Edgware Rugby Club. The club initially played in the West Middlesex Combination, winning the league title in 1939–40. The league was renamed theMiddlesex Senior League in 1940, with the club winning the league title again in 1943–44, before sharing the title withTwickenham the following season.[2] They joined theLondon League for the 1945–46 season and were placed in the Western Section, which they went on to win.[3] They subsequently lost the championship play-off against Eastern Section winnersWoolwich Polytechnic.[2] The club joined theCorinthian League for the following season.[3]
In 1947–48 Edgware won theMiddlesex Senior Cup with a 2–1 win againstEnfield in the final.[2] In 1953–54 they finished as runners-up in the league and won the league's Memorial Shield, defeating championsCarshalton Athletic in the final.[3] The club won the Memorial Shield for a second time in the 1962–63 season, beatingWokingham Town in a two-legged final.[2] However, at the end of the season the Corinthian League was disbanded and alongside most of the other clubs in the league, they joined the new Division One of theAthenian League.[3] They finished third in their first season, and were promoted to the Premier Division.[3] In 1966–67 they finished bottom of the division, and were relegated to Division One. This was followed by a second successive relegation to Division Two as they finished bottom of Division One in 1967–68.[3]
In 1972 the club was renamedEdgware.[4] Division Two was abolished in 1977 as the Athenian League was reduced to a single division.[4] They finished as runners-up in 1981–82, but were not promoted to theIsthmian League as their White Lion Ground did not meet the ground grading requirements.[2] When the Athenian League disbanded altogether in 1984 they joined theLondon Spartan League, before changing their name back toEdgware Town in 1987.[4] They won the Premier Division of the Spartan League and the League Cup in 1987–88. After a second title in 1989–90, the club were promoted to Division Two North of the Isthmian League. After league reorganisation in 1991 they were placed in Division Three, which they won in itsfirst season, earning promotion to Division Two.[3] They were relegated back to Division Three at the end of the2000–01 season, which was renamed Division Two the following year.
In 2006 the now-renamed Division Two was disbanded and Edgware were transferred to the Premier Division of theSpartan South Midlands League. They won it at the first attempt, also winning the Premier Cup and the Challenge Trophy.[2] The club was promoted to Division One North of the Isthmian League, but were forced to close down at the end of theIsthmian League season due to lack of funds, following the decision of the local authority to grant planning permission for their ground, leaving the club unable to confirm a home ground for the 2008–09 season after their main sponsor and benefactor decided to withdraw support, putting the club's lease of the White Lion ground in jeopardy.[2] However, although the club did not play a match for many years from this point, it did not formally fold; FA registration was maintained and the club remained non-playing members of theMiddlesex Football Association.[2]
In March 2014 it was announced that the club was to start playing again. They subsequently joined Division One of theSpartan South Midlands League for the2014–15 season. In the2015–16 season the club won the Division One title by ten points and were promoted to the Premier Division. At the end of the2020–21 season they were transferred to the Premier Division North of theCombined Counties League. In 2022 the club was renamedEdgware & Kingsbury.[5]
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The club played at the White Lion ground inEdgware from 1939,[6] with the ground taking its name from the adjacent White Lion pub.[2] The ground's record attendance of 8,500 was set in October 1947 for anFA Cup second qualifying round match against local rivalsWealdstone,[2] who themselves later played at the White Lion Ground between 1995 and 2005 after losing theirLower Mead ground.[7] In 1964 the pitch was levelled, but this led to drainage problems that caused numerous matches to be postponed.[2] Floodlights were installed in 1979, paid for by the sale of strikerBrian Stein toLuton Town, while the sale of goalkeeperDave Beasant toWimbledon funded other improvements.[2] A new main stand was built in 1984 after the original wooden stand burned down.[2] The White Lion pub was demolished in 1997 and replaced by a hotel, and the club was eventually forced to close in 2008 when their main benefactor withdrew financial support and the ground was lost to commercial redevelopment.[2][3] The site freehold was bought byBarrett Homes, with planning permission having already been granted to build flats on the site byHarrow Council in 2006. The site of the former stadium is now occupied by a residential development named Zodiac Close.[6][2]
Upon reforming in 2014, the club moved to Silver Jubilee Park inKingsbury (the former home ofKingsbury Town), although they played the opening games of the 2014–15 season atUnderhill Stadium while Silver Jubilee Park was undergoing refurbishment. The ground has five stands; the 180-seat main stand, a 118-seat stand behind a goal and three covered terraces. The ground's capacity is 1,990.[1]
51°34′36″N0°15′15″W / 51.57667°N 0.25417°W /51.57667; -0.25417
