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| Full name | Horley Town Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname | The Clarets | ||
| Founded | 1896 | ||
| Ground | The New Defence,Horley | ||
| Capacity | 1,800 (101 seated)[1] | ||
| Chairman | Anton James | ||
| Manager | Tyler Chambers | ||
| League | Combined Counties League Premier Division South | ||
| 2024–25 | Combined Counties League Premier Division South, 9th of 20 | ||
| Website | horleytownfc.com | ||
Horley Town Football Club is afootball club based inHorley,Surrey, England. They are currently members of theCombined Counties League Premier Division South and play at the New Defence.
The club was established in 1896 as Horley Football Club.[2] In 1903 they merged with Gatwick Rovers (founded in 1903), continuing under the Horley name.[3] After winning the Surrey Junior Cup in 1924–25 the club joined theSurrey Intermediate League.[3] They were league champions in 1926–27. After winning the Eastern Section of the league in 1950–51,[3] the club moved up to theSurrey Senior League.[4] However, after finishing bottom of the league in 1954–55 and were relegated back to junior football.[3]
In 1956 Horley moved back into the intermediate leagues. They returned to the Surrey Senior League in 1971 and were renamed Horley Town in 1975.[5] The club won both the league title and the League Cup in 1976–77,[3] but when the league evolved into theHome Counties League in 1978, they switched to the Premier Division of theSpartan League. After three seasons in the Spartan League the club joined theAthenian League.[6] However, the Athenian League disbanded at the end of the 1983–84 season; although most clubs joined theIsthmian League, Horley transferred to theCombined Counties League, a renamed Home Counties League.[6]
Horley left the Combined Counties League after finishing bottom of the league in1995–96. After playing in theCrawley & District League, they joined theSurrey County Senior League in 2002. A third-place finish in the 2002–03 season saw them promoted to the Premier Division of the Combined Counties League.[6] At the end of the2005–06 season the club were relegated to Division One due to ground grading issues.[6] However, they were Division One runners-up thefollowing season and promoted back to the Premier Division.[6] At the end of the2018–19 season the club were transferred to the Premier Division of theSouthern Combination. Following the2020–21 season they were transferred back to the Premier Division South of the Combined Counties League.
The club originally played at the King's Head Ground.[3] In 1947 they moved to a new ground on Smallfield Road, the land having been given to them by A.L.N. Jennings. The ground was named "the Defence" after people who had died in defence of the UK.[3] In 2003 the club moved to another new ground, which was named "the New Defence".[7]
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Places listed are articlesnotable as settlements, arranged bypost town The two principal towns are emboldened TheM23 motorway follows approximately a boundary and is chiefly included for its regional importance. | ||||||||||||||||
51°10′32″N0°10′53″W / 51.17556°N 0.18139°W /51.17556; -0.18139
