 | |||
| Full name | Grantham Town Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname | The Gingerbreads | ||
| Founded | 1874 | ||
| Ground | South Kesteven Sports Stadium,Grantham | ||
| Capacity | 7,500 (750 seated)[1] | ||
| Chairman | Nick Johnston[2] | ||
| Manager | Mitch Griffiths | ||
| League | United Counties League Premier Division North | ||
| 2024–25 | Northern Premier League Division One Midlands, 21st of 21 (relegated) | ||
| Website | granthamtownfc.com | ||
Grantham Town Football Club is afootball club based inGrantham,Lincolnshire, England. They are currently members of theUnited Counties League Premier Division North and play at the South Kesteven Sports Stadium.
The club was established in 1874 as Grantham Football Club.[3] They joined theMidland Alliance, but withdrew from the league during the 1892–93 season.[4] They joined the Grantham & District League the following season.[5] The club later returned to the Midland Amateur Alliance, where they played until becoming founder members of theCentral Alliance in 1911 alongside Grantham Avenue.[5][6] In 1924–25 they were Central Alliance champions, also winning Division B of the Subsidiary Competition.[6]
Grantham then moved up to theMidland League.[4] In1928–29 they reached the first round of the FA Cup for the first time since the Victorian era, and after beatingRhyl Athletic 1–0, they lost 2–1 atThird Division North clubWigan Borough.[4] In 1933 they joined the newCentral Combination, but after finishing second-from-bottom of the league in its first season,[7] they returned to the Midland League.[4] The club qualified for the first round again in1935–36, losing 2–0 at home toNotts County.[4] The 1937–38 season saw the club finish the season as Midland League runners-up.[4]
In the1945–46 FA Cup, the first afterWorld War II, Grantham reached the second round again; after beatingKettering Town in the first round, they lost 4–2 on aggregate toMansfield Town in the second round. Another first round appearance in1947–48 resulted in a 2–1 defeat atStockton, whilst the club's1949–50 FA Cup run ended with a 4–1 loss atWrexham. In 1959 the club left the Midland League to rejoin the Central Alliance and were placed in Division One South.[8] However, after two seasons the club returned to the Midland League.[4] In1961–62 they reached the first round of the FA Cup again, this time losing 3–0 atBrierley Hill Alliance.
Grantham were Midland League champions in 1963–64 and runners-up the following season. In1965–66 they beatHendon 4–1 in the first round of the FA Cup before losing 6–1 at home toSwindon Town in the second round. They also reached the second round thefollowing season after beatingWimbledon 2–1 in the first round; in the second round they lost 4–0 at home toOldham Athletic. After finishing as Midland League runners-up again in 1969–70, they won back-to-back league titles in 1970–71 and 1971–72; the1970–71 season also saw them beat Football League opposition in the FA Cup for the first time, defeatingStockport County 2–1 in the first round before losing 4–1 toRotherham United in the second. After the second successive title in 1971–72, the club were promoted to Division One North of theSouthern League, which they won at thefirst attempt, earning promotion to the Premier Division.[4]
The following season saw Grantham progress to the third round of the FA Cup for the first time since the 1880s. After beatingHillingdon Borough 4–0 in the first round, they went on to defeat Third DivisionRochdale 5–3 in a second round replay, before losing 2–0 at home to Second DivisionMiddlesbrough in the third round in front of a record crowd of 6,578.[3] They went on to finish theleague season as runners-up in the Premier Division. However, in1977–78 the club finished bottom of the Southern League Premier Division and were relegated to Division One North. Thefollowing season saw them win the division. As well as being promoted, the club were also transferred to theNorthern Premier League.[4] However, after being relegated at the end of the1984–85 season, they were transferred back to the Southern League and placed in the Midland Division.
In 1987 the club was renamed Grantham Town.[9] They were Midland Division champions in1997–98, earning promotion to the Premier Division. The club were relegated again at the end of the1999–2000 season, this time of the Eastern Division. After finishing as runners-up in the Eastern Division in2001–02 the club were promoted back to the Premier Division.[9] In 2006 they were transferred to the Premier Division of the Northern Premier League, but were relegated to Division One South at the end of the2007–08 season. In2010–11 a fifth-place finish saw them qualify for the promotion play-offs, in which they beatNewcastle Town 3–0 in the semi-finals before losing 2–0 toRushall Olympic in the final.[9] However, they won Division One South thefollowing season and were promoted back to the Premier Division.[9] In2017–18 the club finished fourth in the Premier Division, qualifying for the play-offs. After defeatingWarrington Town 3–0 in the semi-finals, they were beaten 2–0 byAshton United in the final. They finished bottom of the Premier Division in2021–22 and were relegated to Division One East.[10] The club were transferred to Division One Midlands at the end of the2023–24 season. In2024–25 they finished bottom of Division One Midlands and were relegated to the Premier Division North of theUnited Counties League.[11]
The club spent much of their history playing at London Road until leaving during the 1990–91 season.[3] They briefly groundshared withSpalding United before moving to the council-owned South Kesteven Sports Stadium in October 1991. The ground was built on the Meres playing fields and is also referred to as 'the Meres'.[12] On one side of the pitch is the seated West Stand, which has uncovered terracing on either side.[12] The East Stand on the other side of the pitch is of a covered terrace. There are no stands behind the goals due to the running track.[12] The ground currently has a capacity of 7,500, of which 750 is seated and 1,950 is covered.[1]
52°54′21.352″N0°39′53.438″W / 52.90593111°N 0.66484389°W /52.90593111; -0.66484389
