Bicester Town Football Club is a football club based in Bicester, Oxfordshire, England.
 | |||
| Full name | Bicester Town Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Foxhunters | ||
| Founded | 1873 | ||
| Ground | The Playing Fields, Ardley | ||
| Capacity | 1,000 (100 seated)[1] | ||
|
| |||
History
editThe club was established in 1873,[2] a merger of Bicester Rovers and Bicester Harriers.[3] They joined the Oxfordshire Senior League after winning the County Shield in 1903. They won the Oxfordshire Senior Cup in 1930 and again in 1939.[3] In 1953 they were founder members of the Hellenic League, finishing as runners-up in its second season.[4] They were placed in the Premier Division when the league gained a second division in 1956, and won the league title in 1960–61.[4]
The club were relegated to Division One after finishing bottom of the Premier Division in 1975–76, but returned to the Premier Division after winning Division One in 1977–78.[4] They went on to win the Premier Division in 1979–80.[4] The 2004–05 season saw the club relegated to Division One East. However, they finished as runners-up the following season, earning promotion back to the Premier Division.[4] They were relegated again at the end of the 2009–10, and despite finishing second in Division One West the following season,[4] folded after a dispute with their landlords.[5]
The club was reformed in 2015,[5] and rejoined the Hellenic League Division One East for the 2015–16 season. They were Division One East runners-up in 2017–18, after which the club were transferred to Division One West. The club resigned from the league shortly after the start of the 2018–19 season.[6]
Ground
editUntil World War I the club played at several different grounds; starting at the Cricket Field in 1896 before moving to Banbury Road, then Station Road and London Road.[7] Following the war the club returned to the Cricket Field, before moving to a new ground on Oxford Road that had formerly been used as a golf course.[7] A stand was built in the early 1930s and later extended, with a clubhouse and changing rooms built in 1960s.[7] By 2004 the ground had a capacity of 2,000, with 250 seated;[7] the record attendance was 955, set for a game against Portsmouth in 1994.[3]
A dispute with Bicester Sports Association, the ground's owners, forced the club to fold in 2011.[5] When they reformed in 2015, the club started playing at Ardley United's Playing Fields ground.[3]
Honours
edit- Hellenic League
- Premier Division champions 1960–61, 1979–80
- Division One champions 1977–78
Club records
editSee also
editReferences
edit- ^ Mike Williams & Tony Williams (2012) Non-League Club Directory 2013, p666 ISBN 978-1-869833-77-0
- ^ Oxfordshire FA Handbook 2015/16 Oxfordshire FA
- ^ a b c d e The Foxhunters past and present Archived 27 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine Bicester Town F.C.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Bicester Town at the Football Club History Database
- ^ a b c FOOTBALL: Bicester Town bid for shock return Oxford Mail, 15 May 2015
- ^ Bicester Town have resigned from the Hellenic League Football in Bracknell, 12 September 2018
- ^ a b c d Bicester Town Pyramid Passion