Awbridge F.C.

Awbridge F.C. were a long running amateur football club based in Awbridge^[1] (locally pronounced 'A-bridge', with the letter 'w' silent), a small village and civil parish about three miles northwest of Romsey in the Test Valley district of Hampshire, England,

The club existed from 1904 to 2006 and enjoyed great success during the sixties. They were long standing members of the Hampshire League and were eventually absorbed by neighbours Michelmersh & Timsbury after a brief spell groundsharing.

The club were originally known as Awbridge Albion^[2] and spent their early days playing friendly fixtures. Their first known game was in November 1904 when they defeated Landford 4–0 before enjoying a 'capital' tea at the Bush Inn, Newtown.

After the Great War, they were granted permission by Lord Greenway to use the Village Hall Field as their home ground - he also kindly donated a pair of goalposts and a set of red/black shirts, these would remain the clubs' colours for the next 80 years! In 1923 they began playing in a number of short-lived local leagues before joining the Salisbury & District League, where they won numerous trophies. The Thirties saw them switch to the Southampton League where they enjoyed further success.

After World War II, the club reformed as Awbridge and in 1948 returned to the Southampton League where they were placed in Junior Division 4. Significant progress was made and by 1953 they had risen to the Senior section, formed a reserves side and even had their own Supporters Club!

The Sixties were very much a successful period in which they dominated the local football scene. Under the astute management of the legendary Wilf Moody, they twice won the Southampton League Premier Division and Southampton Senior Cup (both finals played at The Dell, Southampton) along with a solitary Hampshire Intermediate Cup triumph (played at Dean Court, Bournemouth). These successes were eventually rewarded with election into the Hampshire League in 1968, where they promptly won the Division 3 West title at the first attempt.

On limited resources, Awbridge spent three seasons rubbing shoulders with some big-guns in Division 2^[3] before two relegation's within three seasons saw them drop to Division 4, where they continued to struggle. Until this point, the club had used the original Village Hall building, but after receiving an ultimatum to improve their facilities, the Committee embarked on an ambitious campaign to build their own separate pavilion. After much hard work, the new facility was officially opened in August 1980 with a prestigious friendly match against AFC Bournemouth which they narrowly lost 1–2.

The Eighties saw Awbridge re-emerge as a force. They regained their Division 2 status, enjoyed numerous cup runs and were rather unfortunate not to win any major silverware. In 1986 they were placed in a new-look Division 1 following the formation of the Wessex League and did well to consolidate at this highly competitive level until relegation in 1993. Two years later, the club were back in Division 3, but they again recovered and began challenging for promotion.

The new millennium saw the non-league pyramid restructured with stricter ground grading requirements at all levels - making life increasingly difficult for many grassroots clubs. In 2002, Awbridge submitted an ambitious application to the Village Hall Committee for redeveloping their dilapidated pavilion. Disappointingly, this was rejected by their landlords, and this, along with the high rental costs, forced the club to make the difficult decision not to renew the lease and accept an invitation received from their friendly Southampton League neighbours Michelmersh & Timsbury to temporarily join forces until a solution could be found.

This rather unusual arrangement saw the club renamed M&T Awbridge^[4] and now playing at the better equipped Timsbury Rec they were able to maintain their long held county league status.^[5] However, although they performed steadily on the pitch, they were beset with problems off it - most notably in 2005 when a long running dispute between the parent Sports Club and the Parish Council made them homeless.^[6] This briefly raised hopes of negotiating a nostalgic return to Awbridge, but unfortunately this was not possible as the (now refurbished) pavilion was being leased to a religious group.^[7] Thankfully, after a year playing in exile, the dispute was eventually resolved, but part of the condition was that the club be renamed Michelmersh & Timsbury. With little hope of ever returning to the village, it was agreed to accept the offer and, as many suspected would inevitably happen, Awbridge FC was sadly no more after 102 years. ^[8]

• Hampshire Football Association
  • Intermediate Cup Winners 1965/66. Finalists 1966/67 & 1988/89
• Hampshire League ^[9]
  • Division 3 Runners-up 1984/85
  • Division 3 West Champions 1968/69
  • Division 4 Runners-up 1979/80
• Southampton Football Association
  • Senior Cup Winners 1962/63 & 1963/64, Finalists 1984/85
  • Junior 'A' Cup Finalists 1932/33
• Southampton League
  • Premier Division Champions 1965/66 & 1966/67, Runners-up 1964/65 & 1967/68
  • Senior Division 2 Champions 1954/55, Runners-up 1958/59
  • Junior Division 1 Champions 1952/53
  • Junior Division 2 Runners-up 1951/52
  • Junior Division 3 Champions 1931/32, Runners-up 1949/50
  • Romsey Division Champions 1929/30 & 1930/31
• Salisbury & District League
  • Division 1 Champions 1926/27 & 1929/30
  • Division 2 Champions 1925/26
  • Norman Court Cup Winners 1925/26, 1926/27, 1927/28 & 1932/33
• Other
  • Ampfield & District League Runners-up 1923/24 & 1924/25
  • Wayne Smart Cup Winners 1989, Finalists 1987 & 1988
  • Andover Open Cup Finalists 2005/06

• Southampton League
  • Junior Division 2 Champions 1966/67
  • Junior Division 3 Runners-up 1965/66
  • Junior Division 5 Runners-up 1962/63
  • Junior Division 6 Runners-up 1951/52

For over 75 years, Awbridge Football Club played at the Village Hall Field, Romsey Road, Awbridge, SO51 0HG. ^[10]

The ground had two pitches, with a notorious slope, and the record attendance is believed to be approx 500 for the friendly against AFC Bournemouth as part of the new pavilion opening ceremony in August 1980.^[11] The building still remains (dwarfed by the impressive new Village Hall) and is currently used as a storage unit.

Awbridge had a number of local rivals within the Test Valley whom they faced many times over the years, and for a sustained spell from 1964 to 1975 they were undoubtedly the top team in the area.

Hampshire League meetings with Broughton,^[12] Braishfield,^[13] Mottisfont^[14] and especially Romsey Town^[15] always generated much interest and attracted large crowds.^[16]

During their long history, Awbridge had many fine players - especially during their Sixties glory days, during which time they were also coached by Jimmy Gallagher - the long serving Southampton physio. Another claim to fame came in 1981, when they were managed by former Tottenham Hotspur striker Tommy Harmer.^[17]

Michelmersh & Timsbury F.C. are affiliated to the Hampshire Football Association and following the 1st team's relegation in 2024,^[18] now run all three sides in the Southampton League.

They are still based at Timsbury Receation Ground, Mannyngham Way, Timsbury, SO51 0NJ. The venue has ample parking, a large clubhouse with licensed bar and two football pitches. The facility is shared with other sections of the parent Sports Club.

The 'Marsh wear distinctive amber/black quartered shirts and a nice Awbridge link is maintained with a few former players still turning out for the veterans side, ^[19] who have twice come close to restoring the glory days. ^[20]

• [1] Awbridge FC pictorial history video
• [2] Football Club History Database
• [3] Hampshire League Final Tables
• [4] Hampshire Soccer Archive
• [5] Awbridge Village Hall Field
• [6] Michelmersh & Timsbury FC website