| |||
|
About Holmesdale FC (April 28, 2008) Crystal Palace fans will be familiar with Holmesdale Road but City followers may not be aware that Holmesdale Football Club, whose Reserves we meet in the Kent Junior Cup Final on Saturday, were playing in that area of south London even before Palace moved in.
The Holmesdale club came into existence in the 1920s as an offshoot of the Baptist Church in Holmesdale Road. At first they competed in the Excelsior League before joining the Thornton Heath and District League. Team members were expected to play a full part in church affairs, which may or may not have been a reason why, after only a few seasons the club closed.
It was more than thirty years before they were reformed under the auspices of a local Boys Brigade. They retained an historic link with the past by being called the Holmesdale Baptists, only removing the church title from their name in the mid 1950s when they were struggling to get players and took on several from another local church team.
Although the club prospered, they failed to win a title until 1986-87 when they won the Thornton Heath Premier Division. Later they became Surrey Intermediate League champions and so moved into the Surrey Premier League, playing home games in Shirley. The club finally moved to their present ground at Oakley Road, Bromley in 2000 and played in the British Energy Kent County League. Oakley Road has been greatly upgraded and in 2006 the First team became KCL Division I (West) champions and so moved into the Premier Division and again became champions, which meant promotion to the Kent League. The Reserves play in the Kent League Division II.
Holmesdale's progress in the last few seasons should be an inspiration to City in their quest to reach the Kent League (and beyond) and have their own home. Click here to return to the News page
|
|||
