Swanley Furness F.C.
Kent League champions who later dropped to Division Two and folded.
via Wikipedia: Swanley Furness F.C. · see source
Swanley Furness F.C. was a football club from Swanley, England. It came into being in 1997 when Furness, the reigning Kent League champions, adopted the new name. The club had a complicated history. It started as Danson (Bexley Borough), playing in the London Spartan League by 1983 and moving to the Kent League in 1987. In 1991, Danson merged with Furness F.C. to become Danson Furness United, and after two seasons the name was shortened to just Furness. Furness won the Kent League title in 1996, leading to the 1997 rebranding as Swanley Furness. The following year, because the club could not install floodlights, it was relegated to Division Two of the Kent League. The club later reverted to the name Danson Furness, left the Kent League in 2005, and then folded.
Quick Facts
- Nickname
- The Cuckoos
- Founded
- 1968
- Dissolved
- 2005
- Ground
- Greencourt Road, Crockenhill
- Season
- 2004–05
- Position
- Kent League Division 2, 7th
Facts from the source article.
Background
The club's roots trace back to Furness F.C., founded in 1968 as the football club of the Furness Withy Shipping Group, playing in the London Shipping League. Based at Brackley Road, Beckenham, the club dropped 'Withy' from its name in 1982 after the company withdrew support, but continued progressing in the South London Alliance, which it had joined in 1973. Meanwhile, Danson played at Crook Log in Bexleyheath. After the 1991 merger, the new club moved in with Alma Swanley F.C., sharing the ground at Greencourt Road in Crockenhill.
When Alma Swanley folded in 1994, Furness leased the ground alone. Unable to install floodlights, they took a place in Kent League Division 2 instead of dropping to the Kent County League—a decision that backfired. Playing mostly against reserve teams outside the non-League pyramid likely led to the club's eventual demise. The club was not known to have an official nickname, but those running the village club, Crockenhill FC, called them 'The Cuckoos'. Crockenhill's record win was 13–0 over Swanley Furness.
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