Northwich Victoria F.C.

Did You Know?

• The club became a founding member of the Football League Second Division in 1892 and finished 7th in its inaugural season, the highest finish in the club's history.
• Billy Meredith, widely regarded as the first football superstar, played for Northwich and scored his first hat-trick for the club in a 5–3 win over Newcastle United at the Drill Field in the 1893–94 season.
• Northwich won the FA Trophy in 1984, defeating Bangor City 2–1 in a replay at the Victoria Ground in Stoke-on-Trent after a 1–1 draw at Wembley Stadium.
• The club was taken over by its supporters in June 2017.

History

Northwich Victoria Football Club is generally believed to have been founded in 1874 by Charles James Hughes and James Heyworth, though club historian Ken Edwards has suggested in his book A Team for All Seasons that the organisation may have been active earlier in the 1870s. The club played its first challenge matches during the 1874 season and initially embraced both association football and rugby rules. This dual approach was evident in 1876, when they played an away match under rugby rules against Farnworth and Appleton F.C., now known as Widnes Vikings, and then hosted a match under association rules, winning both contests.

The club first entered an organised competition in 1877, joining the Welsh Cup, which at that time allowed Welsh teams and English clubs near the border. Their finest moments in that competition came in the 1881–82 and 1888–89 seasons, when they reached the final but lost to Druids and Bangor respectively. Their 1882 final appearance made them the first English club to achieve that feat. In 1880, Northwich entered the inaugural Cheshire Football Association Challenge Cup, also called the Cheshire Senior Cup, and became its first champions by defeating Hartford St. John's. They then won the cup for five consecutive seasons, beating Birkenhead in 1881, Northwich Novelty in 1882, Crewe Alexandra in both 1883 and 1884, and Davenham in 1885.

In 1890, the club became a founding member of the second version of The Combination, which was Northwich’s first league. They finished as runners-up in their second season in that league. On Monday, 17 February 1890, a vote held at the Crown and Anchor Hotel in Northwich decided that the original club would cease to exist by the end of that season, merging with nearby Hartford and Davenham United. That club had itself been formed from the merger of Hartford St. John’s, founded in 1876, and Davenham, founded in 1879.

The meeting agreed that the new entity would carry the name Northwich Victoria, but the original club was declared defunct. The Cheshire Challenge Cup, which had been awarded to the original club, was subsequently given to the Brunner Public Library in the town.

Grounds

Northwich Victoria Football Club was founded in 1874 and initially played their home matches at the Drill Field, a ground situated in the town centre. In 2002, the Drill Field was demolished because it failed to meet updated safety regulations and also to generate funds for the club. For the next three years, while a new stadium was being built, Northwich shared a ground with local rivals Witton Albion at Wincham Park, which sits just across the canal from where the new stadium would be located. The new ground, named the Victoria Stadium, was constructed in a business park a few miles outside Northwich in Wincham. It opened in 2005, with an official opening ceremony held the following year, conducted by Sir Alex Ferguson.

When the club was sold to Jim Rushe in 2007, the Victoria Stadium remained under the ownership of former owner Mike Connett. Rushe repeatedly stated that he was close to purchasing the stadium, but this deal fell through in January 2012. The site was then sold to Thor Specialities Ltd., a chemical manufacturer based next door that wanted to expand its facilities. The club was evicted immediately, and the remaining home matches of the 2011–12 season were either moved to other nearby venues or switched to the away team's ground. The Victoria Stadium was subsequently demolished.

To secure readmission to the Northern Premier League for the following season, Northwich tentatively agreed to share Marston Road, the home of Stafford Rangers, which is over 40 miles south of Northwich. The club hoped to find a groundshare closer to home before the season began and eventually arranged a lease on Valley Road, the ground of Flixton. However, Valley Road did not meet the league's ground grading standards. The club's appeal against the league's refusal to allow the substandard ground was unsuccessful, as was a second appeal regarding their placement in the Southern division of the Northern Premier League.

Forced to remain at Stafford, they were also denied a subsequent request to switch to the Northern division, as it would have meant excessive travel for visiting clubs. In the 2013–14 season, Northwich Victoria was finally allowed to move to the Northern division and play at Flixton's Valley Road. Two seasons later, in 2015–16, the club returned to Wincham Park, once again sharing the ground with Witton Albion.