Corsham Print
Wiltshire Senior League
Devizes Town FC Reserves
Club Formed:  1885
Club Nickname: Town
Chairman: Tom Perkins


Club Contact Details
Secretary:  Jonathan Emm
Email: jonathan.emm@devizestownfc.co.uk
Tel:
Mobile: 07887 544366

Managers: Ray King
Tel:  07917 787903
Email:  rkinger159@gmail.com

Club Welfare Officer: Jonathan Emm
Club Social Media Details
Website:  www.devizestownfc.co.uk
Team Photo & Club Colours



Season 2024-25 Team Photo

To Be Added

When Available

Details of Home Ground
Name of Ground: Nursteed Road
Ground Address: Nursteed Road, Devizes SN10 3DX
Ground Telephone: (01380) 722817

Match Day Programme?  No
Ground Directions: From town centre take A342 Andover Road. Ground is situated off the A342 (Andover Road).  Entrance to ground is on the right-hand side, just after Eastleigh Road.
Club History
Devizes was recorded to have been first played in 1876 when Devizes Rangers played out a goalless draw against local rivals Holt. In those days, the games were played under both Association Football and Rugby Union rules. Devizes Rangers existed in tandem with Devizes Football Club (Rugby) and the two clubs swapped players as well as codes, until Rangers disbanded in the late 1880s.

The origins of Devizes Town Football Club stretch back to 1884 when Southbroom Football Club was formed by the members of Southbroom Cricket Club as a winter activity. Games were played in a field behind the vicarage in Brickley Lane until 1886 when the 'Blues' as they were known joined forces with the cricket and tennis clubs and formed Devizes Recreation Club based in London Road. In 1896 the club tasted success for the first time in winning the Wiltshire League championship.

In 1898 Southbroom and other smaller clubs amalgamated to form a much larger club, and Devizes Town Football Club was born. The new club leased a playing field in Quakers Walk and in their first season won the Wiltshire League as well as reaching the First Round of the FA Amateur Cup and the Wiltshire Cup Final. The elusive Wiltshire Cup finally came to Devizes in 1908 when they defeated Trowbridge 3-1.

In the aftermath of the Second World War the club had to find a new ground. Thankfully due to the generosity of the Jennings family they were offered a free 21-year lease on a ground at Nursteed Road. The first competitive game there was against Purton in 1945. In 1949 the Wiltshire League championship came to Nursteed Road for the third time, and then the following year this was followed by the capture of the Wiltshire Senior Cup for the first time since 1908 in front of a crowd of over 4,000.

Whilst the first team played in Division One of the old Wiltshire League, the Reserves played in Division 2. In Season 1952-53 the Second Division was regionalised and Devizes Town Reserves won the Division 2 East title, finishing a point ahead of Shrewton United.  The following season the league established a dedicated reserves division and Devizes Town Reserves were the first champions of that division, whilst the same season saw their first team were winning Division 1.

The late 1950s and 60s were a golden age for the club with the first team achieving numerous league and cup triumphs, including several good runs in the FA Amateur Cup - the most notable being reaching the Third Round in 1958. In the Wiltshire Senior Cup, the club’s first team appeared in every final between 1956-7 and 1962-3 winning six out of the seven finals. Roger Hunt joined the club in 1958 and formed a lethal partnership with prolific striker Tony Edge. Roger went on to play for Liverpool and the World Cup-winning England side. Edge meanwhile was in line to represent Great Britain in the 1960 Olympics, before he was persuaded to join Bristol Rovers in 1959. He returned to Devizes Town later and in 1961-62 scored 92 goals in the treble-winning season. He managed the side in 1967 and the following year was honoured by the club for achieving the amazing record of 500 goals in 500 games.

The 1961-2 season was remarkable as Devizes Town, as the first team collected the County Senior Cup, Premier League Championship and the League Subsidiary Cup. Devizes Town were again Wiltshire League Premier Division champions in 1963-64 and runners-up the following season.  Walthamstow Avenue visited in 1965 to officially re-open the Nursteed Road ground which had been bought by the club after six years’ hard work. 1967 brought a new era for the club as the first team joined the Western League, with the reserves replacing the first team in the Wiltshire Premier Division. New ground facilities were completed the following year, with Roger Hunt returning to officially open them.

When the Wiltshire Combination was established ahead of Season 1968-69, Devizes Town Reserves joined the Wiltshire Combination, playing in Division 1 of the new league. They tended to be towards the bottom end of the Division and after finishing bottom of the league in Season 1973-74 and they were relegated out of the division.

Whilst the Reserves were struggling the early 1970’s were a successful period for the first team. Season 1972-3 saw the club, managed by former Bath City player Ken Owens, clinch the Western League Championship and the Subsidiary Cup, as well as having good runs in both the FA Cup and Amateur Cup. Three years after achieving the Western League Championship the club suffered their first ever relegation when the Western League reverted back to two divisions. 

Whilst Devizes Town first team were starting their first season back in Division One of the Western League, Devizes Town Reserves were taking part in their first season in the newly formed Wiltshire County League. Devizes Town Reserves had been placed in Junior Division B in that inaugural season and what a season it proved to be as they won the Junior Division B championship, losing just two of their thirty league games and were placed in Division 3 for the second season. Two third place finishes followed before a disappointing season in 1979-80 saw them drop to 14th place. However, it was a much better season for their club’s first team as they returned to the Western League Premier as Division One runners-up behind fellow Wiltshire side Melksham Town. The following year the first team embarked on their greatest run in the FA Vase reaching the quarter-finals - where they were beaten by Whickham in freezing conditions in the North-East. The reserve team meanwhile stepped up to Senior status where they would maintain for the next 39 seasons.

After finishing in fourth place in their first season in Division 2 Devizes Town Reserves were promoted to Division 1 for the start of Season 1981-82. However, they found life in the top division tough and in their first four seasons in the topflight they finished bottom twice, second from bottom once and third from bottom in the other season. After finishing bottom in Season 1984-85 they were relegated back to Division 2.

Devizes Town Reserves remained in Division 2 for four seasons but returned to Division 1 following a title success in Season 1988-89 when they finished six points clear of Trowbridge Town Reserves. This time round they were better prepared for life in the top division and after four seasons of steady progress they achieved a fourth-place finish in Season 1993-94 which they repeated again the following season.

Off the field, the late 1980s and 1990s were inauspicious times for the club with increasing financial pressures, which were only partially eased by the sale of the Nursteed Road ground to neighbours Linpac in 1991 in return for a lease deal securing the ground for 99 years.

Season 1997-98 saw Devizes Town Reserves achieve their highest ever position in the Wiltshire League. Two weeks from the end of the season Corsham Town, Devizes Town Reserves, Biddestone and Shrewton United were all in with a shout for the top spot. In the end just four points separated all four teams with the top two of Corsham Town and Devizes Town Reserves only being separated by goal difference. Unfortunately for Devizes it was Corsham who had the better goal difference.

The following season saw the top division re-branded as the Premier Division and Devizes Town Reserves finished in sixth place. For the first team, that Season 1999-2000 was the most outstanding in the club’s history. Manager Brian Newlands built a talented squad which won the Division One title after a remarkable run of 32 unbeaten league games meaning Devizes Town were back in the Premier Division of the Western League after 15 years. The following season Devizes Town first team enjoyed an FA Cup run that took them to a Fourth Qualifying Round tie against Kingstonian, and a chance of reaching the First Round. Unfortunately, in wet and windy conditions the Cup run ended with a 5-2 defeat to the Conference side. Meanwhile Devizes Town Reserves finished in 3rd spot in the Wiltshire League Premier Division in Season 2000-01, an achievement they have failed to match or better since. They also made the final of the Addkey Senior Cup but were defeated 3-1 by a strong Cricklade Town side who did the “double” that season.

Devizes Town Reserves remained in the Premier Division of the Wiltshire League for a further 18 seasons, with a fourth-place finish in Season 2006-7 their best performance in that period. Generally they occupied a mid-table or lower half position in the other seasons but the one and only time they finished at the bottom unfortunately was the season when the league was under pressure from the FA National League System Committee to reduce the number of reserve sides in the league. They were relegated to the Trowbridge & District League, thus ending their record of playing every season in the league since its formation.

Devizes Town Reserves were to spend just one season in the Trowbridge & District League. Sitting in second place at the time the 2019-20 Season was brought to a premature end, this was sufficient to achieve promotion back to the Wiltshire Senior League with the blessing of both the County FA and the FA National Leagues Committee who, with a change in personnel, were no longer so anti-reserve sides. Season 2020-21 saw Devizes Town Res sat in 15th place when Covid brought the season to an early end. The following season Devizes once again saw Devizes end the season in 15th place in an enlarged division of 17 teams. With their first team relegated from the Western League Devizes were forced to drop out of the Premier Division and played in the newly formed Division One finishing in fourth place in Season 2022-23, just missing out on promotion which would have been possible with the First Team having been promoted back to Step 6 at the first attempt.

Season 2023-24 once again saw Devizes Town Reserves at the top end of the table although they were to end up someway behind the top three sides. That said, on their day were a match for the top sides in the division as evidenced by their draws against the top two sides Park United and Faringdon Town and could well mount a promotion challenge in Season 2024-25.

Devizes Town Res 2023-24

Devizes Town Res 2021-22
Devizes Town Res 2015-16
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