Corsham Print
Wiltshire Senior League
Former Clubs
Ferndale Athletic
Ground
Plessey Sports Ground, Southbrook and County Ground Extension

Seasons in League (Number and period)
18 Seasons (1976-77 to 1993-94)

Status
Senior side folded

League & Cup Honours (when in WSL)
Division 2 Winners 1978-79
Wiltshire Senior Cup Runners-up 1978-79
Division 2 Winners 1985-86
Ghia Senior Cup Winners 1986-87
Ghia Senior Cup Winners 1987-88
Division One Runners-up 1987-88
Division 1 Winners 1988-89

Club Notes
Ferndale Athletic were a Swindon based side and founder members of the league, starting in Division One as a Senior club, remaining in the league for a period of 18 seasons which included one Division One and two Division Two league titles.

A club bearing the name Ferndale Athletic were playing in the Swindon Borough League (for youth sides) at the start of the 20th century and then in the Swindon & District League back in the 1920’s. Their first known major honour in adult football came in Season 1930-31 when they won both the Swindon & District League Junior Cup and also the Swindon District League Senior Advertiser Cup in the same season, at a time when the winners of the Junior Cup were then allowed entry into the Senior Cup as reward for their win in the Junior Cup. That same season also saw them take the Division 3 Swindon & District League title. They continued to run sides in both the Borough League and the Swindon & District League up to the outbreak of the Second World War and whilst the Borough League continued through the war years, the Swindon & District League like all other adult leagues in the country came to a halt.

After the Second World War a team under the name Ferndale Y.C. was playing in the Swindon & District League and won the Advertiser Cup three times in 1956-57, 1960-61 and again in 1962-63. Season 1963-64 saw them playing in Division One of the old Wiltshire League and what a first season it was in the higher league as they finished level on points with Malmesbury and then won a play-off to take the title. They remained one of the top sides in Division One of the Wiltshire League up until the formation of the Wiltshire Combination, with three consecutive third place finishes in seasons 1964-65, 1965-66 and 1966-67 followed by a runners-up spot in 1967-68. The formation of the Wiltshire Combination in 1968-69 saw them remain in Division One of the Wiltshire League but this was to be for just one more season as they were promoted to the Combination League, the top league in the County, by the start of the 1969-70 season.

On their elevation to the Combination they reverted to the pre-war name of Ferndale Athletic. They found life at the higher level somewhat tougher and were generally towards the bottom end of the Combination table with a ninth-place finish in both seasons 1969-70 and 1974-75 the highlight of their time in the Combination.

Ferndale Athletic started their first season in the new Wiltshire County League in Season 1976-77 in Division One but that first season was to be a tough one as they won just one of their 30 league games to finish 13 points adrift at the bottom of the table at a time when it was two points for a win. Having been relegated to Division Two for 1977-78, they enjoyed a much better season finishing in sixth spot. The following season they bounced back to the top division after just two seasons in the second tier. They led the division from start to finish, eventually winning it by a single point over runners-up Wootton Bassett Town. Ferndale also made the final of the Wiltshire Senior Cup but in a one-sided final found Western League side Devizes Town tough opponents, going down 6-1 in the final.

Back in the topflight they again found the going tough and finished just above the relegation places in both 1979-80 and 1980-81.  However, relegation could not be avoided for a third successive season as 1981-82 saw them finish second from bottom prompting a return to Division Two. They had finished well clear of bottom side Malmesbury Victoria and were just four points short of an escape. After a season of consolidation that saw them finish just above half-way in 1982-83, two poor seasons followed, with Ferndale finishing rock bottom of Division Two for consecutive seasons. They did have the consolation in Season 1984-85 of picking up the EC Mills Sportsmanship Award.

However, Season 1985-86 was to be the last season they would spend in Division 2. After being forced to switch their ground for a third time in just a few years, a move back to the County Ground Extension was to prove the catalyst for the most successful period for Ferndale in the league. They lifted the Division Two championship for the second time, seven years after they had won it for the first time by finishing two points ahead of Old Manor which saw promotion back to Division One where they were to remain until the club ceased to be a separate entity.

Their first season back in the topflight was to prove a highly successful one. They finished in an impressive fifth place in the league, whilst also lifting the Ghia Senior Cup for the first time, defeating fellow Swindon side Wills in the final. They retained the Ghia Senior Cup the following season, although their triumph was tainted somewhat by the cup being awarded to them when scheduled opponents Plessey Sports were unable to raise a side for the final. They also went close in the Division One title race, eventually finishing runners-up to eventual champions Wootton Bassett Town.

The following season was to prove to be the pinnacle of their time in the league as they went one better than the previous season lifting the Division One title finishing three points clear of Sanford in second spot. Ferndale were worthy champions having led the way all season except for a couple of weeks in April when Sanford stole a march on them whilst they were not playing to head the table by a point. Sanford’s position at the top was only to be temporary as Ferndale won their games in hand to take the title, striker Kevin Roberts helping himself to 21 goals during the title winning season.

Season 1989-90 again saw them involved in the title race but in the end they had to settle for fourth spot, just five points adrift of eventual champions Pewsey Vale. Their final four seasons as Ferndale Athletic saw them finish in eight, sixth, fifth and then eighth spot again in 1993-94.

Season 1994-95 saw the club merge with Aldbourne to form Aldbourne - Ferndale playing at Aldbourne. The merger was to reap immediate benefits for the two clubs as the combined entity took the Wiltshire Football League Division One title finishing six points clear of second placed Malmesbury Victoria. The following season Ferndale was dropped from the name of the Aldbourne based side and the famous Ferndale name disappeared from the league a couple of seasons until Ferndale Rodbourne joined from the Swindon & District League. The Ferndale Rodbourne name lives on with the youth teams who play in the North Wilts Youth Football League.
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