Name of Ground:
Lambourn Sports Club Ground Address: Sports Club, Bockhampton Road, Lambourn, RG18 8PS
Ground Tel:
Match Day Programme? No
Ground Directions:
From the M4 (Swindon)
From junction 15, take the A346/A419 exit signposted – Marlborough/Swindon E/Oxford/A420. At the next roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto Merlin Way. At White Hart Roundabout, take the 3rd exit onto A420, heading towards Oxford. Travel for approximately 10 miles. There are 3 junctions for Faringdon and we recommend you take the 2nd which is off of a roundabout. This is Park Road, where you will pass an Esso Petrol Station on your right, follow the road until you reach a set of traffic lights, where Tucker Park is on your left.
Club History
The first recorded game being played by Lambourn Football Club was in February 1889. Like many clubs at the time, in their early days they played friendly fixtures before joining the Hungerford League in 1909. They subsequently joined the Newbury and District League in 1912 where they would remain until joining the Swindon & District League in 1951.
Whilst members of the Newbury & District League they secured their first major honours, winning the Newbury Challenge Cup in the 1921-22 Season. They were to win the same cup on two further occasions whilst in the Newbury & District League in Seasons 1929-30 and 1936-37. In addition, they also secured their first league title, being crowned the Newbury & District League Division One champions in Season 1923-24.
The club continued to be successful when they joined the Swindon & District League, lifting the Dr Elliott Cup in only their second season in the new league. They still entered the Newbury Challenge Cup whilst in the Swindon & District League and won this cup for the third time in Season 1954-55. The following season brought even more cup success as they won the prestigious Swindon & District League Advertiser Cup for the first time. They again made the final of the Advertiser Cup the following season but were beaten by Ferndale YC but, whilst cup success might have eluded them in 1956-57, they secured league success winning the Premier Division of the Swindon & District League for the first time. Lambourn continued to do well in cup competitions, and they were finalists in the Swindon Advertiser Cup for the third consecutive season in 1957-58, winning the cup for a second time after defeating Highworth Town in a replay after the first game had finished 0-0. Lambourn won the Swindon & District league Premier Division for a second time in Season 1959-60, also lifting the Reading Senior Cup. They were to remain in the Swindon & District League for just one more season before joining the Hellenic League for Season 1961-62, also achieving senior status at this time.
The club once again had immediate success in their new environment, winning the Hellenic Division One Cup in their first season and also finishing as runners-up securing promotion to the Hellenic Premier Division at the first attempt. They were to remain in the Premier Division for five seasons before being relegated back to Division One at the end of the 1966-67 season.
Back in Division One Lambourn had a period of relative struggle, finishing at the lower end of Division One for five seasons before leaving the Hellenic League to join the North Berks League. Lambourn remained in the North Berks League until the end of Season 1976-77, twice winning the Newbury Challenge Cup in Season 1974-75 and again in Season 1976-77.
The following season saw Lambourn return to the Hellenic League where they would remain for the next 20 seasons. After a third-place finish in Season 1979-80, a season which also saw Lambourn win the Hellenic League Division One Cup for the second time, Season 1981-82 saw them crowned Hellenic League Division One champions for the first and only time, securing promotion back to the Premier Division which they had left in 1967. Unfortunately, their stay in the Premier Division this time was to be a short one as they were immediately relegated back to Division One after finishing bottom of the table with just two league wins in their 30 fixtures.
Lambourn were to remain in Hellenic Division One for the next 12 seasons with their highest place finish being a third place in Season 1988-89, and again in Season 1994-95 under former Swindon Town legend Don Rogers. Don had joined the management team in 1992 and in his first season in charge they finished fourth and they repeated this the following season. Season 1994-95, his third season in charge, saw them not only go one better to finish third behind Endsleigh and Milton United, but also win the Berks & Bucks Senior Trophy for the first time. With Milton United’s ground at the time not up to Premier Division status, Lambourn were offered promotion on condition that they were able to provide floodlights for the following season. After obtaining the support of the full sports club committee and a lot of hard work by their members they achieved their aim. They fully justified their position by finishing in third spot in their first season back in the Premier Division, also making the final of the Berks & Bucks Senior Cup for a second time.
However, with the ever-increasing ground grading criteria saw the club return to junior football, re-joining the North Berks League, starting Season 1997-98 in Division 4 of that league. Three consecutive league titles later Lambourn were in Division 1, the top division of the North Berks League where they would remain for the next eleven seasons. During those eleven seasons they won the league title on three occasions in 2005-6, 2007-08 and 2010-11, also finishing runners-up in 2003-04. The last of their three league title successes saw them return to the Hellenic League, which by now had regionalised Division Ones, initially joining Division One East where they achieved a top half finish. The following season saw Lambourn switched to Division One West where, after a ninth-place finish, the decision was made to return to the North Berks League.
The first season back in the North Berks League in 2013-14 in Division One of the league was to prove problematical as the club were forced to pull out of the league part way through the season due to a lack of players. They did return the following season, re-starting in Division Two and suffering just two defeats all season in the league secured the Division Two title to secure promotion at the first attempt. Their first season back in Division One of the North Berks saw Lambourn finish in fourth spot which was to be their highest finish until the curtailed 2020-21 Season, where they won six of their opening seven league games before the season was brought to a halt by Covid-19.
Lambourn were set to join the Wiltshire Senior League in Season 2021-22 but the departure of their management team to Shrivenham saw them remain in the North Berks League. Season 2023-23 saw Lambourn, with their excellent facilities, finally join the Wiltshire Senior League looking to re-establish themselves in senior football. It was to prove to be a difficult season with issues raising a side leading them to call games off on numerous occasions and suffer consequential points deductions. When they could field a side the results were decent but there were too many occasions when they called games off resulting in not only the points deductions but a busy final run in and in the end they finished in 11th place.