Plans are well underway for a historic footballing name from the past to return ahead of the 150th anniversary of its formation.
New week is the 20th anniversary of the last competitive match of Wokingham Town Football Club.
The club was formed around 1875 but disappeared in 2004 following a merger with Emmbrook Sports to form what is now Wokingham & Emmbrook Football Club.
This week, the club has revealed one design it is considering for a retro, one-off playing kit to be worn by the men’s first team.
A new club badge, reflecting the history of Wokingham Town and its more recent incarnation, is also being considered.
Wokingham Town Football Club is believed to have been born in 1875, making it the fourth oldest club in Berkshire. That said, a report in the Reading Observer dated November 25 1873 makes mention of a meeting being held in the town with the aim of forming a football club. Another newspaper report mentions a general meeting of the football club in late October 1874, so the exact date the club was founded is uncertain.
In those days, players were drawn almost exclusively from the ‘landed gentry’. At the time, Old Etonians were recognised as the best side in England however, soon after its formation, one of the founders of Wokingham Town decided the club should be open for players from all sections of society.
One of the first newspaper reports of football in Wokingham on November 6 1875, noted the season had begun the previous week with “supper and Capital songs” at the Rose Hotel, with a match between members of the club taking place the following day.
The Rose in Market Place was the recognised meeting place for club players and members in 1898, but it wasn’t until 1906 when the club moved to its former Finchampstead Road home – with a pavilion being erected in 1909. In 1906 season tickets were selling for 2s 6d, and in 1911 the annual rent for the ground was reported as being £18.
Wokingham Town won its first silverware in 1912 when the Reserves topped Division One of the Ascot League. The same season they also won the Camberley Hospital Cup. In 1921 Wokingham Town switched to the Reading Temperance League, with the team winning the Division One Championship in 1925.
That success brought a desire within the club to own its own ground.
A fundraising initiative was launched and in 1928, having raised £750, the transfer of the Finchampstead Road enclosure was completed.
The club had been renting the ground since the turn of the century, but it wasn’t until April 1939 when a new grandstand and pavilion was opened with Chelsea sending a side to play an exhibition game to mark the official opening.
The club also reached the quarter-finals of the FA Amateur Cup in 1958, the first round of the FA Cup in 1982 and the semi-finals of the FA Trophy in 1988.
After playing its final game at its former home on Finchampstead Road in 2000, the club played at various grounds including in Bracknell, Windsor, Egham and Flackwell Heath before returning to the town in 2004 following the merger.
Many former players went on to play professionally, and even at international level.
The club, which labels itself at ‘the Town’s team’, boasts more than 75 teams from under-5s through to the senior men and ladies teams. More than 700 players represent the club every week.
Mark Ashwell, president of Wokingham & Emmbrook FC, told Wokingham Today: “Next season will mark the 150th anniversary of the formation of Wokingham Town Football Club, so we feel now is as good a time as any to revert to the historic name.
The club is looking for sponsors, and is also planning events to celebrate the return of Wokingham Town.
It will retain its ‘Sumas’ nickname which actually dates back to the Wokingham Town days, as well as the orange and black that have been part of football in Wokingham since the 1900s.
It will also continue to play matches at its current Lowther Road home.
