Clarence F.C. (England) Explained

Clarence F.C. (England) should not be confused with Clarence F.C..

Clubname:Clarence
Fullname:Clarence Football Club
Founded:1876
Dissolved:1883
Ground:Battersea Park[1]
Mgrtitle:Secretary
Manager:Henry Morton-Carr
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Clarence, sometimes referred to as The Clarence, was an English association football club from Battersea.

History

The club was founded in 1876 by Henry Morton-Carr, an Old Carthusian who later founded the Belgrave Harriers Athletic Club.[2] The club took its name from a hotel in Winstanley Road, near to Battersea Park. It was not an aristocratic club - goalkeeper Thomas Bockmaster was a stonemason,[3] and Cup goalscorer Thomas Wilmshurst a schoolteacher.[4]

The club's first recorded match was a 1–0 win at home to Trojans in 1876.[5] For its first three seasons, the club played mostly low-key matches, many of which were not reported. In 1879–80 the club entered the FA Cup for the first time, but lost 5–2 at Pilgrims F.C. in the first round; Clarence had gone 2–0 behind and pulled it back to 2–2 within the first fifreen minutes, but the second half was dominated by Pilgrims.[6] The following season, the club lost 6–0 at Marlow in the first round, having turned up to the match with only ten men,[7] and seems to have ceased operations soon afterwards; four of its players joined Morton Rangers for 1881–82 and the club was not a member of the London Football Association on the latter's foundation in 1882. Its last record is as being listed as a member of the Football Association in 1883.[8]

The club is not related to another Clarence football club, founded in 1875 as the works side for Maple & Co., which played in an all-black kit out of Willesden Green.[9]

Colours

The club played in blue with red stripes in 1876–77,[10] and changed the following season to blue and black.[11]

Ground

The club played at Battersea Park, and used The Crown on York Road for facilities.[12]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Alcock . Charles . Football Annual . 1877 . 146.
  2. Web site: 1888-1890 . Belgrave Harriers.
  3. Book: Census: Battersea, Blondel Street . 1881 . HMSO . London . 40.
  4. Book: Census: Westminster, Stanford Street . 1881 . HMSO . London . 16.
  5. Clarence 1-0 Trojans . The Sportsman . 9 November 1876 . 4.
  6. The Pilgrims v Clarence . Field . 8 November 1879 . 643.
  7. Great Marlow 6-0 Clarence . Buckinghamshire Herald . 6 November 1880 . 8.
  8. Book: Alcock . Charles . Football Annual . 1883 . Cricket Press . London . 180.
  9. The Clarence Football Club . Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News . 12 December 1891 . 17–19.
  10. Book: Alcock . Charles . Football Annual . 1877 . 146.
  11. Book: Alcock . Charles . Football Annual . 1878 . 149.
  12. Book: Alcock . Charles . Football Annual . 1877 . 146.