Club History

The history of Romsey Town Football Club goes back to 1886 when a meeting took place at the Town Hall to consider the desirability of forming a football club in the town.

In the season 1889/90 they played their football at Alma Road, playing in local football. By the 1920’s they had gained entry into the Hampshire League and played their games at Priestlands which is now Romsey School. They had great success and won the Hampshire Intermediate Cup for the first time.

After the Second World War Romsey Town went on to produce some of their best attacking sides. In 1949 they reached the 2nd Round of the F.A. Cup and the final of the Hampshire Senior Cup in the same season. By 1955-56 they moved to their current home – the Bypass Ground – however they were relegated and the club fell into decline.

By the 1970’s the club started to climb out of the doldrums of lower league football and in 1974-75 won the Hampshire League Division 4 title. By the late 80’s Romsey had reached the Hampshire League Division 1 and in 1990 became the second club (after Bashley) to win the Wessex League title.

In the years to follow the club could not maintain the high standards and went into another decline until recently. In 2007 the club finished 3rd in Division 1 of the Wessex League and gained promotion to the Premier Division. After a good start to the 2007-08 campaign, the side suffered a poor second half of the season and finished 18th. The reserves finished 4th in Combination 2 and were beaten finalists in the Southampton Senior Cup Final at St Mary’s.

Notable former players

Two ex-Southampton players turned out for Romsey Town during the 1980s. Goalkeeper Ian Turner and Peter Rodrigues - both of whom played in the 1976 FA Cup final victory over Manchester United.