Wellworthy Athletic F.C.
| Full name | Wellworthy Athletic Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1927 | ||
| Dissolved | 1988 – merged with Lymington Town | ||
| Ground | Ampress Works Ground, Nr Lymington | ||
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| |||
Wellworthy Athletic F.C. were a successful works football team based in the New Forest area of the English county of Hampshire.
Club history
Founded in 1927 Wellworthy Athletic originally played in Bournemouth League where they climbed up through the ranks to win promotion to the Hampshire League Division 2 in 1932. Initially they did well, finishing runners-up in 1932–33 but were relegated after finishing bottom in 1934–35.
After a spell playing in the New Forest League, Wellworthy returned to the Hampshire League in 1949 when they were placed in Division 3 West in 1949. Initially the club again did well as they challenged for promotion twice finishing third and as runners-up in 1950–51. Throughout the Fifties Wellworthy remained a consistent mid-table side with the main highlight coming when the side reached the Hampshire Intermediate Cup final in 1956–57. However, the early 1960s saw a decline in fortunes and after two seasons of struggle Wellworthy were relegated in 1960–61 and returned to the Bournemouth League.
After many years of re-building the Eighties saw Wellworthy Athletic once again emerge as a strong force. The 1984–85 season was a memorable one as they completed a fantastic double by winning the Bournemouth League and the Pickford Cup, as well as being finalists in the Hampshire Intermediate Cup. These successes were enough for Wellworthy to deservedly return to the Hampshire League Division 3 for the 1985–86 season where they promptly won promotion as runners-up.
Wessex League
In 1986 the Wessex Football League was formed (mostly by the top and most ambitious Hampshire League clubs with the best facilities) and Wellworthy were surprisingly elected despite their Ampress Works Ground only meeting the basic requirements. However, despite the big step up, Wellworthy held their own and they did extremely well to finish seventh in 1986–87. After finishing 15th in 1987–88 the club suffered a major setback when they lost their ground.
Merger
At the time league rivals and neighours Lymington Town were struggling badly so the two clubs decided to join forces, becoming known as AFC Lymington playing at Lymington's Southampton Road home.
Whilst the Wellworthy name is no more, the move proved to be an instant success as the new club soon proceeded to become a strong force in the Wessex League, winning several league titles and cups.
Reformation
In 1998 most of the team and committee departed to almagamate with local rivals New Milton of the Hampshire League. The newly merged club became known as Lymington & New Milton and with better facilities at their Fawcett Fields home in New Milton would go on to enjoy numerous successes. Meanwhile, not everyone was happy with the move and those strongly opposed reformed Lymington Town and returned to the Hampshire League where they quickly rose back to the top division before rejoining the extended Wessex League in 2004.
Notable former players
The former Southampton 1976 FA Cup winner David Peach as player-manager and the Hampshire cricket wicket keeper Adrian Aymes both turned out for the club during their Wessex League days.