HENLEY
Foot Ball - We understand that steps are being taken to form a Foot Ball Club, in the town. No doubt, when fairly started, the roll of members will assume considerable proportions as already twenty gentlemen have expressed their willingness to join.
- KINCH's HENLEY ADVERTISER
November 4th 1871

Henley Town F.C. was founded in November 1871 and is the oldest club recognised by the Oxfordshire Football Association. Henley Town played in the early days of the FA Cup and were full members of the Football Association for several seasons.
In the early years of the twentieth century up to the First World War, Town won the Oxfordshire Senior Cup five times and the Oxfordshire Charity Cup twice. In 1912/13, they won the Reading Temperance League’s top division and were runners-up the following season.

It was to be 20 years before further success came Henley’s way. Having been elected to the Spartan League in 1931, Town won Division Two (West) in 1933/34. In 1936/37 along with the Henley (Hospital) Charity Cup (a trophy they won 15 times in total) and the Oxfordshire Charity Cup, won for the third time, they were promoted from Division One to the Premier Division, alas, for only one season.

Fortune changed when Henley Town were elected to the Hellenic League in 1957. During the next seven years they won the Hellenic League Division One Benevolent Cup, the Oxfordshire Charity Cup (for the last time) and the Henley (Hospital) Charity Cup 3 times, before clinching the Division One title in 1962/63. Five years later, they won the title again playing 30 league games without losing, an unprecedented achievement in any division of the Hellenic Football League.

However, in 1971, their centenary year, Henley Town lost the use of the Reading Road Ground they had leased for 70 years. Later, Henley Town joined the Wycombe & District Football League, playing on borrowed pitches throughout the 1973/74 season, until securing the use of the Mill Lane Sports Centre and the Triangle from the town council. Henley Town gained immediate promotion to the Ercol Senior League which they won in 1978/79, along with the Wycombe Senior Cup, runners-up medals in the Reading Senior Cup and suffering only three defeats from 43 games that season.

Henley Town joined the newly formed Chiltonian Football League in 1984 winning Division One in 1987/88. In 1991, the town council granted a long lease on their present ground (now known as The Invesco Perpetual Triangle Ground). A new clubhouse was opened in 1995 and in 1999/2000, Henley Town clinched the Chiltonian League Championship by a record

The following season saw Henley Town back in the Hellenic League which had merged with the Chiltonian League. They won Division One (East) by a 20-point margin gaining promotion to the Premier Division but in 2005/06 were relegated back to Division One (East)

_______________________

If you are interested in the history of football in Henley and the Thames Valley the following two booklets are available for a small donation. A Phoenix Once Again, written by club historian, John Bailey and containing some splendid photos covers the history of Henley Town from 1871 - 1974. Reg Arlett - The Henley Meteor is the incredible story of a Henley player in the thirties.

John Bailey's latest book on football is titled A Pleasing and Unobjectionable Recreation (published by 3-2 Books) and is a history of football in the Thames Valley between 1870 and 1873. It is available from the publishers for £3.

For Hellenic league history, 50 Glorious Seasons has photos and every league table and is available for just £4.99

_______________________

Henley Town FC • Club Honours

FIRST TEAM
1903-04 Oxfordshire Senior Cup
1904-05 Oxfordshire Charity Cup
1910-11 Oxfordshire Senior Cup
1912-13 Reading Temperance League Division 1
1912-13 Oxfordshire Senior Cup
1913-14 Oxfordshire Charity Cup
1913-14 Oxfordshire Senior Cup
1933-34 Spartan Lge Div 2 (West) and Div 2 Ch'ship
1933-34 Henley (Hospital) Charity Cup
1934-35 Henley (Hospital) Charity Cup
1935-36 Henley (Hospital) Charity Cup
1936-37 Spartan League Division 1
1936-37 Henley (Hospital) Charity Cup
1936-37 Oxfordshire Charity Cup
1937-38 Henley (Hospital) Charity Cup
1938-39 Bradley Charity Cup
1946-47 Oxfordshire Senior Cup
1949.50 Henley (Hospital) Charity Cup
1959-60 Henley (Hospital) Charity Cup
1961-62 Henley (Hospital) Charity Cup
1962-63 Hellenic Lge Div 1 Benevolent Fund Cup
1962-63 Oxfordshire Charity Cup
1963-64 Hellenic League Division 1
1965-66 Henley (Hospital) Charity Cup
1966-67 Henley (Hospital) Charity Cup
1967-68 Hellenic League Div 1
1967-68 Henley (Hospital) Charity Cup
1970-71 Henley (Hospital) Charity Cup
1974-75 Henley (Hospital) Charity Cup
1976-77 Henley (Hospital) Charity Cup
1977-78 Henley (Hospital) Charity Cup
1978-79 Ercol Senior League
1978-79 High Wycombe Senior Cup
1987-88 Chiltonian League Division 1
1997-98 Chiltonian League Bon Accord Trophy
1999-00 Chiltonian League Premiere Division
1999-00 Kenny Alleyne Memorial Trophy
2001-01 Hellenic League Division 1 (East)
2001-02 Kenny Alleyne Memorial Trophy

RESERVE TEAM
1932-33 Henley Town & Comrades Cup
1952-53 Reading & District Institute League Div 2
1952-53 Henley Town & Comrades Cup (Joint Holders)
1964-65 Hellenic League Reserve Benevolent Fund Cup
1965-66 Henley Town & Comrades Cup
1967-68 Hellenic League Reserve Division 2
1997-98 Chiltonian League Division 2
1997-98 Chiltonian League Reserve Cup
1997-98 Reading Junior Cup
2000-01 Hellenic League Reserve Division 2 (East)
2000-01 Oxfordshire Intermediate Cup
2002-03 Reading Junior Cup
2005-06 Oxfordshire Intermediate Cup
2009-10 Reading Junior Cup
2009-10 Oxfordshire Intermediate Cup

YOUTH TEAM
1959-60 Henley Minor Cup
1960-61 Henley Minor Cup
1961-62 Henley Minor Cup
1989-90 Reading International Youth Tournament U16
1990-91 Reading Sunday Youth League
1990-91 Reading Sunday Youth League Vic Beasley Cup
1990-91 Reading International Youth Tournament U18
2004-05 Oxfordshire Youth Cup
2007-08 Allied Counties Youth League Central Division
2007-08 Allied Counties Youth League Subsidiary Cup
2008-09 Oxfordshire Youth Cup

SUNDAY FIRST TEAM
2000-01 Reading Sunday League Prem Div

Henley Town Football Club