Leverstock Green FC was formed around 1895. The first match reports appeared on January 4th 1896 in the Advertiser and gave an account of a match against Hemel Hempstead Rovers.
The first competitive fixtures were reported during season 1908/1909 when the Club competed in Division Three of the West Herts League. Other clubs competing in the league at that time were: Abbots Langley, Bovingdon, Boxmoor, Bushey Heath, Hagden Lane, Kings Langley and Potten End.
The Club ground in Pancake Lane originally formed part of the Gorhambury Estate, Lord Verulam making the ground available for the youth of the area and his estate workers to enjoy a game of ball. Clearly Lord Verulam was an early enthusiast, providing timber-built changing rooms, which have been progressively replaced since the 1960s by the existing brick built clubhouse and changing rooms.
On the death of the Lord, certain parcels of land, including that on which the Football Club stood, fell to the Crown in lieu of death duties and is administered on its behalf by the Commission for New Towns, who have remained the Clubs landlords since that time, despite two unsuccessful attempts by the Club to buy the freehold.
Leverstock Green FC remained members of the West Herts League until 1954 when it broadened its horizons and successfully applied to join the Herts County League.
By the mid 1970s the Club started to move forward with a new clubhouse, post & rail and the installation of training lights.
The playing side of the club also improved and in 1979 the club won Division One of the Herts County League and were promoted to the Premier Division – the highest standard the Club had achieved in 80 years.
In 1991 Leverstock Green FC were accepted into the South Midlands League and had two highly successful seasons in the Premier Division before being forced to drop into the Senior Division, as floodlights were then not available. In 1996 the club finished in runners-up position and the following season were the divisional champions but could not be promoted because floodlights had still not received approval from the Council.
Premier Division status was eventually regained in 2003, and the club spent 21 straight seasons in the division before promotion to Step Four in 2024. The club’s highest finish in the Premier Division has been 4th, in seasons 2010/11 and 2023/24, with top six finishes also being recorded in 2005/06, 2006/07 and 2008/09.
Season 2010/11 also saw the club’s best ever run in the FA Vase, with wins over Welwyn Garden City, Enfield, Hullbridge Sports, Tunbridge Wells and Bemerton Heath Harlequins before defeat in the Fifth Round against Rye United. The club has twice reached the Third Round of the FA Vase, in seasons 2006/07 and 2018/19.
Leverstock Green FC entered the FA Cup for the first time in 2004, and the club’s best performance has been reaching the Second Round Qualifying, which was achieved in 2014/15, where we were beaten by Staines Town, and in 2018/19 where we were beaten by Dorking Wanderers.
County honours were won in 2006/07 and 2010/11 as the Herts Charity Shield was lifted, and the club were beaten finalists in the Herts Charity Cup in 2011/12. After finishing runners-up four times over the previous 12 years, The West Herts FA St Mary’s Cup was finally lifted for the first time in 2017/18 with victory over Berkhamsted in the final at Vauxhall Road.
Between 2005 and 2015 the club ran a successful Ladies’ Team, which rose from the Beds and Herts League into the Eastern Region Womens League, reaching the Premier Division in 2013.
The under-18 side competes in the Southern Counties Floodlit Youth League. The team finished runners-up in their division in seasons 2010/11 and 2014/15, and in 2015/16 they reached the final of both the Brian Hitchings Cup and the Colwyn Cup, losing in both finals to Luton Town Cedars. Many players have made the step up from under-18 level to first team level, and those who have gone on to play much higher up the non-league pyramid include Charlie Gorman (Eastbourne Borough), Luke Warner-Eley (Royston Town, St Albans City) and Jonathan Lacey (Hemel Hempstead Town) who also represented the England non-league side in the Falklands while a Leverstock Green player.
The Pancake Lane ground has seen many improvements due to ever more stringent ground grading requirements. In 2007 the Peter Metcalfe changing rooms were built at a cost of £90,000. 2008 saw the refurbishment of the clubhouse to include new toilets and a new hospitality suite. In 2009 the concrete walkway was completed to cover three sides of the ground and a seated stand accommodating 113 spectators was installed.
Season 2018/19 was one of turmoil and sadness, as long-serving fixture secretary Graham Smart passed away suddenly only weeks after taking on the role of interim chairman. A season which promised so much at the start ended with the club only securing Premier Division safety on the final day.
Emma Smart took over as chairman for season 2019/20, and with a new management team and a new spirit of optimism the club was on course for a safe mid-table finish before the season was brought to a premature end by Covid-19. The management team of Matt Harding and Mick Vipond continued into the 2020/21 season, which again came to a premature end. For season 2021/22, a new management team of Fergus Moore, Scott McGleish and Paul Marks was appointed. Fergus and Scott continued through season 2022/23 and won their first silverware for the club with a 1-0 win over Tring Athletic in the final of the West Herts St Mary’s Cup.
Fergus and Scott were joined by former Under-18 manager Ross Bargent for season 2023/24, and the club also started a Development Team, playing in the Herts Senior County League Premier Division. 2023/24 proved to be an incredibly successful season for the club, as a fourth-place finish secured a place in the end-of-season playoffs, and victories over Harpenden Town and FC Romania saw the club promoted to Step Four for the first time in their history. In addition the SSML Challenge Trophy was won for the first time to complete a unique double. In addition to the two trophies won on the field, the club was also awarded the SSML Sportsmanship Trophy, voted for by their fellow clubs, and the Sir Stanley Rous Trophy, voted for unaminously by the Herts FA committee for the club’s achievement in winning promotion.
The club is now looking forward to season 2024/25 in the Southern League Division One Central.
Four club stalwarts have received awards from the Football Association and the Herts FA for 50 years service to football. The first was Jim Matthews, affectionately known as “Macca”, who passed away at the age of 90 in 2006. The second was Bill Dawes in 2014, and the third was long-serving club secretary Brian Barter in 2019. Brian stood down from his role as secretary in 2020, having twice been honoured with awards from the Spartan South Midlands League. The fourth to receive the award was vice-chairman and treasurer Tony Smart in 2023.
For more about the early history of Leverstock Green FC, visit the Leverstock Green Chronicle by clicking here
For further information on our club sponsors click here