Bemerton Heath Harlequins F.C.

Bemerton Heath Harlequins Football Club is a football club based in Bemerton, Salisbury, England. Established in 1989 as a merger of Bemerton Athletic, Moon and Bemerton Boys, they are currently members of the Wessex League Division One and play at Moon Park.

Bemerton Heath Harlequins
Full nameBemerton Heath Harlequins Football Club
Nickname(s)Harlequins
Founded1989
GroundMoon Park, Salisbury
Capacity2,100 (250 seated)[1]
ChairmanSteve Slade
ManagerShaun Hale
LeagueWessex League Division One
2019–20Wessex League Division One (season abandoned)

History

Bemerton Athletic

The Bemerton Club started as a boys' team in 1945 and after beating every other boys' team in the area, they changed their name to Bemerton Athletic in 1949. The club dominated the Salisbury & District Football League from the start through to the mid-1960s. In 1960–61 they were league champions with a 100% record, also winning the Wiltshire Junior Cup, Morrison Cup, South Wilts Charity 'A' and Lord Bledisloe Cup in the same season. After winning the First Division six seasons in a row, the club moved up to the Wiltshire Football League. They won promotion to Division One in the 1965–66 season. The club won the Wiltshire Combination League in 1972–73 and 1973–74 and the Wiltshire Senior League in 1986–87 after being runners-up for the previous three seasons.

Moon

The club was started in the late 1960s by a group of schoolboys in their mid-teens who played friendlies. They played under the name Bemerton Heath until 1973, when upon entering the Salisbury & District Sunday League, they changed their name to the Conquered Moon. They won Division Three and Division One, the Supplementary Cup and the Sunday Cup on various occasions. They also set a record of playing in seven consecutive Sunday Cup Finals. During the nine years in the Salisbury League, the club made three appearances in the Wiltshire Sunday Cup Final but never won it. The club changed its name back to Bemerton Heath, only to revert back to the Conquered Moon two seasons later, to then drop the 'Conquered' in the early 1980s. In 1982, the club moved to the Andover Sunday League and within five seasons, every trophy to be played in had been won at least once. During the sixteen years (1973–1989) of competitive football that the club had played in, they never finished below second place in any league.

Merged club

Bemerton Heath Harlequins was established in May 1989 as a merger of Wiltshire League club Bemerton Athletic, former Salisbury & Andover League club Moon and Bemerton Boys of the Mid-Wilts League.[2] The new club was accepted into the Wessex league for the 1989–90 season.[3] In 1992–93 they entered the FA Cup for the first time, reaching the third qualifying round.[3] The season also saw the club win the Wiltshire Senior Cup, beating Wollen Sports 3–1 in the final,[4] as well as a third-place finish in the Wessex League.

After winning the Wessex League Cup in 2009–10, Bemerton were Wessex League runners-up in 2010–11, also winning the Senior Cup for the third time after a 2–0 win against Bradford Town. The following season saw them finish as league runners-up again,[3] as well as winning the Hampshire FA's Russell Cotes Cup, beating Christchurch 2–0 in the final.[5]

Ground

Bemerton Athletic played at the Salisbury and South Wiltshire Sports Club from 1945 to 1989.

The merged club play at Moon Park on Western Way. The ground has a seated stand on one side of the pitch and a clubhouse with some covered seating behind one goal.[6] It currently has a capacity of 2,100, of which 250 is seated and 350 covered.[1]

Honours
  • Wessex League
    • League Cup winners 2009–10
  • Russell Cotes Cup
    • Winners 2011–12
  • Wiltshire Senior Cup
    • Winners 1992–93, 2010–11

Records
  • Best FA Cup performance: Third qualifying round, 1992–93[3]
  • Best FA Vase performance: Fifth round, 1998–99, 2012–13[3]
  • Record attendance: 1,118 vs Aldershot Town[1]
  • Most appearances: Keith Richardson[1]

See also
  • Bemerton Heath Harlequins F.C. players

References
  1. Mike Williams & Tony Williams (2016) Non-League Club Directory 2017, Tony Williams Publications, p549 ISBN 978-1869833695
  2. Club History Bemerton Heath Harlequins F.C.
  3. Bemerton Heath Harlequins at the Football Club History Database
  4. Wiltshire Cups summary Football Club History Database
  5. Hampshire Cups 2011–12 Football Club History Database
  6. Bemerton Heath Harlequins Pyramid Passion

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