THE CREATION OF THE ESL

We all know how indebted football in Essex is to our own Rob Errington, along with his late wife Margaret who ran our league like it was their own baby and how their fine start has flourished and progressed under the guidance of another couple Lee and Michelle Dorling.

Rob shares his knowledge of the history of the league right from day one in 1971, on this very website and in the cup final programmes. You may or may not know that although there was several clubs already playing it was on the 30th September 1882, that members of several local football clubs discussed the formation of a “Football Association” at the White Hart Hotel, which was still in existence in Colchester Road until its demolition in December 2010. I am the first to admit that although I have never been a statistical person I have always liked history and wondered what the history was of one of the earliest leagues was in Essex, I thought you might be interested if I shared my findings. On 20 March 1895, following a meeting at the George Hotel, Colchester, the North Essex League was voted into existence in order to improve the standard of football in north Essex.

On 8 May 1895, following a meeting at the Angel Hotel, Witham, the first constitution for the league was decided, with Braintree Gordon, Chelmsford, Colchester, Colchester Excelsior, Colchester St. Peter's, Harwich & Parkeston, Heybridge and Witham making up the first division. The second division comprised Braintree Gordon II, Bocking, Chelmsford II, Clacton Town, Halstead, Maldon and Manningtree United.

Alongside the league, a cup competition for North Essex League clubs ran, with Harwich & Parkeston winning the first edition of the cup, beating Braintree 5–2. Arc Works, Bocking, Braintree Gordon, Brightlingsea Town, Burnham Ramblers, Clacton Town, Chelmsford, Chelmsford Swifts, Colchester Crown, Colchester Excelsior, Colchester St. Peter's, Colchester Town, Coggeshall Town, Earls Colne, Great Leighs, Halstead,Harwich & Parkeston, Heybridge Swifts, Maldon, Maldon Town, Manningtree United, Manor Works, Royal Irish Fusiliers,Royal Warwick Regiment, Saffron Walden, Tiptree United, Witham, was the full list of clubs and the league ran until it disbanded at the end of the 1955–56 season. Even better was the discovery of a league covering Essex that was a similar sort of time and at over 125 years old it is proudly one of the oldest football leagues in the world, having provided grassroots football for thousands of players and officials in the Mid-Essex area since our formation in 1898. What I find most interesting is there are a number of the clubs who have served our league recently and who still do today.

I wasn't surprised at the dates football started as obviously know the football league was about since 1888, and that even up to 25 years earlier clubs like Notts County and even our old friends Clapton were competing prior to then, what did surprise me was that in Essex there was already enough clubs to form two divisions or in modern terms two steps when you think that it then took the picture F.A. another 50+ years to give Essex two divisions again.