Bishop's Cleeve F.C.

Football club infobox
clubname = Bishop's Cleeve


fullname = Bishop's Cleeve Football Club
nickname = The Villagers, The Skinners
founded = 1905
ground = Kayte Lane
Bishop's Cleeve
capacity = tbc
chairman = flagicon|England David Walker
manager = flagicon|England Paul Collicutt
league = Southern League
Division One South and West
position = Southern League
Division One Midlands, 12th (transferred)
season = 2007-08
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pattern_la2=|pattern_b2=_darkbluerightsash|pattern_ra2=
leftarm2=f1ef00|body2=f1ef00|rightarm2=f1ef00|shorts2=f1ef00|socks2=f1ef00

Bishop's Cleeve F.C. are a football club based in Bishop's Cleeve, near Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. They were established in 1905. They joined the Hellenic Football League Division One in 1983 and reached the 3rd round of the FA Vase in the 2005-06 season. They are currently members of the Southern League Division One South and West. Their nickname is 'The Villagers'.

History

Formed in 1905, Bishop's Cleeve played in the Cheltenham League until 1967, winning the Division Two title in 1925 and the Division One title in both 1935 and 1967, after the latter of which they stepped up to the Gloucester Northern Senior League. In this league they were Division Two champions in 1968 and again in 1969, and Division One champions in 1970 and 1973. When the Hellenic League was formed in 1983, they became founder members, initially in Division One. Promotion to the Premier Division came in 1987 but after five seasons in the top flight the club was relegated in 1992. In 2001 Bishop's Cleeve won the now-regionalised Division One West to return to the Premier Division, where they remained until a reorganisation of the English football league system saw them placed in the new Southern League Division One Midlands.

Ground

The club originally played on a ground in Stoke Road. The facilities at this ground were completely refurbished in 1971 but in 1995 their landlords the Church Commissioners sold the land off for housing. The club spent a number of years sharing the grounds of other local teams such as Forest Green Rovers until approval for a new site at Kayte Lane was given in 1997, although for the 2001-02 season a temporary sharing of the ground of Evesham United was required whilst extra work was carried out after the club's promotion.

The club was able to return to Kayte Lane for the 2002-03 season after the new stand and floodlights were approved, to be followed in 2004 by a new clubhouse and changing rooms.

Club records

*Best league performance: 13th in Southern League Division One Midlands, 2006-07
*Best FA Cup performance: 4th qualifying round, 2005-06
*Best FA Trophy performance: 1st qualifying round, 2006-07
*Best FA Vase performance: 3rd round, 2005-06

ources

*fchd|name=Bishop's Cleeve|id=BISHOPCL

External links

* [http://www.web-teams.co.uk/bishopscleevefc Club website]