Royal Wootton Bassett Town

Situated six miles from Swindon, Wootton Bassett Town Football Club was first established in 1882, making the club one of the oldest in Wiltshire. The club’s early achievements came in the Wiltshire Senior Cup, making the final in both 1902-3 and 1903-4, although losing both. The club folded for a period pre-World War 1 before re-forming in the Calne & District League when it began playing at the Gerard Buxton Sports Ground which had been donated by a local dignitary for sporting activities within the town and opened in 1930.

Early successes included winning the Calne & District League in 1930-31, having finished runners-up the previous season, and then again in 1934-35. Following a move up to the Wiltshire League Division 2 promotion was earned again the following season and the team then remained in the top division in the county until the outbreak of war. After the war Wootton Bassett Town F.C. recommenced in the County League with limited success until 1958-59 when they won their first Wiltshire League title. In 1987-88 the Wiltshire League Division 1 title was won, elevating the club into the Hellenic League, where they have remained ever since. The club finally won the Wiltshire Senior Cup in 1998-99 and repeated this achievement in 2000-01. The club have had three spells in the Hellenic Premier and the current spell in the topflight commenced after gaining promotion back in 2012-13. The highest finish in the history of the club, was fourth spot in 2023-24, just missing out on promotion to the Southern League after losing to Cinderford Town in the play-off final.

Since the onset of the new millennium the club has expanded significantly, with the establishment of a thriving Youth Section, a very successful Ladies Section and a Veteran’s Section. The club now operates 33 teams from under 7s upwards. All now play their games at the relocated Gerard Buxton Sports Ground, which opened in the summer of 2015 and with the Royal title now included within the name, Royal Wootton Bassett Town continues to thrive as a key part of the community. This growth led to the club being awarded Charter Standard Development Club status by the Football Association in 2008 before this was upgraded to Community Club status a year later, the first club in Wiltshire to achieve this. International ties have also been established with Dutch amateur side FC ‘s-Gravenzande who sides from the club’s Youth Section visit each year.

In 2020-21 the club had good cup runs in both the FA Cup and the FA Vase, as well as the Hellenic League end of season cup competition. In the FA Cup the club equalled their best performance in the competition, reaching the 2nd Qualifying Round, losing narrowly to a late winner against National League South side Oxford City. The club also equalled their best showing in the FA Vase. In the Bluefin Insurance Cup competition, they safely progressed from the group stages and then won two knockout games to reach the semi-final but just fell short against eventual winners Kidlington, going down 2-1 in the semi. Whilst doing well in the cup competitions the side never really got going in the league. It was a similar story in 2021-22 with the best form again being shown in the cups with Royal Wootton Bassett Town reaching the 3rd Round of the FA Vase for the first time in the club’s history, eventually losing a tight game to Hamworthy. 2022-23 saw Sam Collier in charge of the First Team for his fifth season with a new assistant in the shape of experienced striker Alan Griffin. It would prove to be a successful season with the team achieving their then highest ever position, finishing in fifth place in the Premier Division which was then exceeded the following season with that fourth place finish and play-off final. 2024-25 saw the team again go close to making the play-offs, but they never really made up for a bad start to the season eventually finishing in seventh place. The current season sees a new management team in place after Sam Collier stood down before taking a position at Fairford Town. Former player Jonny Aitkenhead is the new manager, his first managerial post, supported by Dan Atkin and another former player Rob Hopkins. With virtually all of last season’s team departing, focus this season will be on youth with some excellent prospects signed in what should be an exciting season for the club.