Thornbury Town Football Club is a football club located in Thornbury, South Gloucestershire, England. They are currently members of the and play at the Mundy Playing Fields.
The club is affiliated to the Gloucestershire County FA and is a FA Charter Standard Club.
As well as a first and reserve team, the club also operates youth teams from Under 6s to Under 18s. The youth teams were part of Thornbury Falcons until they merged in 2010 with the adults team and adopted the "Thornbury Town" name.
History The exact date of the formation of the club is uncertain, but there are records of football being played in the late 1800s, with the first mention of "Thornbury Town" in 1898. Before the outbreak of World War I, Thornbury played in the Dursley & Wotton League, with records of games against Chipping Sodbury Town, Wickwar and Westbury Park. During this time Dr. E. M. Grace, elder brother of W G Grace, played for the team.
After the war, the club re-formed and joined the Bristol and Suburban League. The club played in what is now the upper end of The Castle School Sixth Form Playing Field, on a pitch surrounded by an iron fence. They used changing rooms at a social club on the High Street which is now the Thornbury branch of HSBC.
In 1933, multiple clubs in the area merged to form Thornbury Sports, later becoming Thornbury A.F.C., and later, Thornbury Town A.F.C.
At the end of World War II, the club moved to its current home at the Mundy Playing Fields. After using various establishments for changing room facilities, a pavilion at the playing fields was built in 1964. After playing in the Bristol and District League, they became founding members of the Bristol Premier Combination, winning the league in the 1956–57 season.
In the 1968–69 season, the club became founding members of the Gloucestershire County League and in the following season recorded attendances in excess of 500 spectators. In 1971, the club was accepted into the Western Football League after finishing third in the County League. However, the Mundy Playing Fields didn't meet the requirements, therefore, the club remained in the county until their relegation to the Bristol Premier Combination in 1977.
The club returned to the Gloucestershire County League in 2002 after many steady, but unsuccessful, seasons in the Bristol Premier Combination, finally winning the title by 13 points. The club finally won their first County League title in 2009–10, but history repeated itself with the club unable to make the step up to a higher level due to lack of facilities at the Mundys. That summer, the local youth football team, Thornbury Falcons, merged with Thornbury Town in a bid to cement the long term tradition of developing local youth talent.
After the title winning season in 2009–10, Thornbury Town struggled to repeat the success and went through multiple changes of management in the following seasons. Under the stewardship of Andy Davies, the club won the Les James League Cup for the first time beating league winners, Cheltenham Civil Service 1–0. That season the club also finished in a respectable 4th place, which they repeated for the next two seasons.
In 2017–18, the club finally improved on their three consecutive fourth-place finishes, winning the league for a second time. The club also completed the double by winning the Les James League Cup for a second time, beating Frampton United 1–0. Work behind the scenes by committee members, meant the club were also in a position to apply for promotion to Step 6 of the Non-League System after receiving planning permission for a 50-seater stand, floodlights and perimeter fencing. The club's application was successful and they were placed in the Hellenic Football League Division One West for the 2018–19 season. The improvements to the Mundy Playing Fields were officially opened by the Mayor of Thornbury, Shirley Holloway on Tuesday 23 October 2018 before Thornbury Town's Hellenic League Subsidiary Cup game against local rivals Tytherington Rocks, which they won 6–0. After staying in the race for the top spot until the final weeks, the club finished in a respectable 3rd place behind Easington Sports and Cheltenham Saracens. Thornbury also finished the season winning the league's Supplementary Cup, beating Wallingford Town 2–1 at the ASM Stadium in Thame.
Ahead of the 2019–20 season, manager Andy Davies announced he was stepping aside as first team manager to take a break from football management, ending Thornbury Town's most successful era. Former player Jason Rees and ex-Gloucester City player Gary Kemp were announced as the new management team.
On 12 July 2019, it was announced that the club would take part in the FA Cup and FA Vase for the first time in the club's history, falling at the first hurdle against Leighton Town in the FA Cup, whilst reaching the second round in the FA Vase.
In Summer 2021, as part of a restructure of the Hellenic League, the club successfully applied for promotion to the Hellenic League Premier Division after finishing 2nd.
In June 2022, manager Jason Rees and assistant Gary Kemp stepped down from their positions. They were replaced by joint-managers Andy Parry and Richard Joyce. However, during the season Andy Parry stepped down leaving Joyce to remain as Manager, with former assistant manager Gary Kemp returning to the club. At the end of the 2024-25 season the club achieved its highest ever final standing in its history with a 12th place finish in the Hellenic Premier Division.
Season-by-season record SeasonDivisionPositionNotes1968-69Gloucestershire County League14th1969-70Gloucestershire County League14th1970-71Gloucestershire County League17th1971-72Gloucestershire County League17th1972-73Gloucestershire County League6th1973-74Gloucestershire County League14th1974-75Gloucestershire County League15th1975-76Gloucestershire County League8th1976-77Gloucestershire County League16thDropped out of the league1977-2001Bristol Premier Combination Premier DivisionRecords Unknown2001-02Bristol Premier Combination Premier Division1stChampions, promoted2002-03Gloucestershire County League7th2003-04Gloucestershire County League7th2004-05Gloucestershire County League6th2005-06Gloucestershire County League10th2006-07Gloucestershire County League17th2007-08Gloucestershire County League11th2008-09Gloucestershire County League9th2009-10Gloucestershire County League1stChampions2010-11Gloucestershire County League13th2011-12Gloucestershire County League16th2013-14Gloucestershire County League16th2014-15Gloucestershire County League4th2015-16Gloucestershire County League4th2016-17Gloucestershire County League4th2017-18Gloucestershire County League1stChampions, promoted2018-19Hellenic League Division One West3rd2019-20Hellenic League Division One WestResults Expunged2020-21Hellenic League Division One West2ndPromoted2021-22Hellenic League Premier Division14th2022-23Hellenic League Premier Division16th2023-24Hellenic League Premier Division18th2024-25Hellenic League Premier Division12th
Current staff PositionNamePresidentPaul WisbeyChairmanJake ShutlerVice-chairmanLuke JonesSecretariesMike Pengelly & Pam Howard1st XI ManagersRichard Joyce1st XI AssistantGary Kemp2nd XI ManagerJake Shutler2nd XI AssistantSimon Evans3rd XI ManagerJoe Cobb3rd XI AssistantGeorge Bush3rd XI LinesmanAlex Evans3rd XI Security GuardDom Ball3rd XI Penalty TakerMatt Chapman
Honours Hellenic League Supplementary Cup Winners 2018–19 Gloucestershire County League Champions 2009–10, 2017–18 Les James League Cup Winners 2014–15, 2017–18 Bristol Premier Combination Premier Division Champions 1956–57, 2001–02 Division Two Champions 1965–66 Bristol & District League Division Three Champions 1949–50 Harry Greening Memorial Trophy Winners 2003–04
Records
Highest League Position – 12th, Hellenic League Premier Division (2024–25) Record Attendance – 570 vs Worcester City F.C. (9 April 2024) Best FA Cup Performance – Extra Preliminary Round (2019–20, 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24, 2024–25, 2025-26) Best FA Vase Performance – Second Round Proper (2019–20), (2022-23), (2024–25)
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