History - History 1
The village of Blackwell receives an entry in the Doomsday book of 1085 showing that there was a Lord of the manor, 13 Villeins, 4 Bordars with ploughs, 7 acres of meadow, 1 wood and 1 priest with bordar. Whether the villeins were the first football team in the village was not recorded. The meaning of Blackwell is attributed to a "Dark Spring" and is believed to be a spring on the hill known as "Sinai" opposite the church. As coal deposits are close to the surface in that area it may well be they coloured the water to a dark appearance.
The community was served by the mining industry throughout the 1800's. The community expanded around this time and records from the Derbyshire Times show that organised football took place in the village even around this era. Without the distractions of television, sport was a major interest for all the villagers. In 1900 the present sports ground was opened and Rugby and cricket was played. Football matches tended to be played on other pitches in the village. The cricket ground has staged many important games during its history, with 9 Derbyshire county fixtures being held there. The ground holds the world record for the 9th wicket stand, 283 Derbyshire v Warwickshire in 1910.
The village produced many good home-grown teams and everyone turned out to see family, friends and work-mates in action. One record from a treasurers account showed an entry for one game of £40 gate money @ sixpence each, equating to 1600 paying customers. Teams around the early to middle of the century competed in the Ripley and District leagues. The club entered the FA Cup in 1903/04 when they lost to Long Eaton St. Helens 2 - 4. The best performance in the Worlds most famous knockout competition came in 1910/11 which saw them battle through to Qualifying round 5 only to be beaten by the mighty Darlington, Mansfield had been beaten 1 - 0 in the round before. The "Miners" last tie in the FA Cup was in 1926/27.
In the early 50's the team moved to the Notts. Alliance and enjoyed instant success when they finished runners-up to a very strong Gedling Colliery side who dominated local football at that time. The following 2 seasons saw them finish 3rd and in 1954/55 the team won the Notts Alliance Championship and finished runners-up to Boots Athletic in the Senior Cup, losing 6-3 in front of 6,000 people at Meadow Lane. They returned to the Ripley league in the late 50's and then had a brief spell in the East Midlands League before joining the Sutton & Skegby League in the early 60's. During that time they enjoyed more success, winning the Stamper Cup. The club disbanded in 1972 but reformed in 1974 winning the Sutton & Skegby Division "C" title followed by Section "A" runners-up in 1975/76 & 82/83, Premier division runners-up in 1977-78. Section "A" Cup was won in 1976/77 and this year began the return of the clubs proud record in Derbyshire County F.A. competitions. The Junior Cup just eluded them that season but it was returned in 1978 / 83 / 84, with the Divisional Cup being won in 1986.
In 1984-85 the club moved into the Central Midlands Football League and became Senior division runners-up and Cup winners. The club continued to occupy the top half of the tables during the late 80's, but in the 1990's the club struggled at the wrong end of the table, finishing bottom or second bottom on 3 occasions. Despite this downfall in circumstances the club kept going and at the beginning of 1998, the present committee came together to try to revive the fortunes of the club. In season 1998-99 the club achieved fifth spot and were offered the opportunity to play in the Supreme division for the first time. The club made steady progress in the early 2000 years and went on to record a staggering 808 appearances in the CMFL, before being offered a position as founder members of the East Midlands Counties league in 2008/09.
The ground was initially built in the late 1800's but the club have made great strides to create a venue suitable for the new step 6 league with floodlights being installed in 2001, covered areas and seating, hard standing and perimeter barriers. The next goal is to have new FA standard changing facilities behind the top goal and planning permission has been granted for this project, all that remains is to secure the necessary funding.
The community was served by the mining industry throughout the 1800's. The community expanded around this time and records from the Derbyshire Times show that organised football took place in the village even around this era. Without the distractions of television, sport was a major interest for all the villagers. In 1900 the present sports ground was opened and Rugby and cricket was played. Football matches tended to be played on other pitches in the village. The cricket ground has staged many important games during its history, with 9 Derbyshire county fixtures being held there. The ground holds the world record for the 9th wicket stand, 283 Derbyshire v Warwickshire in 1910.
The village produced many good home-grown teams and everyone turned out to see family, friends and work-mates in action. One record from a treasurers account showed an entry for one game of £40 gate money @ sixpence each, equating to 1600 paying customers. Teams around the early to middle of the century competed in the Ripley and District leagues. The club entered the FA Cup in 1903/04 when they lost to Long Eaton St. Helens 2 - 4. The best performance in the Worlds most famous knockout competition came in 1910/11 which saw them battle through to Qualifying round 5 only to be beaten by the mighty Darlington, Mansfield had been beaten 1 - 0 in the round before. The "Miners" last tie in the FA Cup was in 1926/27.
In the early 50's the team moved to the Notts. Alliance and enjoyed instant success when they finished runners-up to a very strong Gedling Colliery side who dominated local football at that time. The following 2 seasons saw them finish 3rd and in 1954/55 the team won the Notts Alliance Championship and finished runners-up to Boots Athletic in the Senior Cup, losing 6-3 in front of 6,000 people at Meadow Lane. They returned to the Ripley league in the late 50's and then had a brief spell in the East Midlands League before joining the Sutton & Skegby League in the early 60's. During that time they enjoyed more success, winning the Stamper Cup. The club disbanded in 1972 but reformed in 1974 winning the Sutton & Skegby Division "C" title followed by Section "A" runners-up in 1975/76 & 82/83, Premier division runners-up in 1977-78. Section "A" Cup was won in 1976/77 and this year began the return of the clubs proud record in Derbyshire County F.A. competitions. The Junior Cup just eluded them that season but it was returned in 1978 / 83 / 84, with the Divisional Cup being won in 1986.
In 1984-85 the club moved into the Central Midlands Football League and became Senior division runners-up and Cup winners. The club continued to occupy the top half of the tables during the late 80's, but in the 1990's the club struggled at the wrong end of the table, finishing bottom or second bottom on 3 occasions. Despite this downfall in circumstances the club kept going and at the beginning of 1998, the present committee came together to try to revive the fortunes of the club. In season 1998-99 the club achieved fifth spot and were offered the opportunity to play in the Supreme division for the first time. The club made steady progress in the early 2000 years and went on to record a staggering 808 appearances in the CMFL, before being offered a position as founder members of the East Midlands Counties league in 2008/09.
The ground was initially built in the late 1800's but the club have made great strides to create a venue suitable for the new step 6 league with floodlights being installed in 2001, covered areas and seating, hard standing and perimeter barriers. The next goal is to have new FA standard changing facilities behind the top goal and planning permission has been granted for this project, all that remains is to secure the necessary funding.
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