Tempest United was formed after the Second World War in around 1946 in the rural village of Chew Moor in Lostock, Bolton and thrived for a number of years before being disbanded. At that time the team were homeless and played their home games on various farmers’ fields in and around Chew Moor. During these early days the club were winners of the covetous Westhoughton Charity Cup – a feat never repeated even to this day although we were losing finalists in 1996.

In the late fifties the clubs present ground on Tempest Road, at its junction with St Johns Road, was converted by Bolton Council from allotments to a football pitch with children’s play area. Utilising funds left over from the earlier days the club was re-formed in 1959 by a Committee of local enthusiasts, all now sadly departed this life, notably John Bowling, Harry Cooper, John Hutchinson, Eric Roberts and Eddie and Ron Westhead.

The original changing room was in Eddie Westhead’s garage on Tempest Road before the club moved to the then terraced cottages adjacent to the west end of the pitch located on Chew Moor Lane which were collectively known as Cheshire Houses. Facilities were ‘greatly’ upgraded with the move and included for the first time, ‘washing facilities’, a tin bath, shared by all including the Referee! Coal fires in the grates in each ‘dressing room’ and big tea pots full of steaming hot liquid were the order of the day particularly during the winter months.

The initial teams were built around local lads who quickly became established in the Bolton Combination winning the first and second division championships within three years of joining.

Regrettably, the next decade brought notably few honours on the pitch, but our triumphant officials, Eddie Westhead, John Bowling and long-time Secretary, Jack Walton were honoured for their services to local football by receiving the Combinations ‘Bert Parkinson’ Trophy. In 1998 the current Chairman and former player Alan Westhead was awarded the 25 year long service medal by the Lancashire Football Association.

Following an agreement with Bolton Council for the lease of the land at Tempest Road off the field expansion began with the acquisition of a timber chicken shed for a new Clubhouse from a farmer up on the moors above Darwen. The shed was transported back to Chew Moor and erected during 1979/80 on the Tempest Road elevation and was converted into changing accommodation and a clubroom using, in the main, local voluntary labour. The new Clubhouse was opened by His Worship the Mayor of Bolton – Councillor James Smith – accompanied by Mrs Ann Taylor MP on Saturday 27 September 1980. A licenced bar was added in the mid-eighties. This structure became renowned locally as the ‘Famous Shed’. In the late eighties, thanks largely to the generosity of the local Church Parish Council following the sale of ‘Buckleys field’ to McAlpine’s for housing development, a brick built extension was added to the shed to form a new Clubhouse – the timber structure reverting to solely changing use for players and officials. The new brick extension was also grant aided by The Football Trust.

Success in the eighties in the Bolton Combination came in the form of a Divisional Title for the team, managed by Jimmy Baron and a Divisional Cup and Runners up spot, managed by Jack Halliwell.

The expansion to the current premises proved to be a talisman for the club, as under the new management team of Chairman Keith Laird and Manager Mick Farnworth the club won the much coveted Bolton Combination Open Cup in its Centenary year 1990/1991.

The following year the club applied for and were elected to the West Lancashire League. The club has now completed 22 seasons in the League. The club joined the ‘old’ Division Two in season 1992-93 and were promoted to Division One in 1995-96. Unfortunately they were relegated in their first season in the top league. After league reorganisation the club were again promoted to the Premier League in 2000-01 but again were immediately relegated. It took another six seasons before the club managed to get back into the Premier League as Champions of Division One in 2008-09. After five seasons of ‘struggle’ the club finally succumbed to relegation back to Division One in season 2013-14.

On a brighter note Tempest United won The Hospital Cup in 1998 and 2000, and played in the first ever Goldline Trophy Final at the Reebok in 2000 narrowly losing 1-0 to Charnock Richard.

In 2015 the current Chairman and former player Alan Westhead was awarded the 50 year long service medal by the Lancashire Football Association.

The club became an FA Charter Standard Club in season 2012-13.