Hornchurch FC

Hornchurch Stadium

Bridge Avenue

Upminster

RM14 2LX

The present Hornchurch club dates only from 2005, when AFC Hornchurch was formed following the collapse of the original club, which had started out in 1923 as Upminster Wanderers, becoming Upminster in 1938 and Upminster & Hornchurch in 1952, when they moved into their current ground, dropping the Upminster part eight years later. The club played in, in turn, the Romford League, the Spartan League, the Delphian League and the Athenian League, before being elected to the Isthmian League in 1975. They enjoyed a few seasons in Division One of this league , but by the 1990s were stalwarts of Division Three.  And then…something strange happened. Or big money and big ambition came along. Three successive promotions between 2002 and 2004 took the Urchins from the Isthmian League Division Three directly to Isthmian League Division One North (the numbering reflecting a league restructuring at the same time as the promotion), and then to the Isthmian League Premier Division, and then to the Conference South….and then…to collapse. This period also brought some impressive cup performances: in 2003/04 Hornchurch beat Darlington in the first round proper of the FA Cup before being knocked out, at home, in the next round, by Tranmere Rovers. In the following year they lost in the first round proper, again at home, 5-2 to Boston Utd (at that time, somewhat controversially, a Football League club). In 2003/04 the Urchins also reached the Quarter-finals of the FA Trophy, losing to Hednesford after a string of victories over Wingate & Finchley, Newport County, Aylesbury Utd, Stevenage Borough and Burton Albion. But the money ran out somehow, and the club fell into administration, had 10 points deducted, and had to throw in the towel and start again following a 17th placed finish (which would have been 9th placed without the points deduction) in the Conference South.

As for what exactly happened….it’s complicated. The Observer, writing before the collapse was even hinted at or apparently inevitable, tried to make sense of what was going on at Bridge Avenue, concluding, all too accurately (and, presumably, with the aid of libel lawyers), that they were “puzzling times at Hornchurch”

So…begin again….

Competing initially in the Essex Senior League, AFC Hornchurch made rapid progress, securing successive promotions to the Isthmian League Division One North and then the Isthmian League Premier Division. Promotion to the National League South followed in 2011/12, but the stay again lasted just one season before relegation. A further drop in 2014/15 was followed by an immediate recovery, with the Urchins returning to the Isthmian Premier Division in 2018. The following year they dropped the AFC and reverted to being called Hornchurch FC.

The club’s greatest achievement to tthat date came in 2020/21 when, despite competing two levels below their opponents, they lifted the FA Trophy with a 3–1 victory over Hereford at Wembley. Their semi-final success over Notts County, decided on penalties behind closed doors at Meadow Lane during the COVID-19 restrictions, was arguably an even greater upset. This was the very first match at which Notts were led by a chap by the name of Ian Burchnall.

Hornchurch continued to challenge at the top of the Isthmian League, reaching the play-offs in 2021/22 and 2022/23 before falling short against Cheshunt and local rivals Aveley respectively. They finally ended that run of disappointment by winning the Isthmian League Premier Division title in 2023/24, and followed it by finishing runners-up in the National League South in 2024/25 before winning promotion to the National League through the play-offs. The 2026/27 season is therefore the club’s first at fifth-tier level.

The Urchins are said to owe their nickname to the large children’s home that once stood in the town, now redeveloped as the St Leonard’s Hamlet housing development. During the COVID period the club also received financial support from former West Ham Utd owner David Sullivan, who grew up locally.

Hornchurch is the London Borough of Havering, known for its joint affinities to both London and Essex. The club itself plays just over the border in the neighbouring town of Upminster, which hosts the easternmost station on the London Underground. It's a road journey of about 140 miles from Nailsworth, with a journey time of just under three hours.

By Supporters Club Coach.  For information about Away Travel, including precise details of pick-up locations – look here. For this match, the departure times are Stonehouse Brunel Way – 9am, Sainsbury's Dudbridge – 9.15am, The New Lawn – 9.30am, CIRENCESTER (outside Waitrose) – 10am.  

The prices for coach tickets to this match are as follows (Supporters' Club members get a £3 discount): Adults £35, U-16 £20, U-11 £10

Visit this link to purchase your travel.

To book a seat with the supporter's club discount, please call 0333 123 1889  on Monday, Thursday, or Friday at 11am to 2pm.  Please try to book early.

By Train – The ground is accessible both from Upminster station (about a 15-minute walk away) and Upminster Bridge tube station (slightly nearer).

Adult return fares from Stroud to Upminster are in the region of £68 and the journey will take around three hours, typically with changes at London Paddington (for the Elizabeth Line downstairs) and Stratford. Use of split ticketing and/or advance purchase tickets can only save a small amount on this journey. The last train that will get you back to Stroud leaves Upminster at 8.06pm, with changes at Stratford, London Paddington and Swindon, arriving in Stroud at 11.06pm.

By Car – The address for car travellers is Bridge Avenue, Upminster RM14 2LX.  Car parking is available on Bridge Avenue and opposite the ground in Brookdale Avenue.  For accessible parking, book in advance at matchday@hornchurchfc.com, at least 24 hours before kickoff.  Note that access for away fans to the ground is not via the main entrance, but from a footpath off the road called Abraham Court, off Upminster Road.

The Church Horns of Hornchurch

Upminster Windmill, almost adjacent to Hornchurch FC

The Hornchurch Stadium has been home to both the current Hornchurch FC and its predecessor club of the same name since 1956. As the race-track around the pitch makes all to clearly, the ground is also used for athletics, currently hosting the Havering Athletics Club (originally known as the Hornchurch Harriers, before a string of mergers with other local clubs).

Promotion to the fifth tier has meant that the Urchins have to make numerous renovations to their ground by the end of the current season. A new 544-capacity covered terrace and 250 new seats are currently planned. However, they will not be in place for several months.

Ticket prices for 2026/27 are as follows:

(Online, advance purchases)

Adults – £20

Concessions* – £15

Young Adult (12-16 years) – £10

Under-12 (with Adult) – FREE

*65+. Students with ID, Disabled, Carers, Armed Forces & Blue-Light Card Holders. 

Tickets can be purchased here.  Online purchases can be made up until midday on matchday. Away supporters cannot purchase tickets after that cut-off point.

The entrance for away supporters is via the roadway named Abraham Court, off Upminster Road, near and opposite the Windmill pub. Away supporters are accommodated in an uncovered terrace towards the northern end of the west (Riverside) edge of the ground, and in 160 unreserved covered seats in the neighbouring Rom Valley Glass & Glazing Stand.

A raised wheelchair accessible viewing area is found in the open terracing (via a ramp). If you require this area, please email matchday@hornchurchfc.com no later than 24 hours before the match so that the necessary arrangements can be made.

The away turnstiles open 90 minutes before kick-off and close 30 minutes after kick-off.

As for a characteristion of the home fans….while Woking have Moaners’ Corner, Hornchurch have Hasbeens’ Hill.

Daryl McMahon has been the Urchins’ manager since January 2024. In that time he has led to team to two promotions, first, as champions of the Isthmian League Premier Division in 2023/24, and then, two years later, by winning the promotion play-offs in National League South in 2025/26, beating Weston-super-Mare in the semi-finals and Torquay Utd in a final that went to extra time. McMahon’s most recent posting as manager before he came to Hornchurch had been at near-neighbours Dagenham & Redbridge, now themselves a division below Hornchurch. He also managed Macclesfield Town for the first half of the 2019/20 season, which effectively ended with both their relegation from the EFL (with numerous points deductions made after COVID-19 ended the season early effectively hiding just how much of a fight they had put up on the pitch (and just how disastrous a season the reprieved Stevenage team had had) and their liquidation. Prior to that, McMahon had managed Ebbsfleet Utd, getting them promoted to the National League.

As a player, McMahon, a mid-fielder made 65 appearances for Leyton Orient in the mid-2000s in the third and fourth tiers, but the bulk of his footballing career was at the National League level or below. He played for Stevenage Borough in the seasons leading up to their promotion into the football league (and renaming, dropping the Borough), Cambridge Utd when they were residents of this level, Farnborough, Boreham Wood, Eastleigh, Dover Athletic and Ebbsfleet Utd.

Clearly delighted to be competing at this level, at all – rarely (or indeed, never before) have Hornchurch had the pleasure of being the dominant non-league club in this area of South Essex that has many clubs that, over the years, have been floating around the fifth to eighth tiers. Romford…just a club…, Dagenham…just a club…, Aveley…just a club…, Grays Athletic…just a club…, East Thurrock…just a club…,  Canvey Island…just a club…, Concord Rangers…, just a club….and so on. But now they are on top of all of these, even, and even especially, Dagenham & Redbridge.

The Urchins also had the best possible start to their season, with their first game in the fifth tier ever being a 3-0 dismantling of fellow newly promoted club (but one-time Football League members) Kidderminster Harriers, followed by a long trip away to Barrow that ended up a 2-1 victory for the Essex Boys.

With promotion in hand, the Urchins have been busy on the transfer market. Snapping up Ryan Inniss from Rovers is surely not a move Hornchurch will regret. Other signings include right-back Joe Kizzi from Barnet, central-midfielder Jack Powell from Crewe Alexandra, centre-forward Josh Walker from Southend Utd, midfielder Nathan Ferguson from Hartlepool Utd, defensive midfielder Makai Welch from Leyton Orient and centre-back Jack Baldwin from Colchester Utd.

Given that the club also have to spend significant sums on upgrading their ground to bring it in line with National League requirements (and it remains difficult ot see how it could be used at any still higher level), this is an impressive commitment, and one that suggests the team are aiming to compete seriously at this level, from day one. Four wins out of five league matches so far, and a top three placing as of the August Bank Holiday is surely a better start to the season than many Urchins fans would have dreamed of….

As far as I can ascertain, under any name or incarnation, in leagues or in cups – none.

The great, much-missed, Ryan Inniss may be the only connection (Jilly Cooper apart – see elsewhere in this preview) between the Stroud and Ingrebourne Valleys. Here he is when he signed for Rovers.

Hornchurch FC in fact play in Upminster (with the River Ingrebourne, immediately behind the away stands, marking the boundary of the two towns), but, while retaining their own distinct identities, both form part of a section of Essex suburbia rather reluctantly coerced into joining Greater London in 1965. And both places have names that straightforwardly describe themselves – the church of St Andrews, Hornchurch, does indeed have horns, whereas the focal point of Upminster, Bell Corner crossroads, is next to a church (if not quite a minster in the way that the term is used now) that sits atop a hill.

As Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan gave new official names to several formerly neglected railway lines under his control. The line from Romford to Upminster, which runs through Emerson Park (the station at which is rather closer to Hornchurch town centre than Hornchurch tube station) became the Liberty Line. This name alluded to the historical Royal Liberty of Havering in which the Lord of the Manor was the Monarch – which, in the absence of any other representative, allowed local residents an unusual degree of freedom, most notably of freedom from paying taxes, as well as control over the local judicial system. These rights, which had in effect been in place since the Norman Conquest (even if only formalised later), gradually ceased to exist during the 19th century, with the Liberty, step by step, being absorbed into the County of Essex – somewhat reluctantly, it would appear. There is therefore some irony that the contemporary local discontent at the post-1965 Borough of Havering being included within Greater London takes the form of seeking an administrative return to Essex. A previous attempt to rename the authority as “the London Borough of Havering, Essex” came to nothing, while the Reform Party (who currently control the council, their only fiefdom in Greater London) have expressed the wish for local residents to have the right to vote on returning to the administrative county of Essex. This area of course was also a Brexit heartland – there is strong strain of proud self-sufficiency on these estuarine shores, and one that goes back many centuries.

There are a number of interesting local sights – Upminster Windmill could barely be any closer to Hornchurch Stadium. Upminster Tithe Barn – which dates to the 15th century and currently hosts a “Museum of Nostalgia” is near Upminster station, but has limited opening hours. The Fairkytes Arts Centre in the centre of Hornchurch, in a mansion formerly owned by the family of prison reformer Elizabeth Fry, has displays of arts and crafts of various kinds. There is also a heritage centre at the former RAF Hornchurch, a key defensive installation during both the First and Second World Wars. There is also, located largely on the site of the former airbase, Hornchurch Country Park, stretching along the Ingrebourne valley. To say that Hornchurch is one of Essex’s hidden gems would probably be to overstate the point, a bit, but it is a genuinely pleasant and green and attractive town that probably benefits from its relative obscurity.

The uncanny fact remains that almost certainly the most famous person to have been born in Hornchurch was possibly also Forest Green Rovers’ most renowned fan – Jilly Cooper.

She was born in the town, but her family didn’t stick around for long, and she was wittily dismissive of it. In her treatise on  Class, Cooper wrote

I myself keep very quiet about having been born in Hornchurch, always justifying it by saying we were only there temporarily became my father was working at Fords. At the time my parents’ friends used to laugh it off by saying ‘Bill and Elaine live in the slums, Ho! Ho! Ho!