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Greenwich Borough FC was formed as Woolwich Borough Council Athletic Club in 1928, gaining senior status and joining the Kent Amateur League in 1929. The club moved to its present ground at Harrow Meadow in 1937 but in 1946 relinquished senior status as the Kent Amateur League proved too strong. The club instead joined the South London Football Alliance, and soon progressed to the Premier Division. In 24 years in the competition, the club held the record of the only member never to have been relegated from the Premier Division.
In 1976 the Club moved to the London Spartan League, and the following year regained senior status. Two years later the Boro celebrated their Golden Jubilee by inaugurating their floodlights with a game against Charlton Athletic. In 1984/85 the Club joined the Kent League, finishing sixth at the first attempt. Two seasons later they won the League-Cup double, scoring some 113 goals along the way. In 1988, the year of the 60th anniversary of the Club, Boro again won the League, and hoped to progress with some major improvements to their Harrow Meadow ground. Sadly this was not to be; planning permission was not granted by the local council, and consequently a move to the then Beazer Homes Southern League was thwarted. The next ten years were pretty barren for the Club, and their future was jeopardised even further by the closure of the parent club at the end of the 1988/89 Season. A year was spent ground sharing with Erith & Belvedere FC, while provision could be made with the London Borough of Greenwich for the Club’s future home premises. As Mike Floate notes in his book on Kent grounds, Harrow Meadow is in fact two grounds for the price of one. The club had to vacate their original playing area as it was too far from the changing rooms and did not meet grading requirements. This was also where the floodlights had been erected in the late 1970s. However, gaining sole use of the ground enabled the club to move closer to the clubhouse and onto an area previously used by the cricket club, although by all accounts the surface is nowhere near as good as the original pitch. Initially there was a small temporary stand behind the near goal, but this has since been replaced by a couple of very basic shelters painted in the club colours along the left hand touchline. The dugouts are situated on the opposite side of the pitch, which has some hard standing. The floodlights have also been moved. The clubhouse, whcih also includes the changing rooms, is of quite a decent size and is situated behind the near goal. Ground details Directions: Opposite McDonalds on the A205 South Circular in Eltham. By rail:
Eltham (BR) and Kidbrooke (BR): both 1 mile |
