Club Background
Given the history of the town’s development and massive expansion post-World War Two it’s not surprising the origins of the current club are complex, with a number of amalgamations of small clubs that existed before in the older settlements and clubs that briefly emerged as different estates were built, before the Hemel Hempstead Town that is today emerged.
Although the club itself (very tenuously) traces a lineage as far back as the formation of Apsley End FC in 1885 we’re not going to start until 1972: that year two entities, Hemel Hempstead Town and Hemel Hempstead United, merged to form Hemel Hempstead FC, selling one of the grounds and moved into United’s Vauxhall Road where it remains today. (The name was changed again, back to Hemel Hempstead Town, at the end of the 1990s.)
Playing in the Athenian League until 1976-77 the Tudors then switched to the Isthmian League. And there the club stayed, bobbing about between its lower divisions and never reaching the IL Premier, until one of bigger restructurings of the Non-League pyramid saw it switch to the Southern League for 2003-04. Having been placed in the Southern League Premier the Tudors were immediately relegated, bizarrely into Southern League West to play teams like Taunton Town and Paulton Rovers when the club was surrounded by the likes of Berkhamsted Town, Boreham Wood and Potters Bar Town playing in Southern League East. Thankfully for their travelling costs the club got back out at the first time of asking, promoted back to the SLP through the play-offs, beating Swindon Supermarine 3-0 at home in the semis and Brackley Town 2-3 away in the Final.
This time they lasted in the SLP for eight seasons, from 2006-07 to 2013-14. There were a couple of play-off failures, both exited on penalties, and a couple of flirts with relegation during this period before clinching the title as Champions in 2013-14 with a very impressive 102 points (in a 23 club division after Hinckley United folded mid-season and had its record expunged). Promoted to Conference South (renamed National League South a year later) the Tudors have remained there ever since. Apart from one play-off season, exiting on penalties once more in 2017-18, the club’s rarely threatened either end of the table, not looking capable of getting promoted but neither dicing with relegation.
In 2014-15 Hemel reached the FA Cup First Round Proper for the first (we’re not counting Apsley getting there in 1938 for the purposes of this guide) and so far still only time in its history, losing 3-1 away at Bury. The furthest the club has gone in the FA Trophy is Round Three Proper (on four occasions).
November 1992 saw a serious fire completely destroy the clubhouse and changing rooms area of the stadium. It took five years of living in temporary accommodation before permanent replacements rose from the ashes. This century some covered terracing was constructed behind both goals, one of which has since been changed to seating. In the summer of 2020 the Vauxhall Road pitch was changed from grass to an artificial surface.
We’ve Met Before
Previous Results for Yeovil Town First Team vs Hemel Hempstead Town
| 05/08/2023 | Away | NLS | L | 0-1 | 1276 | ||
| 20/01/2024 | Home | NLS | W | 2-0 | 3591 | Pearson 28, 67 | |
Results Summary For Yeovil Town First Team vs Hemel Hempstead Town
| Home | Away | Overall | ||||||||||||
| W | D | L | F | A | W | D | L | F | A | W | D | L | F | A |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
Club Statistics
RECENT RESULTS
| 05/08/2023 | Yeovil Town | Home | NLS | W | 1-0 | 1276 | Iaciofano 78 | |
LEAGUE ATTENDANCE STATISTICS
Highest League Attendance: 1,276 v Yeovil Town, 05/08/2023
Lowest League Attendance: 1,276 v Yeovil Town, 05/08/2023
Average League Attendance: 1,276
CURRENT LEAGUE SEQUENCE STATISTICS
| Games Without A Win: | 0 | Games Without A Home Win: | 0 | |
| Games Without An Away Win: | Games Without Defeat: | 1 | ||
| Games Without A Home Defeat: | 1 | Games Without An Away Defeat: | ||
| Games Without A Draw: | 1 | Games Without A Score Draw: | 1 | |
| Games Without A No-Score Draw: | 1 | Games Without Scoring: | 0 | |
| Games Without Conceding: | 1 | Home Results Sequence: | W | |
| Away Results Sequence: | Overall Results Sequence: | W |
Club Information
Address : Vauxhall Road, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, HP2 4HW. (This season’s sponsorship name: Focus Community Arena.)
Telephone Number : 01442 251521 (or alternatively 01442 264300, Greenacres Tavern, one of the pubs in the town chairman Dave Boggins operates. The Tudors are a part-time club and the stadium isn’t staffed much of the time).
Email : secretary@hemelfc.com
Chairman : Dave Boggins
Matchday Secretary : Tony Collins
Club Secretary : Dean Chance
Press Officer : Allan Mitchell
Team Manager : Brad Quinton
Capacity : 3,152
Seated : 300
Covered Terrace : c. 900
Surface : artificial
Record Attendance : (that can find at Vauxhall Road) 1,943 v Chesham United, 21/04/2014
Colours : red shirt with white trim, red shorts, red socks
Nickname : The Tudors
Programme : £2.50
Ticketing
As far as am aware we have never played the Tudors in any shape or form previously, First Team, Youth or Women, competitively or friendlies. It is therefore the first visit to Vauxhall Road for the Glovers. There’s not usually any segregation at Vauxhall Road but will obviously be keeping an eye and updating if that changes for our visit.
Prices : Pricing is simple, no differentiation between seating and standing. There is also no price difference between buying on line here (via e-mail) and walk-up purchase on the day. Given the way the tickets are being sold on line, with no differentiation between home and away sections, the host club was not initially planning to segregate but (update as of 01/08/23) this has now changed. Away fans will be getting the covered terrace at the Adeyfield School (western) end of the stadium and a shallow uncovered side-on section behind the away dugout. There are no details as to what provision and where has been made for any away fans who might have difficulty standing for a whole match but it is implied where will be some. Turnstiles for this terrace are to the left as approach via the entrance to the ground with the main (now home) turnstiles in front of you, across the small carpark towards an astro training pitch.
As on-line tickets were sold without any home/away area designation the host club will be relying on those supporters making their way to the correct segregated area of the stadium.
Segregation means the clubhouse will no longer be accessible to away supporters.
Adult: £15.00
Concession * (over 65s, students in full time education, armed forces and emergency services): £10.00
Under 18: £5.00
* If requested, the acceptable forms of identification listed are: Current Passport, EU National ID Card, Current Full UK Driving Licence, Student Identification Card (or ISIC), UK Armed Forces ID Card, OAP Travel Pass.
Disabled
There’s nothing I can find on the website about disabled provision. From memory, only having been to this ground three times across about 30 years, a couple of areas will be accessible to wheelchair users and think recall a ramp that allows entry to the club house. The contact point with particular queries or assistance requests is via email: secretary@hemelfc.com
Official Away Travel
The Green & White Supporters’ Club is running away travel to Hemel Hempstead on Saturday 5th August, 3.00 p.m. kick-off.
Details are as follows:
Members: Adult £28; Concession £26
Non-Members: Adult £31; Concession £29
Coach departs Huish Park: 9.00 a.m.
To book, call Paul Hadlow on 07736 044570 (after 6.00 p.m. please) or email him on paulhadlow@outlook.com.
If you are getting in touch by email, please make it clear which match you are booking for and that you give your full name, the names of people that are travelling and a contact telephone number.
You may be asked to pay a £5 deposit to reserve your seat.
Directions To The Ground
General
‘Old’ Hemel Hempstead dates back to the early Middle Ages but remained a small place of no more than a few thousand people at most for centuries. Even the coming of the railway in 1837 changed little as the local bigwigs campaigned vigorously to keep it away from their houses (which is why to this day the station is inconveniently placed a mile and a half from the old town centre and a mile from the new one). All this changed after the Second World War when Hemel was designated as one of the New Towns to be built post-war. Between 1952 and the late 1970s a series of huge housing estates were built and the town, together with several what used to be separate villages it’s swallowed up in that process, is now around 100,000 population.
The town is well placed for the motorway network: the M1 (Junction 8) skirts the eastern edge; and the M25 (either Junction 20 or 21) passes three miles to the south.
Hemel Hempstead Town’s stadium is in the Adeyfield district of the town.
By Road
Huish Park to Vauxhall Road is 137 miles. As with so many of our trips over the years this is an initial A303/M3 journey. At Junction 2 of the M3 join the M25 clockwise up to Junction 21. Switch here to the M1. This is Junction 6A of the M1 – exit at the next, which is Junction 8, onto the A414 (Breakspear Way) signed for Hemel Hempstead. (What happened to Junction 7 you may ask? It’s too boring to bother explaining, I reply.)
Follow the A414 dual carriageway across two roundabouts (the first called Phoenix Gateway Roundabout, the second though equally large doesn’t appear to merit a name). After the second Breakspear Way becomes St Albans Road. A couple of hundred yards along take a right turn across the dual carriageway into Leverstock Green Road. A couple of hundred yards along this there’s a double roundabout – take the first exit (left) off the second of these into Vauxhall Road. The stadium is about 100 yards along, third exit (Wilma Way) off the next roundabout, on the right hand side tucked behind a row of houses.
Parking
There is very limited parking at the stadium (about 80 spaces) and thus in reality virtually none available for ordinary fans. However the surrounding area doesn’t have too many restrictions and free on-street reasonably close by isn’t too hard to find.
By Rail
Hemel Hempstead is on the West Coast Main Line which runs into and out of London Euston. However none of the, mostly by Avanti but a few from other companies, express services stop there (if using any of those the closest stop to transfer to local services is Watford Junction). There are four local services an hour (more at peak times) into and out of Euston operated by London Northwestern Railway with journey times of between 28 and 34 minutes.
Unfortunately Southern Rail has chosen (from May 2023) to pretty much destroy the rather useful direct hourly service it had linking down to Clapham Junction (and on to Croydon East) as far as Hemel Hempstead is concerned, with only three a day of those services now getting past Watford.
In the long running and multi-faceted rail dispute there are no strikes called for August 5th. However this date does fall within the period of the latest overtime ban by the train drivers belonging to ASLEF (which is most of them). As the majority of train companies appear to structure their timetables around the assumption their drivers will be volunteering for lots of overtime be prepared for (even more than the usual ) cancellations of services.
The station is not at all convenient for the ground, being right out on the western fringe of the town while the football club is close to the eastern edge 2.6 miles away. There’s no direct bus service (one would need two, changing in the town centre, see By Bus below) but the station does have a taxi rank and it’s unusual not to find a number waiting there.
By Bus
From the railway station all the different bus company services from Stop F (on the opposite side of the road from the Harvester pub) go to the Bus Interchange in the town centre.
From the town centre the bus taking one closest to the ground is the 302 (by Arriva) from Stop E. There’s two services an hour. Alight at the stop just past the junction of Longlands and Vauxhall Road. From there it’s four or five minutes walk along Vauxhall Road to the stadium, which is on the left. The H10 (by Red Rose) runs up to Leverstock Green (closest stop to ground is on the A414 dual carriageway) but the service, from Stop K / L, is only hourly at best and confined to shopping hours. The No. 1 (by Red Eagle) Adeyfield Circular service could also get one up near the ground but that runs even less frequently.
By Taxi
A selection of Hemel Hempstead taxi companies can be found here. The town centre taxi rank was moved out of the high street (Marlowes) a few years ago and, if one isn’t a local who knows, is not at all obvious, rather hidden away in a road running parallel with Marlowes, Waterhouse Street.
Web Resources
Web Sites
Hemel Hempstead Town Football Club – Official Site.
Hemel Hempstead Town FC – Official YouTube channel.
There is a Supporters’ Club website, but trying to access it threw up (correctly or incorrectly) all sorts of corrupted code, trojan and virus warnings so not publishing a link here.
Tudor Talk – unofficial Fans’ Forum.
Social Media
hemelfc – Official Twitter Account.
hemelfc – Official Instagram Account.
hemelfc – Official TikTok Account.
Local Press
Hemel Today – (online arm of The Hemel Hempstead Gazette & Express) – covers the local football team
Food & Drink
General
The pubs at the football stadium end of town are The Crabtree (nearest to the ground); and Plough, Green Man and Olde Leather Bottle the other side of the A414 in the Leverstock Green district (all below). These are all much of a muchness: chain mid-market family dining style pubs. The Jubilee (previously New Venture) in Queen’s Square, Adeyfield district, was closed for around three years, eventually got a massive £300,000 complete rebuild from Heineken-owned Star Pubs & Bars… and lasted just under a year before the latest tenants/managers/whatever had had enough and walked away pretty much overnight at beginning of May 2023. It’s always been the sort of ‘estate pub’ that goes deathly quiet if an outsider walks in. Even if it is back open I would not recommend it.
For those who, purposefully or accidentally, end up in the town centre there’s a better than average Wetherspoon as far as the range and keeping of its beers is concerned, The Full House (below). Plus two outlets with the same owner but in very different formats: Monks Inn (below) is a small micro-pub mainly focusing on cask beers and ciders though does a bit of ‘craft’ keg; Friars Inn is a large barn of a place, a combination of pub/night club, with pool tables and lots of live music, which restricts itself to keg. All three are within about 100 yards of one another. Bus Stop E ( see By Bus, above) on the high street (Marlowes) is close by.
Now Pope’s Yard Brewery has moved back (in 2023) to its original home town of Watford the only Hemel Hempstead brewery is Mad Squirrel. However the brewery (which has a Tap with limited opening hours attached) couldn’t be any further from the stadium and still be in Hemel: four miles away on the north-west fringe of town at Boxted Farm. It currently operates six pubs/bars, but the fact that it has never seen fit to open one in its home town says a lot about the (lack of a) beer scene in Hemel. If wishing to give them a try the Spoons (regularly) and the Monks Inn (occasionally) may have something on from them.
Club Bar
The Clubhouse/Bar, possibly called something like Tudors but can’t actually remember, is tucked in a corner of the ground to your right after entering through the turnstiles. (This assumes the match isn’t being segregated and away fans have access.) It’s probably above average for the level of football – the club chairman is a publican so knows something about running such outlets. Drink is served in plastic which I hate (but probably has to be accepted given one can take it out onto the terraces turning the match). Draught options are all keg, with macro stuff such as Carlsberg, Estrella, Guinness and American Pale Ale by Shipyard Brewing on tap last season. Now we know (as of 01/08/23) the match is being segregated the clubhouse will not be accessible to visiting supporters. What alternative provision is being provided has yet to be made clear by the host club. There was an appeal put up on its Official Site over the weekend for mobile food caterers to contact the club.
Local Pubs
Crabtree: Closest pub to the stadium at a third of a mile (six minutes walk). From the Ember Inns stable so a mid-range family dining style outlet. Most recent mini-refurbishment June 2023. Normally has about three or four mainstream real ales on and sometimes a real cider. Keg is from the multi-nationals. Typical chain pub menu including vegetarian, vegan and children’s options. Food served all day up to 10.00 p.m. Car park and large beer garden with covered smoking area. Opening hours are from 11.00 a.m. weekdays and 10.00 a.m. weekends, closing 11.00 p.m. Sunday to Friday and midnight Saturday.
The Crabtree, 2 Leverstock Green Road, Adeyfield, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, HP2 4HG. Tel: 01442 267354. Map: Crabtree.
Full House: Town centre Wetherspoon converted from a cinema. Current cellar manager has improved the range of beers offered over the last couple of years, and their keeping. It’s rarer to get a poor condition offering in here than can crop up in some other branches of the chain. Apart from that it’s a very typical Spoons with all the good and less good aspects that come with that. Two outside areas: the more pleasantly fitted out one to the front recently became non-smoking – so almost no one uses it anymore; a scruffy ‘yard’ down the side is now the smoking area – one could usually but not always find a seat but they put in new furniture last month and now there’s a lot more seating there. Opening hours: 8.00 a.m. to midnight every day except Friday and Saturday when an further hour extension to 1.00 a.m. Half hour (1.6 mile) walk from the ground (or see Buses/Taxis above).
The Full House, 128 Marlowes, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, HP1 1EZ. Tel: 01442 265512. Map: Full House.
Green Man: Probably still owned by Stonegate (but who knows as pubs by the hundreds are traded back and forth between such PubCo conglomerates on a seemingly almost annual basis) this a jack of all trades master of none typical chain mid-range family dining pub. Children welcome, large garden area, car park, Sports TV. Three or four mainstream real ales, multi-national keg and sometimes has a real cider. Opening hours 11.00 a.m. – 11.00 p.m. with food served 11.00 a.m. – 10.00 p.m. A little under a mile (so around 15 minutes walk) from the ground and on the 302 bus route (see By Bus).
The Green Man, Leverstock Green Road, Leverstock Green, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, HP3 8QE. Tel: 01442 253212. Map: Green Man.
Monks Inn: Formerly a bookies, this was converted to a micro-pub which opened November 2018. Currently generally carries six real ales on handpump and two on gravity. These are all changed once a week, usually a Wednesday, with the website updated to show what’s on. Anything that sells out is not replaced until the following week when all the beers are changed again. There’s also up to six (box) ciders on handle and four keg lines serving ‘craft’ beers, always including one Lager – these can also change, but not so frequently. No food served but the pub is happy for take-aways from any of the many fast food joints that line the square to be brought in. Has a £10 card minimum, anything less than that is cash only. Licence allows tables & chairs outside in the square which are put out when the weather is suitable. Children allowed. Opening is from noon, closing 11.00 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday and 9.00 p.m. Sunday and Monday. Half hour (1.6 mile) walk from the ground (or see Buses/Taxis above).
Monks Inn, 31-32 The Square, Marlowes, Hemel Hempstead, HP1 1EP. Tel: 07786 365225. Map: Monks Inn.
Plough: Not as easy to find as the Green Man and Olde Leather Bottle, which are on the main A4147 road from Hemel to St Albans, as this is buried in a housing estate. Another of those pubs repeatedly passed around between pub chains it’s on a fifth or sixth ownership, currently by Great British Inns which focuses on family dining/carvery type establishments. Garden area is nice and it has a car park. Opening is from noon with food served all day (+ separate Kids Menu). Beer options are basic multi-national fare with a couple of cask options and the rest keg. Last time was in (Summer 2022) one handpump did have something on by Brewpoint Brewery (an arm of Wells & Co set up after the main Charles Wells brewery and all its brands was sold to Marston’s in 2017). It wasn’t very good. The H10 (Red Rose) bus runs close by the pub but to be honest, at under 10 minutes (0.4 of a mile) from the ground, given the bus route is circuitous and doesn’t go that close to the stadium, one might as well walk.
The Plough, Leverstock Green Road, Leverstock Green, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, HP3 8PR. Tel: 01442 732132. Map: Plough.
Olde Leather Bottle: Still marked on Google Maps as The Leather Bottle (some numpty thought sticking “Olde” in front would be a good idea just a few years ago), its upside is it is more ‘pubby’ than the three family-diner style hostelries in the area. The downside is it being a Greene King outlet. Usually has three or four real ales on (including something not by Greene King). Keg is multi-national. Recently (May 2023) installed a Neck Oil by Beavertown (which became wholly owned by Heineken in 2022) tap… which rather sums up where Hemel Hempstead sits in the ‘craft beer revolution’: about ten years behind the times. Outside area and car parking. A few yards further from the ground than the Green Man (above) so a little under a mile (around 15 minutes walk) and also on the 302 bus route (see By Bus). As far as know it opens from noon every day but it’s yet another of those many many pubs that thinks providing basic information such as opening hours is overindulging potential customers.
The Olde Leather Bottle, Leverstock Green Road, Leverstock Green, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, HP3 8QQ. Tel: 01442 239911. Map: Olde Leather Bottle.
Likelihood the Natives Will Understand You: No idea. Lived here thirty years and still found no desire to speak to any of ’em.
Top-Tip: Enjoy the Magic Roundabout, it’s the highlight of Hemel Hempstead. No, seriously, it is!
Local Amenities: Not many, it’s too close to That London. Everyone (before the pandemic anyway) just went to the capital for a night out… even though it hasn’t got a Magic Roundabout.
Other Points Of Interest: Nope, there’s just the Magic Roundabout *.
(* Far better than that pale imitation in Swindon.)
[No responsibility is taken for any inaccuracies. This page is entirely the product of bias and prejudice. ]