Huish Hugh Ciderspace Away Travel Guides » Harrogate Town

Club Background

The first time a club was registered under the name Harrogate Town was back in 1907/08, but it was not until 1914 that the town’s rugby union team voted to set up a football team, Harrogate AFC, which secured a place in the Northern League playing their home games at the home of the rugby club which is today a housing estate. The first match was scheduled against Bishop Auckland on 5 September 1914, but two hours before kick-off their opponents received a telegram saying Harrogate would not be arriving due to the outbreak of the First World War with most of the team joining the conflict.

It actually took until August 1919 for the first game to be played with Harrogate AFC chalking up a 1-0 win over Horsforth at Starbeck which turned out to be the club’s home for just one season as it was turned over for housing. The move to a new ground Wetherby Lane saw the club playing in the Yorkshire League by now nicknamed The Sulpjurites by fans due to the spa town’s ‘sulphur water’. Try the local water if you are there and you will understand why. There was a brief flirtation with the Midlands League in 1921/22, playing against the reserve sides of Nottingham Forest, Sheffield Wednesday and Barnsley, before a return to the Yorkshire League. The first trophy arrived in 1925 with a West Riding County Challenge Cup win.

But Harrogate AFC was not the only team in town, in fact they were one of three with Harrogate YMCA and Harrogate Railway Athletic playing football. The latter team is still a member of the North East Counties League whilst the YMCA team was also known as Harrogate Hotspurs. In the 1930s, AFC disabanded with Hotspurs becoming the town’s premier team before adopting the name Harrogate Town in 1948 to reflect their status as the senior club playing at Wetherby Road. But in the Whitworth Cup, Town lost to Railway Athletic in the Whitworth Cup final in front of a crowd of 4,280, still the club’s record attendance, a record they almost reached in 2024/25 when 4,136 was achieved twice.

Having only played in the Yorkshire League by the 1980s they were played in the NCE League against teams from Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire. A move in to the Northern Premier League arrived in the 90s and in 1998 they reached the league’s Premier Division and then by 2003/04 they were playing in the National League North. Town just missed out on promotion twice in 2006/07 and 2007/08 which was followed by the departure of long-serving manager Neil Aspin who was replaced by current boss Simon Weaver, who joined as player-manager in May 2009. In the summer of 2011, the boss’s father, Irving, a housing developer bought the club, a family affair which continues today.

Whilst the early days were difficult, in 2019/20 the club reached the promised land with promotion to the Football League courtesy of a play-off final win over Notts County and an FA Trophy win over Concord Rangers. Both managers were played behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The first league fixture came in September 2020 and ended with a 4-0 win at Southend United in a season whidch ended with a 17th place finish. The years with followed basically saw Harrogate survive with the occasional foray in to the FA Cup third round before relegation back to non-League after six seasons in May.

We’ve Met Before

Previous Results for Yeovil Town First Team vs Harrogate Town

Club Statistics

RECENT RESULTS

LEAGUE ATTENDANCE STATISTICS

Highest League Attendance:
Lowest League Attendance:
Average League Attendance:  

CURRENT SEQUENCE STATISTICS

Club Information

Address: Harrogate Town AFC, The Exercise Stadium, Wetherby Road, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, HG2 7SA (click for map)
Tel. 01423 210600

Chairman: Irving Weaver
Chief Executive Officer: Sarah Barry
Operations Director: Dave Riley
Ticket Office Manager: Alex Jewitt
Safeguarding Officer: Jess Hepworth
Disability Access Officer: Maggie Patterson
Manager: Simon Weaver

Capacity : 5,000
Seated : 1,941
Away Capacity: 850 (150 seated – EnviroVent Stand)
Surface : Grass
Record Attendance : 4,280 – vs Harrogate Railway Athletic, 1949/50 season

Colours : Yellow/black striped shirt, black shorts, black socks.
Nickname : The Sulphurites
Programme : £

Ticketing

Ticket information will be updated when available.

Official Away Travel

The Green & White Supporters’ Club is running away travel to our Harrogate Town on XXXday XX XXXX, XXp.m. kick-off.

Details are as follows:

Members: Adult £XX; Concession £XX
Non-Members: Adult £XX; Concession £XX
Coach departs Huish Park: XXam

To book, call Paul Hadlow on 07736 044570. You may be asked to pay a £5 deposit to reserve your seat. Prices are maximum and may reduce depending on booking numbers.

Payment can be made by bank transfer, please reference the match you are booking for and message Paul Hadlow to confirm the payment.

Account name: Green & White Supporters’ Club.
Account number: 8343 6772
Sort code: 20-68-15

Directions To The Ground

General

By Road

From Yeovil, it is probably something approaching a five-hour trip to Harrogate. The first part of this journey is simple, get to the M5 and take it as far as Birmingham when you join the M42, continue along there until you reach the M1, the M18 and then join the A1(M) at Junction 2. Stick with the A1(M) until you reach Junction 45 when you take the A659 exit to Wetherby/A168/Otley), continue forward on the A168, you’ll join the A661 and wriggle through the centre of Wetherby, Spofforth and onward to Harrogate. Once you hit the town via Wetherby Road it won’t be long before you see the stadium on your right-hand side.

Parking

There is no parking at the ground, but there is street parking available nearby. The Cedar Court Hotel (HG1 5AH) offers parking for  supporters for £6 per vehicle, it is around a 15-minute walk from the stadium. You must enter your vehicle details and make payment on an iPad in the hotel reception before you leave. There other car parks in the centre of Harrogate, but all of them are more than half-an-hour’s walk from the stadium.

By Rail

Train journeys from Yeovil to Harrogate are probably a 7-8 hour journey. The most direct is to get to London, make your way to London King’s Cross where LNER goes direct to Harrogate, approximately a three-hour trip. The station is located in the town centre and is probably a 20-25-minute walk to the stadium.

By Bus 

The number 7 bus from Harrogate Bus Station depart from Stand 8 and goes straight past Wetherby Road.

By Taxi

Web Resources

Web Sites

Harrogate Town AFC – Official Site

Social Media

@HarrogateTown – X/Twitter
Harrogate Town AFC – Facebook
Harrrogate Town AFC – Instagram
Harrogate Town AFC – YouTube
Harrogate Town Supporters’ Group – Facebook
HTAFCSupporters – Fans’ supporters’ group
HarrogateAFC – Reddit

Local Press

Harrogate Advertiser 
BBC Sport – Harrogate Town

Food & Drink

General

Harrogate is what happens when Yorkshire puts on its Sunday best. Famous for its spa heritage, elegant Victorian buildings and immaculate gardens, it’s one of the nicest and most affluent towns in the North of England. Think boutique shops, independent cafés and enough tea rooms to keep a nation of grandmas happy. It’s clean, attractive and generally very pleasant – the sort of place that makes away supporters wonder whether they’ve accidentally wandered into the South.

Club bar

There is a selection of drinks, Carling and Madri on draught along with soft drinks and other bottles, available in the away end along with two food kiosks.

Local Pubs

Likelihood the Natives Will Understand You: Very high. The locals speak a perfectly understandable brand of Yorkshire, and Harrogate is posh enough that you’ll probably hear more discussions about artisan coffee than farming. Just avoid telling them Yorkshire Tea is overrated and you’ll get on fine.

Top-Tip: Arrive early and make a day of it. Harrogate town centre is only a short walk from the ground and is packed with pubs, cafés and places to eat. If beer is your thing, Harrogate Brewing Co is worth a look, while Bettys Tea Room offers a slightly more refined pre-match experience than necking a pint while arguing about a back four. Harrogate somehow manages to cater for both craft beer enthusiasts and people who voluntarily order scones.

Local Amenities: Like most places, there’s a sh*tty side to Harrogate and it’s not that far from the stadium, so our advice is stick to the town centre It is packed with attractions, from the famous Betty’s Tea Room and the beautiful Valley Gardens to the elegant Montpellier Quarter with its boutique shops and historic architecture. If you’re arriving early, there’s plenty to see while wandering around one of Yorkshire’s most attractive market towns.

Other Points Of Interest:Harrogate owes much of its fame to the spa waters that turned it into a fashionable Victorian resort, and you can still see reminders of that history around the town, including the Royal Pump Room Museum. Just outside the centre, RHS Garden Harlow Carr is one of Yorkshire’s finest gardens, while the dramatic rock formations at Brimham Rocks and the ruins of Fountains Abbey are both within easy reach if you’re making a weekend of it.

[No responsibility is taken for any inaccuracies. This page is entirely the product of bias and prejudice. ]