Ribbesford Meadows Teams
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Date: 05.02.2019 Ground: 81 Match: 23 (2018/2019 season) Venue: Ribbesford Meadows Teams: Bewdley Town V Smethwick Rangers Competition: West Midlands Regional League Premier Division Admission: £3 Final Score: 5-0 (H/T 3-0) Referee: Not Known Attendance: 22 (Head Count) Mileage to venue and return: 41.2 Miles Programme: £1 Introduction This game was the third time in a row that I had attempted to take in a midweek game of football. Two weeks ago, I arrived at the Aspray Arena to watch Dudley Town V Black Country Rangers, but the snow came down with force and the game was postponed with around half hour to go too kick off. Last Tuesday I had planned to visit Wellbeing Park for the ‘El Stonio’ between Stone Dominoes V Stone Old Alleynians, but that was postponed earlier in the day due to more bad weather. So, it goes without saying that I was very pleased to see an improvement in the weather and for this game at Ribbesford Meadows to go ahead. As this was a midweek match, I went straight to the venue directly from my place of work in Atcham, Shropshire. My route from work took me the usual way home too Much Wenlock but instead of turning right in Much Wenlock and towards my, HQ in South Shropshire I travelled towards the Shropshire Village of Morville. From Morville I travelled through more Shropshire Villages – Glazeley, Billingsley and Button Oak to name but a few before arriving in Bewdley. As is my usual practise, I found the location of the ground which is located in the Village of Ribbesford, 1.3 miles from Bewdley. I then headed back too Bewdley for a wonder around this beautiful Worcestershire town. I have visited the town in the past, so I was familiar of where to go. As I had plenty of time to spare before the 7:45pm kick-off, my intention was to treat myself too some fish and chips from the award winning Merchants Fish Bar located next too Bewdley Bridge…………………………………….. or so I thought! On approaching the Fish Bar, I was disappointed to discover that it was currently closed for refurbishment work and had to make do with a £3 meal deal from the Supermarket next door. The next section of this report provides some information on the Town of Bewdley. BEWDLEY Picture Shows Bewdley town Centre looking towards Bewdley Bridge Bewdley is a small riverside town and civil parish situated in the Wyre Forest district of the county of Worcestershire, on the Shropshire border – 22 miles southwest of Birmingham. Following the 2011 census the town was recorded as having 9,470 inhabitants. Bewdley lies on the River Severn, at the entrance of the Wyre Forest national nature reserve. Because of Bewdley’s superb picturesque location, the town is popular with tourists and is well known for the Bewdley Bridge designed by the famous engineer Thomas Telford. The main section of Bewdley is located on the western bank of the River Severn with the majority of the towns shops and other amenities situated along Load Street. At the top of Load Street is St Anne’s Church which was constructed in the 18th century between 1745-1748. St Anne’s Church with War Memorial Bewdley Bridge spanning over the River Severn was constructed in 1798 and as previously mentioned designed by Thomas Telford. The bridge was built to be used as a replacement for the 1483 medieval bridge which was destroyed due to intense flooding in 1795. Bewdley Bridge pictured above My view from the bridge whilst ‘tucking’ into my £3 meal deal. The Severn Valley Railway has a station in Bewdley, from here you can travel too, the nearby town of Kidderminster passing the West Midlands Safari Park. Bewdley has a vibrant music scene and is well known for its numerous country music venues as well as being the host to several local festivals including Hop Fest and Bewdley Live. Another notable attraction in the town is it’s museum, admission to the museum is free and is situated in the Guildhall a stones throw from the Tourist Information Centre. Bewdley has three twin towns, two in Europe and one in the United States of America – the towns are as follows: Fort-Mahon-Plage: France Vellmar: Germany Clarksville: USA Stanley Baldwin (3rd August 1867-14th December 1947) who served three terms as prime minister between 1923 and 1937 was born in Bewdley at Lower Park House. As well as being prime minister Stanley Baldwin served as the MP for Bewdley from 1908 and latterly became Earl Baldwin of Bewdley. A statue of Stanley Baldwin shown above adjacent to St Anne’s Church BEWDLEY TOWN FOOTBALL CLUB Address: Ribbesford Meadows, Ribbesford, Bewdley, DY12 2TJ Website: www.bewdleytownfc.co.uk Twitter: @BewdleyTownFC Club Officials: Dale Horton – President Geoff Edwards – Chairman Steve Godfrey – Secretary Jo Payton – Treasurer Media – Derry Thompson Bewdley Town 1st Team: Phil Mullen – Manager Paul Davies – Manager Chris Knight, Jeff Elloitt, Wayne Payton – Physios Alex Kilgour, Wayne Payton – Coaching Staff Chris Knight – Kit Man BEWDLEY TOWN FC – HISTORY The following information has been obtained from Bewdley’s matchday programme. Bewdley Town Football Club, as it is now known, was formed in 1978, following 90 years competing under various local names, one of which has been resurrected recently by the youth section as Bewdley Comrades. The club was formed with the merger of two local teams, Bewdley Old Boys FC and Woodcolliers FC, the latter who played on a Sunday and both originally playing at Gardeners Meadow in Bewdley. The ground at Gardeners Meadow was sold for re-development which meant the club had to seek a new venue and moved temporarily to Kidderminster. A massive fundraising project commenced, which enabled the club to purchase land and return to Bewdley, to their home Ribbesford Meadows under the guidance of Robert Burns. After playing in the Kidderminster and District Leagues, the main senior side under the management of Craig Payton and Chairman Geoff Edwards, joined in 1999, the West Midlands Regional League Division One South. Prior to this Ribbesford Meadows had been an on going project, providing football facilities for all ages, including youth football in the Stourport and District League and the Midlands Floodlit League, adult football in the Kidderminster and District League, and can boast being one of the first clubs in Worcestershire in 1993 under FA Coach Chris Middleton to start a Mini Soccer Centre. This centre is still in operation and draws children of all abilities from the age of 4, from all areas of the Wyre Forest region, under the expert tuition of FA Coach Wayne Payton and co- ordinator Jo Payton, and their team of qualified coaches. In 2005, Bewdley Town finished runners up in Division One and gained promotion to the West Midlands Premier League, however in order for them to compete at this level, they had to rent the facilities of near rivals Stourport Swifts. In 2006 permission was granted to build stands and erect floodlights, and in their second season, finished third in the league, having lead for much of it, only being thwarted from possibly winning the league, by bad floods meaning them having to play a large number of games in a short period at the end of the season eventually having its toll on the players. If they had won the league however, they would not have been granted promotion due to the on going development of the ground not being completed. In 2007-2008 the ground had been given a higher rating allowing them to compete in matches at a higher level and gain promotion if they finished in any of the top places. Bewdley Town FC also made history in this season, when they were allowed to enter the FA Vase for the first time, where they reached the third round proper, losing to higher ranked opposition Coventry Sphinx. The following season saw Bewdley make their appearance in the FA Cup, although short lived, when they lost at home to Midland Alliance side Alvechurch FC. The last few seasons, have seen Bewdley Town under the guidance of joint managers Craig Payton and Brian Lacey, become one of the top sides in the West Midlands Regional League. Their attractive style of football has made them one of the hardest sides to beat, and one which has attracted supporters from all over the country. Work is on going at Ribbesford Meadows, as the committee and loyal band of volunteers continue to develop the ground for higher levels of competition. Their hard work and achievement, was recently recognised by an award from “Groundtastic Magazine” for the best stand in the lower levels of non league football (I would certainly agree with this after seeing the stand for the first time) and narrowly missed winning best ground in the same category, they have recently attained the necessary grading to allow them to proceed up the non league ladder. The 2008/09 season saw Bewdley Town reach the final of the Worcestershire Senior Urn, losing narrowly to Midland Football Alliance side Studley 3-2 at Aggborough, although many thought they were unlucky to do so. However, two years later in the 2010/11 season, they gained their revenge beating Studley 2-1 in front of a crowd of over 500. The 2011/12 season saw Bewdley become a strong cup side, they again reached the final of the Worcestershire Senior Urn, where they retained the trophy, once again in front of a 500+ crowd beating Alvechurch FC from the Midland Football Alliance, coming from a goal down to win 3-2.