{{Short description|English football club}} {{for|the former railway station|Barnstaple Town railway station}} {{Use British English|date=February 2014}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2014}} {{Infobox football club | clubname = Barnstaple Town F.C. | image = Barnstaple Town FC.png | upright = 0.8 | alt = Official crest | fullname = Barnstaple Town Football Club | nickname = Barum | founded = 1904 | ground = Mill Road, [[Barnstaple]] | capacity = 5,000 (250 seated)<ref name=NLCD>Mike Williams & Tony Williams (2012) ''Non-League Club Directory 2013'', p825 {{ISBN|978-1-869833-77-0}}</ref> | chairman = Paul Larter
| manager = Ben Potter | league = {{English football updater|BarnstaT}} | season = {{English football updater|BarnstaT2}} | position = {{English football updater|BarnstaT3}} | pattern_la1 = _whiteborder | pattern_b1 = _whiteleftsideshoulder | pattern_ra1 = _whiteborder | leftarm1 = FF0000 | body1 = FF0000 | rightarm1 = FF0000 | shorts1 = FF0000 | socks1 = FF0000 | pattern_la2 = _whiteborder | pattern_b2 = _whiteleftsideshoulder | pattern_ra2 = _whiteborder | leftarm2 = 00BFFF | body2 = 00BFFF | rightarm2 = 00BFFF | shorts2 = 00BFFF | socks2 = 00BFFF }}
'''Barnstaple Town Football Club''' is a [[association football|football]] club based in [[Barnstaple]], [[Devon]], England. They are currently members of the {{English football updater|BarnstaT}} and play at Mill Road.
==History== The club was established in 1904 as '''Pilton Yeo Vale''', and were founder members of the [[North Devon Football League|North Devon League]] in the same year.<ref name=H>[http://www.barnstapletownfc.com/history/ History] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190422213316/http://www.barnstapletownfc.com/history/ |date=22 April 2019 }} Barnstaple Town F.C.</ref><ref name=NDFL>[http://www.northdevonfootballleague.org.uk/1904_05.php 1904-05] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402114921/http://www.northdevonfootballleague.org.uk/1904_05.php |date=2 April 2015 }} North Devon League</ref> They played in the league's first match, hosting [[Ilfracombe Town F.C.|Ilfracombe]] on 1 October; the visitors won 4–2 with several hundred in attendance.<ref name=NDFL/> However, that was to be the only defeat all season in the league and club went on to win the inaugural league title.<ref name=NDFL/> At the end of the season they adopted their current name.<ref name=H/>
After winning a second North Devon league title in 1908–09,<ref>[http://www.northdevonfootballleague.org.uk/1908_09.php 1908-09] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200929105015/http://northdevonfootballleague.org.uk/1908_09.php |date=29 September 2020 }} North Devon League</ref> they club switched to the [[Devon and Exeter Football League|Exeter & District League]], where they remained until [[World War I]]. After the war they returned to the North Devon League, before rejoining the Exeter & District League. They won the league title in 1946–47 and were runners-up the following season,<ref>[http://nonleaguematters.co.uk/nlmnet/Aarg3EC/EDL46.html Exeter & District League 1946–1972] Non-League Matters</ref> before joining Division Two of the [[Western Football League|Western League]] in 1948.<ref name=FCHD>{{fchd|id=BARNSTAT|name=Barnstaple Town}}</ref>
In [[1949–50 Western Football League|1949–50]] Barnstaple won Division Two, earning promotion to Division One.<ref name=FCHD/> In [[1951–52 FA Cup|1951–52]] they reached the first round of the [[FA Cup]] for the first time, losing 5–2 to [[Folkestone F.C.|Folkestone]] in a replay.<ref name=FCHD/> The club were league champions in [[1952–53 Western Football League|1952–53]], and reached the first round of the FA Cup again in [[1954–55 FA Cup|1954–55]], losing 4–1 at home to [[Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic F.C.|Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic]] in front of a record crowd of 6,200.<ref name=FCHD/><ref name=NLCD/> They reached the first round of the FA Cup for a third time in [[1959–60 FA Cup|1959–60]], losing 4–0 at [[Exeter City F.C.|Exeter City]].<ref name=FCHD/>
The league was reduced to a single division in 1960, and the club reached the FA Cup first round again in [[1972–73 FA Cup|1972–73]], before losing 2–0 at home to [[Bilston Town F.C.|Bilston]]. The league expanded back to two divisions in 1976, with Barnstaple placed in the Premier Division.<ref name=FCHD/> In [[1979–80 Western Football League|1979–80]] they won their second Western League title, and finished as runners-up in the following two seasons.<ref name=FCHD/> After finishing second-from bottom in [[1990–91 Western Football League|1990–91]], Barnstaple were relegated to Division One. [[1993–94 Western Football League|Three seasons later]] they won Division One, earning promotion back to the Premier Division.<ref name=FCHD/>
They remained in the Premier Division until being relegated again at the end of the [[2012–13 Western Football League|2012–13 season]], which saw them finish bottom of the Premier Division. However, they made an immediate return to the top division after winning Division One in [[2014–15 Western Football League|2014–15]]. The [[2015–16 Western Football League|following season]] saw the club finish as runners-up in the Premier Division, earning promotion to Division One South & West of the Southern League.<ref>[http://www.northdevongazette.co.uk/sport/football/barnstaple_town_confirmed_for_southern_league_1_4534296 Barnstaple Town confirmed for Southern League] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160825195530/http://www.northdevongazette.co.uk/sport/football/barnstaple_town_confirmed_for_southern_league_1_4534296 |date=25 August 2016 }} North Devon Gazette, 13 May 2016</ref> In [[2021–22 Southern Football League|2021–22]] they finished bottom of Division One South, resulting in relegation back to the Premier Division of the Western League. In [[2023–24 Western Football League|2023–24]] the club finished fifth in the Premier Division and qualified for the promotion play-offs, in which they lost 3–1 to [[Falmouth Town A.F.C.|Falmouth Town]] in the semi-finals. A fourth-place finish in [[2024–25 Western Football League|2024–25]] was followed by a 3–0 loss to [[Brixham A.F.C.|Brixham]] in the play-off semi-finals. In [[2025-26 Western Football League|2025-26]], the club finished first in the Western League, claiming the title for the 3rd time.
==Ground== The club have played their home games at Mill Road in Barnstaple since the late 1930s. It has a capacity of 5,000, of which 250 is seated and 1,000 covered.<ref name=NLCD/> The record attendance at Mill Road was set in the 1954–55 season when a crowd of 6,200 watched an FA Cup first round tie against [[AFC Bournemouth|Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic]]. Floodlights were installed in 1988 and inaugurated with a friendly match against [[Aston Villa F.C.|Aston Villa]] on 15 November 1988, with the lights switched on by Villa manager [[Graham Taylor]].
==Honours== *'''Western League''' **Champions 1952–53, 1979–80, 2025–26 **Division One champions 1949–50, 1993–94, 2014–15 *'''Exeter & District League''' **Champions 1946–47 *'''North Devon League''' **Champions 1904–05, 1908–09 *'''Devon Pro Cup''' ** Winners 1952–53, 1962–63, 1964–65, 1967–68, 1969–70, 1971–72, 1972–73, 1974–75, 1976–77, 1977–78, 1978–79, 1979–80, 1980–81<ref name=Honours/> *'''Devon St Lukes Cup''' **Winners 1987–88
==Records== *Best [[FA Cup]] performance: First round, 1951–52, 1954–55, 1959–60, 1972–73<ref name=FCHD/> *Best [[FA Trophy]] performance: Second round, 1971–72<ref name=FCHD/> *Best [[FA Vase]] performance: Fourth round, 1994–95, 2025–26<ref name=FCHD/> *Record attendance: 6,200 v [[Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic F.C.|Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic]], FA Cup first round, 1954–55<ref name=NLCD/> *Biggest win: 12–1 vs [[Tavistock F.C.|Tavistock]], FA Cup third qualifying round, 1954<ref name=Honours/> *Heaviest defeat: 0–11 vs [[Odd Down F.C.|Odd Down]], Western League, 25 April 2013<ref>[http://www.northdevonjournal.co.uk/Barnstaple-Town-suffer-club-record-Western-League/story-18869499-detail/story.html Barnstaple Town suffer club record Western league defeat to Odd Down] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150711140209/http://www.northdevonjournal.co.uk/Barnstaple-Town-suffer-club-record-Western-League/story-18869499-detail/story.html |date=11 July 2015 }} North Devon Journal, 2 May 2013</ref> *Record transfer fee paid: £4,000 to [[Hungerford Town F.C.|Hungerford Town]] for Joe Scott<ref name=Honours/> *Record transfer fee received: £6,000 from Bristol City for Ian Doyle<ref name=Honours>[http://www.barnstapletownfc.com/honours/ Honours] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190422164046/http://www.barnstapletownfc.com/honours/ |date=22 April 2019 }} Barnstaple Town F.C.</ref>
==See also== *{{c|Barnstaple Town F.C. players}} *{{c|Barnstaple Town F.C. managers}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{Official website|https://barnstapletownfc.co.uk/}}
{{Western League}} {{coord|51|4|57.223|N|4|4|6.946|W|region:GB_type:landmark|display=title}}
[[Category:Barnstaple Town F.C.| ]] [[Category:Men's football clubs in England]] [[Category:Football clubs in Devon]] [[Category:Association football clubs established in 1904]] [[Category:1904 establishments in England]] [[Category:Sport in Barnstaple]] [[Category:North Devon Football League]] [[Category:Devon and Exeter Football League]] [[Category:Western Football League]] [[Category:Southern Football League clubs]]