STREANESHALCH FC

Derek Hampton scores for Whitby Town v Halifax Town 3-2 in a famous FA Cup victory in 1983-4 in the First Round Proper, having been 0-2 down.

Yes, it was off to the seaside the yesterday, hence no Sunday report! I was basking at Sandsend which is self-explanatory, where the lovely sandy beach north of the headland at Whitby, meets another headland, Sandsend Ness. The sand is "trapped" between to the cliffed "bookends" and hence a delightful flat beach. It is excellent for playing beach games and for building sand castles, modelled maybe on the Abbey at Whitby, famed for Bram Stoker's Dracula in 1897 and Streaneshalch! WHO?
You know Streanes was a monk, not well documented but linked to the Abbey and "halch" of course means headland.

Whitby Town FC sits in town at the Turnbull Ground in Upgang Lane. It is a pleasant little stadium, geared up for nearly 4,000 spectators which the "Seasiders" might attract to their Evo-Stick Northern League Premier matches. (presently lying 7th at this stage of the season)
Streaneshalch FC was founded in October 1880 and joined the Northern League in 1893. The club seems to have been named in their first match as Whitby Church Temperance v Scarborough on January 8th 1881-won 2-0.

In 1882 Whitby FC as it was known then was competing with the "Rugby" code and played Association in the North Riding of Yorkshire League, where John Nicholson proved to be a prominent player.
A first recorded FA Cup tie was played in 1889 when they lost to their arch enemies at Scarborough. Whitby complained that the pitch was not legal, as well as disputing a goal. At the railway station a riot occurred and one of their players were attacked by Scarborough supporters and Albert Drabble was wounded and later died in hospital.

After World War One, Whitby Whitehall Swifts and Whitby Town FC merged and eventually became Whitby United in 1926. They were then renamed "Town" in 1949. Probably their best moments have been in the FA Cup as shown above, in 1964-5 they lost to Hendon FC in the FA Amateur Cup 1-3 at Wembley, and the FA Trophy 1/4 finals in 1983/4 and 1998/9.
Motto:  We have been and we are!