We found a football/cricket pitch, owned by the local club at St James' Park, and the best footballers play(ed) in Bay Plastics Northern Football Alliance 2nd Division and the club also runs a Development squad (in Div 3) along with Juniors. The pitch had not been marked out and there were NOT MANY signs of recent activity. It maybe that the club is defunct, but I hope not. Alnmouth United FC may still exist!
Maybe be COVID affected? But whatever here's some history.
HISTORY The first record of football relating in the Alnmouth area is a report in The Alnwick & County Gazette of a challenge match that took place in 1897 between the passenger & wagon departments of Alnmouth Railway Station. The match ended in a 4-4 draw.
Alnmouth Football Club was founded during August 1901 as Alnmouth United - an article in an edition of the same paper mentioned above, reported the existence of many workmen in the area who were to join together with the natives to form a team to play the increasingly popular game of football.
After having played friendlies for a couple of seasons, the very first being a 0-3 home defeat to Percy Rovers (Duke's School Old Boys) during September 1901, the club evidently felt they were up to league standard and were proved correct as in their first season: 1903/4, they shared the title in the now defunct Coquetdale League. The following season Alnmouth began their long association with the North Northumberland Football League and finished runners up at the first attempt. The championship followed in 1906, 1907 & 1910.
Various reports of early games can be found in the press when among other comments it is stated in a report on a 2-0 victory over Belford that "Alnmouth play by far the prettiest football in the tournament' and "they have a strong young lady following'. They are also often referred to as the "Bonny Blues' and played on the "old pitch' (old pitch even then?) on the links.
Players of that early era reflect family names which were until recently still represented in the village, such as Brown, Stewart and Jefferson. The star of these pioneers however seemed to be centre forward Len Purdue, who could, according to a reliable source at the time, have made a living from the game. Another famous player was goalkeeper Alfred H Healy who won Olympic silver for 110 metre hurdling at the Athens 1906 games. Photo below from 1907.
The Northern Football Alliance is a football competition based in the North East of England. It has four divisions headed by the Premier Division, which is a Regional NLS Feeder League. (Level 11). Newcastle Blue Star, Whitley Bay A, Gateshead Rutherford and North Shields Athletic and in that division too. Recent champions are Newcastle University.
The top club, or a qualifying club, which finishes the season in the top 5, in the Premier Division is eligible for promotion to the Northern League Division Two. Promotion and Relegation are in place throughout the Divisions, top 2 promoted and bottom 2 relegated in each Division. the bottom 2 clubs in Division Three must apply for re-election. Facilities have to be order.
The Northern Football Alliance was founded in 1890 as a single league, with a membership of seven teams. In 1926 it became the Second Division of the North Eastern League, but it split away again in 1935. It disbanded in 1964 due to lack of membership, but reformed just one season later, in 1965–66.
In 1988 the Northern Amateur League and the Northern Combination League combined with the Northern Football Alliance (all under the name Northern Football Alliance) to create a three-division format, which extended to 4 Divisions in season 2019 2020 when the Tyneside Amateur League formed the basis of the 4th Division. The Competition can currently operate with a maximum of 64 member teams across the 4 Divisions with a maximum of 16 teams in each Division.
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