Highworth Town 3 Harlow Town 3 - Southern League, Division One Central
Highworth is a market town and
civil parish in the Borough of Swindon. Located 6 miles north-east of Swindon
town centre, it is notable for its Queen Anne and Georgian buildings and the 13th
century St Michael’s church. The town is situated on a hill in the upper Thames
Valley and at 436 feet above sea level is the highest town in Wiltshire. The
Highworth Branch Line was a short railway line, in use from 1883 to 1962. It
was most successful as a goods line linking the Great Western Main Line to
factories around the town.
The football club was established in 1893. Success arrived in 1910 when the club won the Swindon Junior Cup. Progression via the Cirencester & District League, the Swindon & District League, Wiltshire Combination, and the Wiltshire County League culminated with the club moving up to the Hellenic League in 1984. The 2014-15 season saw Highworth Town reach the semi-finals of the FA Vase before losing 3-0 on aggregate to North Shields. In 2018 the club was promoted to the Southern League.
This excursion proved relatively straightforward by public transport. The highlight was being able to travel on the Central London section of the Elizabeth Line from Liverpool Street to Paddington for the first time. A train to Swindon followed by the regular No 7 bus service (delayed by roadworks on the main road into the town) enabled me to reach Highworth.
On arrival at Highworth I made my way to The Elms Recreation Ground and was able to tour the stadium to get some photographs. I then adjourned to the Rose and Crown where the all-day breakfast was superb. The locals were extremely friendly and this welcoming pub had an old-fashioned feel about the place (lots of brewery memorabilia too). My pint of Sea Fury Special Ale (5.0%) was in fine condition and is much better than Doom Bar from the same stable.
The Elms Recreation Ground is a venue that underlines the quirkiness of English football stadia. There is a wonderful slope that runs not just from end to end, but also side to side. The main clubhouse building is at the car park end of the ground and almost adjacent is the Directors refreshment facilities. This solid wooden structure also houses additional toilet facilities. The main spectator accommodation is situated along one side and consists of two covered seated stands with a decent covered standing area between.
The only other furniture at the ground are the dugouts on the opposite side of the ground. The fence behind leads to the wider recreation ground and on this almost dry day, plenty of dog walkers could be seen enjoying the Wiltshire experience. However, one club official did alert me to a brief shower. He told me that “the rain is coming in now. You know that when you can no longer see the Motorola building in the distance”. In less than a minute the rain had arrived! Behind the other end there is a horse chestnut tree and during the first half, Ian Harvey was able to reminisce about his “conkering” days as a child growing up in Harlow.
This was a peculiar football match and after a goal free first period, one might have expected a blankety blank. Both sides huffed and puffed without success. Eventually Harlow Town edged in front and when Jared Small doubled his personal tally from the spot, it looked likely that the 3 points were heading back to Essex on the Golden Boy coach. Substitutions by the home side (also down to ten players), particularly the introduction of Nick Stanley (he was involved in everything and transformed the match), suddenly saw them 3-2 ahead. A late leveller for the visitors meant a share of the spoils and a draw was a fair result.
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