Lordswood Football club was founded in 1968 by local residents and played their
first season in Rochester and district league Div 5. playing on local pitches such as
the Hook & Hatchet (now known as The Poachers Pocket recreation ground) ,
Snodhurst Bottom and Luton Rec . Really lovely pitches. NOT. Moving later, to a
more permanent and better ground at Cliffe Woods.

Our early claim to fame came during this period was in March 1973, being the first
team from Medway to win the Kent Junior Cup Group ‘A’ where our skipper George
Palmer played a considerable part of the match with a broken arm and then in May
1993 leading us to win the overall Kent Junior Cup Final.

Early in our existence in the 1970’s, we formed a liaison with Lordswood Cricket
Club to purchase the land at Martyn Grove from Medway council to form the new
Lordswood Sports & Social Club. After much work building the clubhouse and many
hours picking the flints from the ground (which some older people may remember)
the first cricket and football pitches were ready (just about) to play on.
Having considerable success in the R&D league we moved on to the New Brompton
League where we played for a number of seasons without any major success, but
our progress was such that we found ourselves applying for senior status and
moving to the Kent County League in 1981/82.

We continued to grow and establish ourselves in the county league and at the end of
the 1995 season made a successful application to join the Winstonian Kent League
in 1996. (now Southern Counties East Football League).
Our first Kent League manager was Gary Doe who forged a team of senior players
to play against the likes of Margate, Folkstone, Chatham and many more teams of
high repute and esteem and we were proud that we could compete against such
opposition.

We have had many managers since our joining the Kent League (now SCEFL) who
have served the club well, some successful and others less so. One I will mention is
Jason Lillis who took us to our greatest moment, the quarter finals of the FA vase, up
at Spennymoor, near Newcastle, only to be narrowly beaten by the eventual vase
winners. What a weekend, the football was excellent also.
We have continued to grow over the years but have failed to achieve the success
that we yearned for and have suffered positions lower in the league than we would
wish for.

With the return of Jason Lillis last season, as Director of Football, and with the
appointment a new manager in Matt Barman, a younger approach to our club started
to emerge. Particularly with the average age of the team being under 21 years old.
Matt left the club in November 2023 and has since been replaced by Nicky Southall,
an experienced manager who will develop the team and club further.
This season has begun with an explosion with the election of a new chairman, Ray
Broad and vice chairman, Gary Peck. With arrival of these two ex Lordswood
players, the whole scene at the wood has changed, with a brand new facelift to the
stadium and an approach of positive advancement for the whole club gives L.F.C. a
breath of fresh air.

Come On You Wood!
 
By Dave Sims, Lordswood F.C. President