Cray Wanderers F.C.
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| Full name | Cray Wanderers Football Club |
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| Nickname(s) | The Wands |
| Founded | 1860 traditionally |
| Ground | Hayes Lane, Bromley |
| Capacity | 5,000 (1,300 seated) |
| Chairman | Gary Hillman |
| Manager | Tony Russell |
| League | Isthmian League Division One South |
| 2015–16 | Isthmian League Division One North, 4th (transferred) |
| Website | Club home page |
Cray Wanderers Football Club is an English semi-professional football club based in Bromley, London. Based on later reports, the club has a claim to have been established some time in 1860 in the twin villages of St. Mary Cray and St Paul's Cray, near Orpington. Such a date would make it one of the oldest football clubs in the world.
They currently play their home matches at Bromley's Hayes Lane ground (capacity 5,000). Cray Wanderers were Kent League champions four times, and have reached the fourth qualifying round of the FA Cup once in their history. They are currently members of Division One South of the Isthmian League.
The first origins of Cray Wanderers are linked to the construction of the London, Chatham and Dover Railway line during 1858 to 1860. During their leisure time, migrant workers kicked a ball around, and that is how the club originated in the St Mary Cray village. The pitch at Star Lane is now a cemetery, and is located beneath the nine-arch railway viaduct that spans the Cray Valley. The industrial belt of the River Cray, especially the paper mills, provided much of the club's support up till the 1950s.
Cray Wanderers were a strong force in senior county football at the turn of the century. After being Kent Junior Cup semi-finalists and finalists in 1890/91 and 1891/92 they entered the first ever FA Amateur Cup competition in 1893/94. They had a spell as a professional club between 1895 and 1907. They were a nursery club for Woolwich Arsenal during part of this period. They were one of the founder members of the Kent League in 1894/95, and they won the championship in 1901/02. Other honours included Southern Suburban League champions in 1898/99, West Kent League champions in 1903/04, and Kent Senior Cup runners-up in 1899/1900.
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