History of Parson Drove FC
This year the Club are celebrating 100 years of football - although an early chairman, Mr.Tom Mews, once said that he had been told Football was played in Parson Drove at the time of the Doomsday Book, probably with pigs bladders. Before the 1914-18 Great War the clubs' teams played on the Butchers Arms Field and on Woadmill Grassfield. After the War, The Drove, unable to find a suitable playing field in the village, played at Murrow for two seasons. It was Mr.L.T.D Turner, the Headmaster of Old Parson Drove Council School, who became Secretary of the Club (about 1921), who firmly established the Club in the village and set about coaching the boys at school how football should be played. An old pupil, J.E.Cooper, writing many years ago recorded ''With the village green for a pitch and tennis balls instead of the larger football he taught us ball control and positional play. At that time many boys reaching school leaving age were unable to get a game. He founded the team, which he called Parson Drove Buttercups for youth and who played in Mr C.Kemps Paddock Mr H.C.Javis' Nursery (sic). He also got together for those a little older, a group calling themselves Parson Drove Stars, who played at the bottom of the Cricket Field. From these two teams Drove Club in the late years built up their First Team and so at the time we had 3 village teams''. It was during this period Alderman G.W.Newell offered the Club the use of a field at Clough's Cross Farm ( Clough's Cross Field) where they played until 1930. That year The Drove moved to a field in Fen Road, owned by Mr A Rowell, known as 'Down the Fen'. Dressing rooms and a tea room were erected and a donation of 100 cigarettes or a bottle of whiskey was made at Christmas time for the use of the field. This was to be home to the club for 45 years. Others who rendered great service to The Drove in those years after World War I were as Chairman, Mr.W.Plowright and the already mentioned Tom Mews; as Secretaries - G.Emery, Tom Bootle, J.W.Cooper, E.A.Hasely, W.J.Sperring J.Williams. Mr.Chris Crowson served as Treasurer for many years. Progress was suspended for the War of 1939-45, but shortly after Parson Drove FC had the distinction of being the first winners of the Peterborough Premier League when it was first formed in 1949-50. Unarguably the Club had its most successful period during the years 1966-67 through to 1970-71. The club ran 3 Senior Teams and a Youth Team and won the Premier League in five consecutive years under the stewardship of Syd Garrett. During this period the club also won the Cambs Invitation Cup (1), Cambs Challenge Cup (2) and the Peterborough Senior Cup (4). In 1975 the Parson Drove Playing Field was opened at Main Road and the club moved there from 'Down The Fen'. Temporary changing rooms were erected on the site and one of the Senior teams dropped on making this move. In 1979 the Youth Team was disbanded due to lack of players. In the F.A. Cup the club have notched up some good results notably their best year being 1979-80 where they reached the 4th qualifying round narrowly losing to Burton Albion 1-0. In 1982 the Club formed a Third Senior team once again when the old Boxing Club was converted into a changing room, but this proved short-lived, the building was in such a poor state that within four years it could no longer be used and the Third team was dropped again in 1986. Two years later, stuck with the "temporary building" erected in 1975 ( given an 8 year life span by the Fenland District Council ) now 13 years old and in a poor state, and with lack of interest from players and public, the club disbanded in 1988. In 1992 a meeting was called by some residents of the village, at which it was decided to try and reform the football club, after a meeting with the Playing Field Committee this went ahead - On March 2nd 1992 the club was reformed under the Chairmanship of Mr T. Moore. Funds were raised and with some financial support from the Playing Field Committee repairs were done to the old Pavillion (where possible) to make it useable again. The club formed one senior team and entered the Peterborough & District Football League Division Six, and in 1995 with that team having moved up to Division Four,a second senior team was entered into the League. The year 2004 also saw the opening of a brand new Pavilion, with the help of a grant from the Football Foundation and a lot of hard work from the committee, where the club now enjoy updated modern facilities.
As a result of our recent Centenary celebrations and exhibition of memorabilia we have plenty of new material - old team photos etc, which will be added to this section soon.
Parson Drove eventually regained their Premier Division status by winning the Division 1 title in 2003-04.