Spennymoor is a middle-sized former mining town in the
Wear Valley in
County Durham. It is perhaps only famous for three things: It was the place that
Henry Bessemer discovered a process for the cheap and easy manufacture of steel; It was the home of local MP
Robert Shafto, immortalised as
Bobby Shafto in the 18th century folk song; and as the home of
Spennymoor United -
Spennymoor Town's historic predecessors. However ill health forced them to merge with another local side, Evenwood Town, in 2005 - although Evenwood fans would have it that it was just a straight take over.
United were formed in 1877, and in their day got as far as The Northern League - then the top flight of English non-league football - which they won seven times over the years. They were also FA Cup regulars, their best run coming in 1936, when the lost to West Brom in the third round. This era was also noteworthy because they had a chap playing for them called John Collins - whose son went on to become the comedian
Frank Skinner.
Evenwood Town had a pretty successful history too. Winners of the Northern League three times, they formed in 1931, and despite not having as illustrious career as United, had a pretty strong fan base in their own right. After the merger, things picked up almost immediately, and the newly formed Town won Division Two of the Northern Premier League. Three years later they won Division One, becoming on the second club in the league's history to reach 100 points in a campaign. Sadly their 6000 capacity Brewery Field ground wasn't considered up to scratch to gain promotion to the seventh tier, but with a lot of work happening to their ground in the closed season, things are looking up for some more successful seasons in the near future.
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