Dartford - Princes Park

Dartford FC

Princes Park
Grassbanks
Darenth Road
Dartford
Kent
DA1 1RT

01322 299990
Official Website
Twitter

Ground Number: 194
Saturday 17th March 2012
Dartford 3-1 Havant and Waterlooville
Blue Square South

DARTFORD FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

Dartford Football Club was formed in 1888 by members of the Dartford Working Men's Club, initially playing only friendlies. The WMC exists to this very day, offering an exceptional drinks range and well-priced food, even better than Wetherspoons. They were founder members of the Kent League in 1894, and they played their first competitive seasons between here and the Southern League, where they won Division 2 in 1897. Spells were also had in the Thames & Medway and West Kent leagues during a nomadic period for the club. Dartford joined the Southern League in 1926 and settled here, winning the Eastern Division in 1931 & 1932. When the league expanded to two tiers in 1959, Dartford spent time in both tiers, their best finish coming in 1974 when they were Premier Division champions.

Following their second Premier Division title, Dartford won the title for a second time in 1981. They lasted one season in the recently formed Alliance League before going straight back down. A third Southern Premier title followed in 1984, and the 1984/85 season produced their best-ever finish of 3rd in the Alliance League. It was during this time that they crossed swords with Wycombe Wanderers a few times as the Chairboys thumped them 6-1 in the FA Trophy, but each side won one game apiece in the league. The former was postponed initially by future Premier League referee David Elleray. Dartford were relegated back to the Southern League in 1986, and although they finished as runners-up to Aylesbury United in 1988 and Merthyr Tydfil in 1989, trouble was just around the corner.

In the wake of the Bradford City stadium fire and the Hillsborough disaster, Dartford, like so many clubs, needed to either relocate or upgrade their current facilities, with the Board going for the latter option. Large sums of money were spent on planning and design fees, which burdened a manageable financial deficit with crippling interest charges. At the same time, Maidstone United, who had sold their ground, needed a suitable home to launch the ill-fated foray into the Football League, and the Dartford board agreed to let Maidstone ground-share at Watling Street, the rent income providing a welcome boost for finances. The ground share began at the start of the 1988–89 season, at the end of which Maidstone reached the Football League as Football Conference champions. However, Maidstone United went bankrupt and had to resign from the league in August 1992, most of their cash being taken up to gain the eagerly sought Football League place. Ground improvements, which Maidstone United had paid for, were sold to Dartford at a cost (around £500,000), which pushed Darts' debts beyond manageable proportions. Watling Street was sold to pay off creditors, and Dartford withdrew from the Southern League four games into the 1992–93 season.

They carried on as a youth team to keep the name alive whilst the senior side reformed in 1993 and joined the Kent League. It would take Dartford until 1996 to win promotion as runners-up behind Furness. A long spell in the Southern and Isthmian lower tiers followed before they won the Isthmian D1 North in 2008. They actually dropped down a tier in 2004 due to reorganisation, but the league name stayed the same. Dartford spent two seasons back at step 3 before winning the Isthmian Premier title in 2010. Back in the second tier of non-league for the first time in 18 years, the club seized the initiative and won another promotion in 2012. After finishing as runners-up to Woking, they beat both Basingstoke & Welling in the playoffs to win promotion to the top level of non-league for the first time in 26 years. An 8th-place finish in their first season was a great season, but results soon declined. Dartford went back down in 2015 and had four failed attempts at the playoffs, coming closest in 2018 when they missed out on the title to Havant & Waterlooville on goal difference. Worse was to follow in 2024 when the club was relegated to the Isthmian Premier.

Dartford twice reached the FA Cup 3rd Round in the 1930s. More recent achievements include reaching the 2nd Round in 2014 and taking Port Vale to a replay in 2010. They also reached the FA Trophy Final in 1974, losing to Morecambe. Local cup wins include three Southern League Charity Shields, three Southern League Cups, thirteen Kent Senior Cups, the Kent Senior Cup in 1996, and the Kent League Trophy in 1920. Dartford's first permanent venue was Summers Meadow in Lowfield Street, which they used until 1920. They then stayed at Watling Street until 1992, when they lost the ground due to financial issues. The re-established club played a local park at first before moving in to share with Erith & Belevdere in 1994. In September 1997 a disastrous fire at Erith & Belvedere's Park View ground put the club's future and standing with the Southern League into serious doubt. A new ground-sharing arrangement was made with Purfleet in time for the 1998–99 season. They remained there until 2001 before sharing for five years at Gravesend & Northfleet. In 2006, they moved into their iconic Princes Park, at the time, the most environmentally-friendly stadium in the country.

MY DARTFORD VISIT

I had been planning to go to Bury v Wycombe on this day. But due to a combination of factors, the main ones being that I would do a lot of travelling over the coming week and also that I couldn't get enough people to make driving up worthwhile. So I had to sort an alternative - a Saturday in the season without going to a game would be shocking. I had a number of options I was considering - from helping out on the turnstiles at Wealdstone's FA Trophy Semi-Final game v Newport County, or going to Brackley Town v Weymouth. But I decided that I wanted to tick off a ground in the Conference South. It was down to Eastleigh v Dover or Dartford v Havant and Waterlooville, both roughly around the same distance away, in the end, it was the programme shop that I had heard about that swung it for Dartford. On the day I decided to leave about 11am and visit a couple of grounds on the way, as well as going into Dartford town centre. So on the way I went to Kings Langley FC near Watford, this season being the club's first in the FA Cup, hence them only just falling under my radar. And another new ground for this season, Enfield Town, who moved into the Queen Elizabeth II stadium earlier this season. I got to Dartford at around 1PM, parked up and walked the 5-10 minute walk into the town. After getting some chicken for lunch and a huge carrier bag full of grapes for £1.50, I made my way back to the ground, arriving back at 2.15.



I chucked my stuff in the boot and went to the ground. Entry was a reasonable £12 and a decent-sized programme was £2.50, with plenty to read, certainly the most impressive one I have seen in Non-League this season. I went to the club shop, which, although impressive, didn't have any pennants for me to buy. The real gem was at the other end of the ground, a supporters' association shop with an impressive range of programmes, books and fanzines to buy. I bought 5 Dartford fanzines, A "The Worst of Football" book, a  Dartford v Dorking programme from 2005 (a game I went to but chucked the programme) and a Northern Ventures, Northern Gains magazine, all for £2. After a quick walk around the ground to take some pictures, it was time for the game. I took a seat in the stand and watched the first half. Havant were the better side in the early periods, taking a deserved lead after 9 minutes through Scott Jones. They should have wrapped up the game minutes later when they were awarded a penalty, but it was wasted, being blasted over the bar by Steve Ramsey. Dartford eventually equalised before half-time through Lee Noble, so the sides went in level at the break. The second half was a different affair; whatever was said in the Dartford dressing room at half-time worked, as they were a different team second half. It did take until the 79th minute for them to make a breakthrough - Danny Harris was the scorer. As Havant went forward in pursuit of an equaliser, they left gaps at the back, which were exploited by Dartford, who scored through Lee Wilkinson. Overall, it was a decent game, if not a classic. I made pretty decent time on the way home, getting home around 6.15 after a hassle-free journey.

HALLS AFC - A BRIEF HISTORY

Halls Athletic has a long-standing presence in grassroots football, dating back to its establishment in 1919. The club were initially called J&E Halls and was the works team of a company that started in Dartford in 1785 as an Ironworks and is still going today, having moved into commercial refrigeration.  They started out in the Dartford & District League. During the 1920s & 30s, they spent most of their time in Division 2 with the occasional season in Division 1. Sometime around the war, they joined the Kent County League, their only title coming in 1948 when they won the Division 1 title.

Most of the time was spent around the lower reaches of this league but in 2002, they finished as runner-up to Farnborough OBG in Division 3 West, winning promotion to Division 2 West. It was a double promotion as they finished behind Bromleians Sports in 2003 to go up to Division 1 West. However, they'd only last a couple of seasons before going back down. They were promoted back up in 2013, following a 4th place finish. The stay was more successful this time, and Halls were promoted to the Premier Division as runners-up behind Chipstead in 2022. After a 5th-place finish in their first season, they won the title in 2024 to earn promotion to the SCEFL D1. They initially played at Erith Athletics Stadium to facilitate the higher level before moving 'home' to Dartord this year.

MY HALLS AFC VISIT

Dartford was a ground that I had long wanted to revisit. As well as being a great ground, I'd had a disappointing visit to the Wetherspoons in the town before a game at Kent Football United, unable to get a seat. There was also the fantastic Dartford Working Men's Club, which I visited before a game at Fleetdown United. However, I would not be going to the latter this time. I was going with Colin, and as they were kind enough to let me in as a non-member last time, I didn't want to risk taking Colin in and getting turfed out when it wasn't up to his liking. A couple of near-misses had happened with revisits before, but the perfect time came on this Friday night for a Halls AFC game. I love Friday night football, and although £8 was above average for step 6 football, they did have rent to pay. It was also a chance to update my blog, much justified for a club with an interesting history.

After a brutal day at work and a brief stop at home, I drove to Amersham station, parking up and arriving on the platform within ten minutes minutes of the train arriving. Colin got on at Harrow after yet another day of leisure. We got to Marylebone and took a warm Bakerloo line tube to Charing Cross. It was then the Southeastern to Dartford, where we arrived at 5.40. The train was warm again, but peaceful and comfortable enough for me to do my blogs for today and tomorrow. It was then a ten-minute walk to the Flying Boat Wetherspoons. My drink of choice didn't come with a meal, so Shawarma Chips, chicken wings and a pint of Cockeyed Pear Mania were £11.92. It was far better than the packed pub I'd visited before Kent Football United in 2018. I saw on Twitter that Greek food was available at the ground, very tempting. In the meantime, I had a pint of Old Rosie. From there, it was a half-hour walk to the ground, the entry included a free entry into the raffle. I was really happy with the revisit, a great ground despite reduced facilities.

 

Halls were in 7th place and had won their only game, beating Lewisham Borough 4-2 last Saturday.Welling Town were bottom of the table and had lost both of their games - 3-2 at Lordswood on Saturday and 3-0 at FC Eltham in midweek. The game was fairly even, surprisingly given the league positions. Welling took the lead on 42 minutes, a cracking volley from just outside the area by Harvey Roberts. At half time, I couldn't resist a Pork Souvlaki Box for a tenner. This was decent, but more greed on my part. An attendance of 223 was confirmed. It was a fair result, but the referee dragged the game out for far longer than the allotted time.

THE GROUND - 2012

PRINCES PARK was built in 2006 and is one of the best grounds in non-league football. It was designed with the environment in mind, with several "green-friendly" features. The stadium itself is all covered, 3 sides terracing and 1 side seats, in a similar style to Burton Albion's Pirelli Stadium. It has all the advantages that a new stadium brings, as well as being nicely designed and quite unique. There is a bar at the ground, but I didn't go in. The town centre, with an abundance of pubs, is a short walk away, so you will be spoilt for choice. As I have already mentioned, as well as the club shop, there is an excellent programme shop with a good range.

2025 PICTURES