Frampton United - Bell Field

Frampton United FC

The Bell Field

Bridge Road

Frampton on Severn

Gloucester 

Gloucestershire

GL2 7HA

Official Website

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Ground Number: 1425

Monday 5th May 2025

Frampton United 2-0 Filton Athletic
Gloucestershire County League

FRAMPTON UNITED FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

Frampton Utd AFC was founded in 1891, making it one of the founder members of the Stroud League. They won this league in 1947 and 1950, and also had spells in the now obsolete Severn Vale League. Whilst they were runners-up on a number of occasions and their reserves also saw success, they left for the Gloucestershire Northern Senior League in 1954 for a single season before returning to the Stroud League. In 1979, with facilities still in place, they joined the Gloucestershire County League. They stayed for eleven seasons, never finishing in the top half before they left in 1990. A return to the Stroud League followed, which they won for a third time in 2010. Since 2012, Frampton United have been playing back in the Gloucestershire County League. In 2017, the club finished as runners-up to Bristol Telephones, above several teams who have since moved up to step 6 and beyond. They repeated the feat in 2019, missing out to Lebeq United.

Local honours include recently winning the FFA Senior Amateur Cup as Frampton United beat Bromley Heath United on penalties in this year's final. Frampton on Severn is a village in Gloucestershire, around ten miles from Gloucester. It has a population of just under 1,500.  It lies on the east bank of the River Severn, and on the west bank of the River Frome, from which it takes its name. The village is linked by a footpath to the Sharpness Canal. There is a large village green, 22 acres in size and reputedly the longest in England. Both cricket and football are played here. The Gloucester and Sharpness Canal runs to the west side of the village and the green has three ponds. There are two pubs on The Green: The Bell Inn (adjacent to the football ground) and The Three Horseshoes.

MY VISIT

I was always keen to see a game on this Bank Holiday and deserved it after working whilst the rest of the country had it off in the main. The discrimination of Bank Holidays didn't used to bother me as I only had to work three of them a year. Funnily enough, this would have been one of the ones I'd have volunteered to work, but being a victim of 'fire and rehire' and having my contract stripped of all its benefits was no fun. The choices had dried up, and from around six potentials, I whittled it down to two possibilities - either a revisit to Dartford or this double involving Frampton United and a cup final at Lakeside FC. The ones dismissed were Solihull Moors revisit and Wolstanton United double (too many miles), a cup final revisit at Kempston Rovers (save for another time), New Romney (save for a day out on the train) and various playoff games that didn't come to fruition.

It was an easy drive home from our game at AFC Royal Holloway on Tuesday. I dropped Colin off at 9.35 and was home by 9.50. I was able to get my blog up and everything sorted before bed. As it happened, I couldn't sleep until around 1 am and was tired the next day after three hours of sleep. Thankfully, it was only a six-hour shift, and I was glad to get home. I tried for a nap but didn't get much sleep, although I did get an early night on Wednesday. Thursday was also a slog, dragging because I only had a Wycombe game to look forward to on Saturday. I spent some of the evening starting my research on Frampton United, easier said than done, but an online programme for Cheltenham Civil Service helped. It also highlighted how many decent grounds were in the area, but it was just a shame that the price of train fares meant that I'd likely have to drive.

Friday came, and it was an easier day at work in terms of how quickly it went, even if there was more work. It was satisfying to come home and have a couple of drinks whilst watching the Red Tories and the Blue Tories torn a new one - two cheeks of the same arse as far as I'm concerned. Colin was still undecided about the Gloucestershire double, but I wasn't too fussed as it would mean a bit of a diversion at the end. My body clock meant that I went to sleep around 9.30 and awoke the next morning at 5. I spent the morning at home just killing time before leaving home at 10.30. But more of that in the second blog today  It was the usual fairly early night for me with work the next day. In the end, everything was done, and I went home early. I was considering giving my Sunday game between Marlow Town & Taplow United the elbow, but in the end, I opted to go. It turned out to be an error as the game was not on at that venue for some reason. I spent the rest of the day tired and got an early night ahead of my morning alarm.

 

It was a busy day at work before I left at 12. I'd already made productive use of my time at 4.30 in the morning, getting lunch out, filling the car with petrol and getting some cash out before I started work at 5. I used the final half hour to take my break, during which I had a curry for lunch and changed my top. We left promptly at 12 and it was a good journey. As we had time to kill, we stopped at the excellent Farm Shop Gloucester Services. This is heaven, especially compared to the mediocre rubbish that the likes of Roadchef offer. It was very busy with humans and dogs, and there was plenty of choice. I got a triple chocolate button brownie, some crisps, some biltong and a couple of ciders for the weekend. From there, it was 20 minutes to the ground with us getting there at 2.20. It was easy to park and entry was free so I got a programme for £1 and typed some of this blog whilst I waited for kickoff. Plenty of hoppers were in attendance, including Vinnie from Bournemouth. It was sunny, but quite nippy due to the wind. 

Frampton United sat in 3rd place and had the chance of claiming the runners-up spot if results went their way. They'd won eighteen, drawn five and lost six of their games so far. They'd won three in a row and were unbeaten in five, their last league game saw them win 1-0 at Bromley Heath United. Filton Athletic were in 5th, but both sides were on 59 points. They could also claim the runners-up spot, but would need to overcome a large goal difference deficit. They were unbeaten in 20 league games and had won 1-0 at Chalford in their last game. Both sides had chances, it was Filton who drew a great save from the home keeper on 15 minutes. On 25 minutes, an equally excellent save at the other end, as the game was very equal. The second half kicked off a few minutes early, and Filton Athletic hit the post twice within 30 seconds. Frampton had the ball in the net on 62 minutes, but it was disallowed as the corner had gone out of play. They finally took the lead on 66 minutes, the Filton keeper fumbling a high ball and allowing Adam Cox to net an easy chance. The keeper redeemed himself later with a great double save. On 73 minutes, it was 2-0 after the right winger rounded the keeper and crossed for Henry Driver-Dickerson to tap home. As Frampton pushed forward for a third, the Filton keeper was sin-binned for complaining to the referee, and the #2 had to take over in goal. The third goal didn't come despite lots of injury time.

 

THE GROUND 

THE BELL FIELD is opposite a pub called the Bell Inn, which looks pleasant but quite pricey. There is plenty of parking and the village is nearby. The pitch is fully railed, and there is a decent-sized area of cover. In the corner is a tea bar serving basic snacks. A programme is available for £1, and the ground is well worth a visit.