Bromlians FC - The John Cooper Ground

Bromlians FC

The John Cooper Ground 

Scrubs Farm
Lower Gravel Road

Bromley 

BR2 8LL

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Ground Number: 1542

Saturday 11th April 2026
Bromelians 0-2 Otford United

Kent County D1 West

BROMELIANS FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

The club was established in 1922 by former pupils of Bromley County School under the name of Bromley County School Old Boys. They switched to Old Bromelians five years later, taking its name from the school magazine, The Bromleian. Early successes include a run in the Old Boys League, winning Division 2, Division 1 and then the Premier Division in 3 consecutive seasons, between 1928 and 1931.  The war years brought a halt to football, and the next honours was in 1954 when they finished as runners-up to Lensbury & Britannic House to win promotion to the Southern Amateur League Division 1. They were long-time members here, winning Division 3 and Division 2 on three occasions each. Their best finish here came in 1982 when they finished 5th in Division 1.

Kent County Premier Division Final Table 2018/19

After playing at various venues, they moved to their current ground in Lower Gravel Road. They financed the ground by taking out various loans and also selling rhubarb crowns, which were grown on their land. In 1965, Bromley Council placed a compulsory purchase order on the ground, but this was successfully fought against by fixture secretary John Cooper. As a result, the ground was named in his honour.  A new clubhouse was opened in 1992, and in 2002, the club made the decision to switch to the Kent County League. The name was changed to Bromelians Sports as a result, and they won the Division 2 West in their debut season. They struggled in Division 1 West, a notable exception was in 2007 when they finished 3rd, just missing out on promotion. They left the league in 2009, returning to amateur football for a few years. In 2012, they rejoined the Kent County D2 West under the name Old Bromelians. Despite finishing second-bottom in 2016, they won the league the following year, followed by Division 1 West in 2018. The same year, they changed their name to Bromelians and in 2019 enjoyed their best ever finish of 4th in the Kent County Premier. They were subsequently relegated back to Division 1 West in 2023 but are currently battling relegation.

Local cup honours include nine AFA Surrey Senior Cups and three SAL Old Boys Cups. The town of Bromley has a population of around 72,000 and has had plenty of famous residents who have called the town home. These include music legend David Bowie, children's author Enid Blyton, pop star Billy Idol, comedian Frankie Boyle and footballer Jason Roberts. Also, the late author and Bromley FC fanatic Dave Roberts, who wrote three books on the club, one of which, The Bromley Boys, inspired a film.

MY VISIT

I didn't want to travel too far on this Saturday, and so my options were limited. The furthest I had considered was Magna 73 in Leicester, but the coach times didn't work out. The next to be discounted was Reigate Priory, albeit their reserves. They played at a lovely sports ground, but cricket took precedence, and so the game was moved to a crappy school pitch. Keens Park Rangers had also been moved from Pyrford Cricket Club to Guildford City. Another one that was probably off the list was Camden & Islington, as it was in the unreliable Middlesex County League, and the site showed the fixture as unconfirmed. The Football Traveller came late on Wednesday, but after looking at it on Thursday afternoon, I narrowed it down to a few options. If Colin was coming, it would be Canterbury City; he wanted me to save it for him, and I could take advantage of his railcard. If not, I'd be dipping down to the lower levels - either Bromelians v Otford United in the Kent Division 1 West or Horsley v Burpham in the Guildford & Woking Alliance. After final investigations on Friday, I opted for Bromelians if on my own, but was still waiting for a final answer from Colin.

It was a nice, easy drive back from Orwell, with me getting back at 9.10 after dropping Colin off. I even managed to get my blog up before bed. Thursday was a tiring day, and I was asleep around 7. It was a dull Friday with no football or booze, but I had plenty of both last weekend. I went to bed at 10.30 and woke well before my 6.50 alarm. Despite this, I was running late and was going to drive to the station. However, I changed my mind and got the 8.15 bus, 35 minutes later than intended. I could have limited my drinking, but it would have restricted any post-match pubs I might find. Typically, after being dry and warm all week, the weather was back to its default of grey skies, a slight chill and drizzle. I walked straight off of the bus onto a Chiltern train and then had a perfect change onto the Metropolitan at Harrow on the Hill. Then a Met line to Farringdon and the Thameslink to Streatham. Wetherspoons 500 was 8 minutes walk away.

 

The Holland Tringham was named after Holland Tringham, a Victorian artist who moved to Streatham at the height of his fame in the late 19th century. He is best known, locally, for his six sketches of the old village of Streatham, copies of which are on the walls of this pub, which bears his name. No bag in box ciders, but breakfast muffin, black pudding, energy drink and Stowford Press were £5.93 in a nice pub. An annoying crying baby prompted me to leave for the bus stop, which was a bit chaotic, but eventually, I got the 50 to Croydon. After a walk, I was 20 minutes behind schedule. The Moon Under Water in Norbury was bland, but £2.55 for a Strongbow was good. A bus to the equally grim and bizarre Croydon, where I got the 75 to Penge for my final pre-match stop. The Moon & Stars was another bland Spoons with great service. Shawarma Wrap, chips and Aspalls was £9.12. The last bus to Orpington was delayed, but there were some Jersey Bulls fans on the bus, en route to Beckenham. One ground that would be great to visit, but is a complete pain in the arse to get to, Jersey that is. From Bromley bus station, it was ten minutes walk to the ground. A decent setup, sadly, the hosts had abandoned the light and dark blue quarters, perhaps why their results had gone south.

 

Bromelians were having a tough season, sitting second-bottom and looking likely to be relegated. They had won three, drawn four and lost sixteen so far. They'd not won in six, losing 9-0 at AMG Ballerz last week. Otford United were in 4th and had won fourteen, drawn one and lost five.  They were on mixed form, but won 3-2 at AMG Ballerz last time out. When the two sides met in August, Otford United narrowly won 1-0. Bromleians were the first to have a chance, shooting narrowly wide in the first minute. After 8 minutes, Otford had a similar chance but also dragged wide. The hosts were the better side at this point, but it was a very open game. It was all rather predictable when Otford took the lead around ten minutes in, #8 netting from a simple cross. On 16 minutes, #9 was given all the time in the world to slot past the keeper. At half-time, Bromleians should have been at least level on the balance of play, but lacked conviction at both ends. The Otford players seemed content to blame each other for errors. In the second half, the hosts had the better of the first 20, but then Otford started to carve out chances. Right at the end, the Otford keeper pulled off a great save to deny the home #9, but it appeared it just wasn't going to be their day.

 

THE GROUND

THE JOHN COOPER GROUND is a decent setup, but some parts of it have seen better days. There is no furniture around the pitch, although the clubhouse offers a bit of cover and a couple of steps. Inside the clubhouse is lots of club merchandise and sports TV, but quite a limited range of drinks, just Rekorderlig Strawberry and lime for cider drinkers. There's not much around the ground, but it's good for transport links with lots of parking and Bromley bus garage, ten minutes walk away.