Turton - Thomason Fold

Turton FC

Thomasson Fold

Turton

Bolton

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Ground Number: 1580

Sunday 30th August 2026

Turton 0-3 Carnforth Rangers

West Lancs D1

TURTON FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

The club was established in 1871 and was one of the leading clubs in Lancashire during their early years. They were one of the clubs who led to the creation of the Lancashire FA in 1878. It is believed that their white shirts and blue shorts inspired Bolton Wanderers in their choice of kit. John Bentley played for the club before helping form Bolton.  Later went on to be president of the Football League, vice-chairman of the Football Association and Manchester United secretary. He maintained his close relationship with Turton FC throughout and was president of the club in the early 20th century. The introduction of professional football saw their influence wane as they chose to remain strictly amateur. Unfortunately, on two separate occasions the club has folded and then been inactive for a lengthy period. Early days were spent in the Lancashire Combination, with them going down from Division 1 in 1904 and then exiting from the league altogether in 1910.

After a long period out of the game, Turton would return to local football and would join the West Lancashire League in 1987. They won the Division 2 title in their first season and were promoted to Division 1. In 1994, they finished as runners-up to Burnley United. By 1999, though, they had been relegated back to Division 2 but came straight back up as runners-up to Burnley Belvedere. In 2002, they were Division 1 runners-up to Milnthorpe Corinthians and won promotion to the Premier Division. Turton were relegated in 2010 and would remain in Division 1 until 2016, when they won the title. Despite a 5th place finish in 2019, they were relegated in 2024 and have been in Division 1 ever since. 

The current home of Turton FC, Thomason Fold, in Edgworth, is about a mile away from the original ground, Tower Street, in Chapeltown. This old ground is still in use, with Lancashire Amateur League team Old Boltonians having been the residents for over 50 years. This ground is possibly the oldest remaining football ground in the world. Turton have played three seasons in the FA Cup, progressing to the 3rd Round twice and facing off against the likes of Sheffield Wednesday and Nottingham Forest. Local cup wins include four Lancashire Junior Cups, two Lancashire Amateur Shields, the West Lancashire League Richardson Cup in 2019 and the West Lancs League Wilf Carr Memorial Trophy in 2020.

MY VISIT

For the last game of the weekend, the main pre-match talk was about the parking due to the entitlement and hostility of the local residents to people parking on a public road near their property. There was a particular territorial old hag at 6 Moorfields. Quotes such as 'Be aware that she may put stickers that are hard to remove if you try to park on her hallowed turf' and 'She's a proper Hyacinth Bucket and it's not just her....other locals come out to back her up'. Also 'If you can, park your coach outside 6 Moorfield to wind her up. We had a stand-off with her before a game a few years ago, and she called the Chairman on speed dial to lay down the law on football fans parking....' and 'Just a heads up for the Turton game in the Hop......the locals have their own gestapo against anyone trying to park around Moorfield Rd area near the ground. They have their own parking cones and leave notes on car...' summed up a pretty deranged bunch of locals. The vast majority of the hoppers didn't want to cause the club any grief, so lots of suggestions had been put out.

 

 

It was a slow getaway from Eagley as around 300 cars tried to leave at the same time. I felt sorry for the ice cream man who must have been expecting a quiet industrial estate but was faced with a torrent of cars. The drive was around 15 minutes; as it happened, parking was not so bad, very easy on the side of the main road. It was just under a mile walk to the ground. The traffic cones were out in force, and I heard reports of the charming lady outside her house in a hi-viz giving evils to any car that slowed down near her property. Entry was £5, and first stop was the food place. The queue was quite long, snaking out of the door and causing difficulty getting out. However, they did very well. I went for a chilli hot dog, cake, cookie, Strongbow and Irn Bru for £9. All of it was first class, especially the chilli. I went and joined the others on the hill overlooking the ground, a great view in every respect.

 

Turton were in 7th place having won four and lost three. Last time out, they won 3-1 at Kendal United. Carnforth Rangers were top of the league and had won five, drawn one and lost one. In their last game, they beat Askam United 3-0. Carnforth took the lead on 8 minutes with a penalty. A long-range strike on 25 minutes made it 2-0 in what was a one-sided first half. It was only the performance of the keeper that kept the score respectable. Another long-range shot made it 3-0 just before half-time. Turton were better in the second half, and they hit the post and had a goal ruled out for offside. Hoppers had lost interest by now, with Colin watching the wrestling on his tablet and PuffPuff was watching the oncoming storm. That storm started shortly after the full-time whistle, and we got a bit wet on the way back to the car. It was a half-hour drive back to the hotel via a Morrisons petrol station so that my passengers could get some snacks. We were back around 7.45, and I finished off my cider whilst getting my blogs up.

THE GROUND

THOMASON FOLD is a very picturesque venue with a large grass hill on one side. The pitch is fully railed, but there is no cover. There was a range of merch but the best thing was the great selection of food and drink, which the club looked to do well from. The only let-down was the parking; there was no car park that I could see, with the ground hidden down a footpath. It's advised to park up on the main road due to the territorial local residents.