Tytherington Rocks - Hardwicke Playing Field

Tytherington Rocks FC

Hardwicke Playing Field

Tytherington

South Gloucestershire

GL12 8UJ

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Ground Number: 980
Tuesday 3rd August 2021
Tytherington Rocks 0-2 Lebeq United
Western D1

TYTHERINGTON ROCKS FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

The club was established in 1932 and joined the Bristol Suburban League. It was strictly local leagues for the first 66 years of their history with the Iron Acton & District League (champions in 1945) and the Wooton & Dursley (runners-up in 1946) proving stopgaps during the post-war years. Back to the Bristol & Suburban League, Tytherington Rocks played in most of its many divisions. Highlights include a Division 3 Title in 1950, a Premier Division 2 title in 1994 and a Premier Division 1 title in 1997 & 1998. After winning their latest title, the club was accepted into the Gloucester County League after being rejected previously. After a tricky first season, fortunes improved and the club generally finished in the top half of the table. In 2004, they finished as runners-up to Almondsbury and were promoted to Hellenic D1 West. They remained here up until the start of this season. Fortunes varied wildly at the start of the 2010s with the club being crowned champions in 2012 & 2014. However, for whatever reason, they were not promoted. As a knock-on effect, players left for pastures new and they finished in the bottom two seasons for five seasons in a row between 2014 & 2019. The 2017/18 season was especially bad. The club lost all 26 league games conceding 151 goals and exited the FA Vase 8-1 to Longlevens. The last couple of seasons were abandoned though results only slightly improved, At the start of this season, the restructuring of non-league saw the club transferred to the Western D1.

The club has yet to enter the FA Cup and the FA Vase has proven an unhappy hunting ground. In six seasons, they've failed to progress past the first hurdle although they did take Abbey Rangers to a replay in their debut season of 2015/16. Local honours include the Iron Acton and District League Cup in 1945, the Alf Bosley Memorial Cup in 1997 & 1998 and the Berkeley Hospital Cup in 1946 & 1953. Their record attendance of 424 came against Winterbourne United for a Hellenic League hop game in 2007 and was the highest of the weekend and one of the highest ever in the long history of the events. Tytherington is a small village near Thornbury in South Gloucestershire. The population according to the 2011 census was 666. The village had a railway station between 1872 and 1944. Facilities nowadays include a village hall, a community shop, a pub and a church.

MY VISIT

I'd been without fellow hopper Anwar since mid-June with him taking a break from groundhopping due to personal reasons. Happily, he was back in the passenger seat for this game. The choice was not the greatest with all the unticked grounds being over two hours away. The nearest was Tytherington Rocks in Gloucestershire which was over 100 miles away. If Anwar hadn't come, I had a visit to Billingshurst planned in which was a lot closer. Happily, the day before the game, he confirmed he was coming and I started planning and researching the club history. We always enjoy a nice meal when we are on our travels but there was barely anything around the tiny village of Tytherington and its surrounding areas. Instead, I planned a stop at one of our favourite places - Muchahos in Gloucester. I also planned a stop at the farm shop on the M5, a place that I've wanted to go to for ages.

On the day of the game, I woke around my usual work time, albeit after a decent nights sleep for once. I laid in bed reading the Daily Star and a couple of magazines on my tablet. After getting up and having a shower and getting dressed, I walked to town and back, 8 miles in all. I got various bits, including a couple of curries from Iceland for work. I was back around 2 and so had just over an hour at home to rest before leaving. I left at 3.20, meeting Anwar in Aylesbury at 3.45. We always avoid coming out this way due to the poor roads and the same was true of today with it taking over two hours to cover just over 70 miles. The main culprits were slow single carriageways and the dire road system in Oxford, especially around Sunderland Avenue. Eventually, we got to our pre-match dinner place of Muchachos in Gloucester just before 6. It was excellent as ever, my Peri-Peri burger was great. Service was quick too and we were away by 6.20. The next stop was the farm shop services on the M5. Unlike normal services which offer mediocrity at hiked prices, this offered a nice range of artisan goods. Though pricey, at least it was nice stuff. I got five new ciders for future consumption plus a nice honeycomb chocolate bar. Service again was quick and we were away and at the ground by 7.10. It was a very rural setting but the welcome was friendly and the entry a bargain at £5 including a programme. We got some pictures of the ground before taking a spot on the halfway line for the game. 

The teams had contrasting fortunes in their opening game. Tytherington Rocks had made their Western League debut with an impressive 2-1 win at Cheddar. Lebeq United had lost by the same scoreline at home to Radstock Town. It was the visitors that started the brightest but Tytherington Rocks soon settled in and started playing the better football. The first real chance for them came on 20 minutes when the Lebeq keeper Dan Brabham made a smart save with his legs to deflect a Jai McLeod shot around the post. Lebeq soon started to have the better of the game and on 29 minutes their number #11 used his pace to try and get clear but he was forced wide by the home defence. On 33 minutes, Lebeq took the lead, a ball was played across to the unmarked #8 who smashed a deflected shot home from the edge of the edge of the area via the crossbar. There was plenty of moaning at the referee by the players, but he took it all in his stride. We had a nice chat to the friendly linesman who spotted out Wycombe shirts and was a Bristol City fan. Lebeq dominated the second half and they sealed the game on 57 minutes. It was a great cross and play by #10 who played the ball to the back post where the ball was prodded home at the back post. The attendance was a fairly impressive 101 which appears to be their best for some time. It had been a good evening at a friendly club, but it was time to head for home. It was a far better journey home and so I dropped Anwar off at 11.15, getting back home half an hour later.

THE GROUND 

HARDWICKE PLAYING FIELD is a decent venue for the level. Refreshingly, the stand is brick-built rather than dumped in off the back of a lorry. It holds around 50 as does the overhang in front of the clubhouse. The rest of the ground is open standing. It's probably one to visit during warmer times as the pitch itself is not enclosed. Payment is taken out of your car window, a great value £5 including programme. There's plenty of parking, but the ground appears tricky to do on public transport. There's very little around the ground but the smart bar offers a small selection of chilled cans. There's also a tea bar, but I didn't check it out.