Barnetts Field
Honeymead Lane
Sturminster Newton
Dorset
DT10 1EW
Ground Number: 1414
Thursday 17th April 2025
Sturminster Newton United 2-0 Gillingham Town
Western League D1
STURMINSTER NEWTON UNITED FC - A BRIEF HISTORY
The club was established in 1874 as Panthers FC. They played in Blandford Forum and played in brown and yellow hoops. In the 1890s, their name was changed to Sturminster St Marys, with the current name adopted in 1945. Various Dorset leagues were played in during their early years but they were founder members of the Dorset Combination in 1957. They left after three seasons due to finances and dropped down to the Dorset Senior League. They rejoined the Combination in 1972 and would finish as high as 4th in 1984. However, they finished bottom twice in a row and were relegated in 2011. Five years were spent in the Dorset Senior League until they were promoted with a 5th place finish in 2016. More struggles followed but they survived. The break for the pandemic saw Sturminster Newton United come out of the other side and get much better results. They were runners-up in the Dorset Premier League in 2023, finishing behind Holt United. Last season, they won the title and with it, promotion to the Western League Division 1.
The original club, Panthers, became the first ever club from the West Country to participate in the FA Cup, reaching the second round on three occasions. In 1877–78, they played the legendary Wanderers in the first round but lost 9–1. Sturminster Newton United entered the FA Vase for the first time this season. They won 3-2 at Folland Sports before thumping Infinity 5-0. Their run ended when they lost 1-0 to Okehampton Argyle in the 1st Round. Local cup honours include two Dorset Combination League Cups, the Dorset Senior Trophy in 2012 and the Mark Frowd Memorial Cup in 2016. The town of Sturminster Newton is located in North Dorset and has a population of just under 4,500. The town is at the centre of the Blackmore Vale, a large dairy agriculture region around which the town's economy is built, and is known as 'the heart of the Blackmore Vale'. It is noted for its connections with the authors Thomas Hardy and William Barnes, and as part of the historic West Country Carnival circuit.
MY VISIT
I was always going to be down in the South West this weekend, as I had six games in the South West Peninsula Hop, something I was really looking forward to, despite the distance. I didn't fancy the 5 am start on Friday morning despite that being my usual work time. When I looked for potential games a few months before, there was nothing to do. The official hop game was Newquay but with sky-high accommodation prices and the fact that I'd already been meant that it was a non-starter. It was around a month before when Colin spotted that Sturminster Newton United were at home. This was a decent shout, not adding too many miles to the trip. I'd have preferred further west, but it was a good compromise. It looked fiddly on public transport, and it was just that bit too far to do from home on a midweek. As with the whole of the South West, hotel prices were on the steep side. However, I managed to secure a hotel fifteen minutes from the ground at £88 for a twin room. Further investigation in the week before the game revealed a nice town and a backup around 15 miles away at Wincanton.
From our game at Caldecote, I dropped Hertfordshire Hopper off in Biggleswade before dropping Colin in Amersham. I was home at about 9.20, getting my blog up and the final bits ready for the next day. It was a bit of a later night than I'd have liked. Despite a drowsy start to the next morning, I was up and ready to put my bags in the car. Despite that, I only had just enough time to get petrol before clocking in at 5 am on the dot. It was a pleasant day at first and I was happy in my work. But then the hordes came in, the usual pensioners supplemented by parents with litters of kids. Everyone was nice, but I'm not a fan of it being crowded. Soon enough, it was time to leave, and I'd covered seven miles on my walks around the shop floor. I didn't have much time to get my shopping before getting changed and leaving. It was a lovely day, but this looked to be the last bit of goodwill the weather was going to show this weekend. I met up with Colin just after one. He was a garrulous gorilla for the first half of the journey but wore himself out with all that talking and slept the second half.
Of course, there was around half an hour delay on the A303, especially near Stonehenge, but nothing unexpected for Easter Weekend. I had spotted Udders farm shop a small detour away and so called in here. I had a huge Oreo Brownie, plus some crisps and cider to take away. Colin got some bits too, and it was a great place. It was only 15 minutes to our hotel from there. Sturminster Newton looked great in the sunshine, and the Swan Inn was pleasant, though just bog-standard Thatchers cider. The lady was nice and showed us to our £88 a night room. I had a drink and typed this blog. I'd brought my big laptop so I could do more on it, but it wasn't as nice to type on as my Chromebook, nor did my travel adaptor charge it. Colin had a sleep whilst I caught up with things. A couple of ciders were also sampled, with two saved for later. We left at 6.15 and I went back to the car to swap some things over and get a drink. I headed to the chippy, hoping that it would be a rare case of it not being rubbish. I was hoping for Faggots, gravy and chips, although they no longer did the former as per Google Maps. Instead, I went to the Hong Kong Garden and had Octopus balls and salt and chilli pepper chips for £10.20. My food was excellent and had huge portions, Colin's was taking far longer than mine and looked poor. It was 15 minutes walk to the ground and I headed to the bar. It was all sweet fruit cider, but they had a great range. Despite normally avoiding them as a dry fan, I ticked off Thatchers Apple and Blackcurrant for £4.50 as I was thirsty. The club opened their Arena stand before the game, one of many like it, but it gives them the grading to stay at step 6. It was a pleasant venue overall.
Sturminster Newton United were enjoying a good first season at step 6, sitting 8th in the table. Recent results had been mixed, but they won 1-0 at AEK Boco on Saturday. Gillingham Town were having a torrid season, sitting bottom and only having won once all season. They'd lost 13 in a row, a run which started on Boxing Day as Sturminster Newton United won the reverse fixture 3-1. Their only win came on 10th September when they beat Warminster Town 2-1. Despite their struggles, Gillingham had a great purple and white kit, slightly spoiled by their standard orange socks. The game went according to the form book with Sturminster well on top. They took the lead on 15 minutes with a close-range header. They came close to making it 2-0 from a free kick, but the Gillingham keeper made a good save. The Gillingham keeper found himself stranded wide on the right on 40 minutes, but two superb clearances off the line kept it at 1-0. Finally, it was 2-0 on 54 minutes, a low shot from 25 yards that took a deflection on the way in. The game petered out after that, and although Gillingham had a chance near the end, it had been all one-way traffic.
THE GROUND
BARNETTS FIELD is a pleasant venue around 15 minutes walk from Sturminster Newton town centre. The ground itself is very well kept with hard standing on two sides. The long side has two stands holding 50 seated and 100 standing. Behind the goal is a space for another stand and a raised bank with a bench on it. The other two sides are standard grass. A burger van is available in the ground whilst the bar outside is nice. It has Sky TV and a plethora of generic sweet cider, but nothing dry and real. Back in the town, Hong Kong Garden is excellent, with some interesting Japanese dishes. The chippy is poor however, much like most in this country with stewed chips and bland food.
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