Great Bentley - Great Bentley Village Green

Great Bentley FC  

Great Bentley Village Green

Forge Lane

Great Bentley

Colchester 

Essex

CO7 8PJ

Great Bentley Youth Website

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Ground Number: 1550

Wednesday 29th April 2026

Great Bentley - Dedham Old Boys

Essex & Suffolk Border Premier

GREAT BENTLEY FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

Great Bentley Football Club was founded between 1895 and 1896, and its original headquarters were the Victory Inn public house (now a hair salon) in Great Bentley. From 1912, they were based out of the Plough public house. The club now has its own clubhouse and dressing rooms built on the site of an old World War II Nissen hut, where they have played since 1959. Fifty years later, in 2009, this was replaced with new modern facilities after the club raised £220,000. The new facilities were officially opened by Lord John Bassam of Brighton, who used to play for the club. On 8th August 2009, a friendly was played against Colchester United on the Village Green as part of the grand opening of the new dressing rooms and bar. They joined the Colchester & District League Division 2 in 1903, switching to the Clacton & District League a couple of years later. Following the First World War, Great Bentley joined the Tendring Hundred League, which they won in 1925.

Team photo from late 70's / early 80s (from Facebook Great Bentley and Local Area Recalled group) 

Following that, they joined the Essex & Suffolk League and have been members ever since. They were Division 2 champions in 1929, 1932 & 1938 before war once more broke out.  They won Division 1 in 1948 and were runners-up on several occasions. In 1958, Great Bentley won the Division 1 KO Cup with an 11-3 aggregate over Hedingham United. Facilities had held them back previously, but in 1981, they were Division 1 runners-up to Rowhedge and spent three seasons in the Premier Division before being relegated in 1984. This started a period of decline for the club, with a second consecutive relegation following in 1985. Great Bentley briefly recovered, spending between 1990 and 1992 in Division 1 before another relegation. By the 2010s, the club had made it back to the Premier Division, but they resigned in 2014 and took their Reserves' place in Division 2. They won the title in 2017, followed by the Division 1 title in 2018. Great Bentley were as high as 4th when the season was abandoned in 2021, but emerged from the pandemic in Division 2. They were runners-up to Brightlingsea Town in 2022 before being crowned Division 1 champions last season.

Great Bentley is a village and civil parish in the Tendring district of north east Essex, located seven miles east of Colchester. The village is scattered around an extensive level or common of 43 acres, on the eastern side of the vale of a rivulet. This common is the second largest village green in the United Kingdom, behind Duncan Down, and has won 'Essex Village of the Year' and 'Daily Telegraph Village of the Year' awards. The population is around 2,500. Great Bentley railway station provides the village with frequent rail services along the Sunshine Coast Line to London Liverpool Street, Clacton-on-Sea, Colchester and Walton-on-the-Naze. The village is mentioned as far back as the Domesday Book of 1086, and at that time it was situated amongst large wooded areas. The clearing of these woods began in 1135. In its early days, the village was known as Benetlea, then as Much Bentley, and later as Great Bentley. The first part of the name, "Bent," is thought to refer to a type of grass, and the latter part, "lea," probably derives from the word "ley," meaning land sown with grass, which suggests a direct reference to the green. Great Bentley had a port at Flag Creek, which was used for importing and exporting goods. In 1557, four Protestant "heretics" from the village, including a young woman named Rose Allen, were arrested, and three were burned at the stake at Colchester Castle (the fourth died in prison). They are commemorated on a small monument alongside the Green. Their story appears in the famous Foxe's Book of Martyrs. Foxe calls the village "Much Bentley".

MY VISIT

Staying very local on Tuesday allowed me to travel a bit further on Wednesday. There were options at Chalgrove Cavaliers, Broughton, Over Sports, Meon Milton, Eye Rangers and Whaplode Drove Rovers. However, due to their proximity to each other and their role as backups, I shortlisted two in the Essex & Suffolk Border League. The fact that I also went right past Colin's door helped. The options were Alresford Colne Rangers v Thorpe Athletic and Great Bentley v Dedham Old Boys.  Both were unremarkable grounds a similar distance away, so it came down to a bizarre toe breaker. The best food place near Alresford was a pizza place, whereas near Great Bentley, it was a Chinese takeaway. Prices seemed good, and the menu had some good options, so Great Bentley it was. I even got some cash out to deal with the fact that these places have a phobia towards card payments.

From the game at Harlington, it was only 45 minutes to get back to Colin. I was back home after dropping Colin off, getting in at 9.05. There was plenty of time to get my blog up before getting into bed. I was delighted to see that Holmer Green had won 3-1 at Penn & Tylers Green in the Combined Counties Division 1 Cup semi-final. I'd have liked to attend, but the attraction of a new ground and being home nice and early appealed more than getting in around 11 had I walked. It was a nice, easy day at work, and I finished after a six-hour shift. I had only decided upon this game last night, so I found out about the club history, which required some deep digging into local websites. I left at 3, but Colin was asleep when I got to his. I was able to access his flat without a key as he leaves everything unlocked so I can wake him up. We left 15 minutes late, and the traffic gods punished us with a dreadful journey. It was 6 by the time we reached our destination, 75 minutes delay. The place was a hive of activity, with a huge motorcycle convention. We headed straight for the Chinese, China Palace. It was a joy to behold, accepting card and I had Thai Jungle Curry with salt and pepper chips for £9.90. The place was busy but quite efficient. The food was a mixed bad. The Jungle Curry was tasty, but the chips a bit plainer than ideal. The portions were huge, though, and I was properly filled up. We got back to the pitch just in time for kickoff.

 

Great Bentley were 3rd in the table and were still in with an outside chance of the title. They had won nineteen, drawn one and lost five. They'd won their last five and had beaten Gas Recreation 8-0 in their last game. Dedham Old Boys were 10th and had won ten, drawn four and lost twelve. They'd lost their last three, going down 5-0 to Springfield in their last game. Conditions were very windy, and it was an even start to the game. On 17 minutes, it was 1-0 to Dedham as Tristan Moseley chased down a botched goalkeeper clearance. Great Bentley started to create chances around the half hour, forcing a couple of good saves out of the keeper and hitting the bar. Eventually, the succession of corners led to the equaliser, a header by Dale Brown from within the six-yard box on 36 minutes. A couple of minutes before the break, it was 2-1, a clearance from the corner poked home by Lewis Blanchett. We popped to the clubhouse at half-time, but a few minutes into the second half, it was 3-1, another cross, another header, this time by Ryan McMahon. The rest of the game saw the hosts have the lion's share of the game but get no further goals. Should Great Bentley win both of their games, they will be crowned champions. If they slip up, Thorpe Athletic will take the title.

THE GROUND

GREAT BENTLEY VILLAGE GREEN is a pleasant but basic setup. There is nothing in the way of a rail or furniture, but it's a picturesque setting. There is just a rope along one side. There is no car park, but plenty of street parking. The clubhouse is across the road and is full of club merch. There is also a range of cans and bottles. The village has pubs and various takeaways and is very pleasant.