Club History

Learn a little about how we got to today.

The Beaulieu Park story began in the 1980's. Mellissa and Alan Thrift, the founders of the club, ran a Chelmsford City Colts team. In 1996, this team had outgrown youth football and entered adult football. With the affiliation with Chelmsford City now void, the Thrifts changed the name of the club to Wickham Wanderers. The proactive Thrifts, in the same year, started a new Chelmsford based league (Chelmsford District Sunday Social League) playing on Sunday afternoons. The club was immediately competitive in this league finishing runners up regularly to the dominant Seabrights Barn team. The teams first competition success came in the late 90's winning the C.D.S.S.L cup.

As we entered the millennium, the club entered a new era. The long serving Alan Thrift decided to fold the club due to health reasons. With just weeks before closing, a newly signed player, Simon Govus offered to take over the reigns of running the club. The club arranged a sponsorship deal with the Royal British Legion and Wickham Wanderers changed their name to Wickham Royals.

The club expanded rapidly to five teams in just four seasons and were the fastest growing adult team in Essex. In this time, the club won a C.D.S.S.L league and cup double under manager Simon Onyons. Expanding into the Mid Essex League, the club won the Division 4 cup also that season. Success continued with another C.D.S.S.L cup win and back to back Division 4 cup wins. The club had also entered the Chelmsford Invitation League during this time and won the League Cup in 2009 under Paul Govus in which current first team manager Olly Storey played from the 5th minute with a bandaged face pouring with blood after a clash of heads. To date, this remains the last trophy the club has won.

Simon Govus left the club in 2009 due to the birth of his third child and Rob Hallam took over the reigns. Despite Rob's hard work, the club followed the regional and national trend and began to decline in player numbers. The last surviving team was about to fold in 2012 after finishing bottom of the Chelmsford Invitation Leagues, lowest division with a goal difference of -108 and the worst defensive record in Essex. Simon Govus offered to return and achieved promotion the following season with the best defensive record in the league and a club record of 10 clean sheets in a season, ironically with the same defence as had played the previous season.

Since 2013, the club has flirted with the Pope and Smith League before returning to the Mid Essex League. In 2016, the club embarked on its most ambitious project in changing its name to Beaulieu Park FC and representing an area with massive current and future development. The club has battled homelessness, drifting from Melbourne Park to Danbury, to Witham, to Chancellor Park before finally settling at Beaulieu Park, which finally feels like home. The name change also incorporated the cricket club which was set up in 2007 by Greg Child using football players who tried to play cricket. It thrives today, also playing at fortress Beaulieu and both their current teams had successive promotions in 2018/19.

For the 2023/2024 season, the football club currently runs one team playing on Saturdays in the Mid Essex League, along with two Sunday sides for the first time in many years! Our philosophy is to never turn a player away, to strive to improve and to offer our members the best footballing environment we can.