Bridlington Town A.F.C.

History

The club was founded in 1918 as Bridlington Central United after the First World War. The team joined the Driffield and District Minor League, soon joining the Driffield and District League. After several seasons of hard work, the team were promoted into the East Riding Amateur League, they won the championship five consecutive times during the 1950s. They also won the East Riding Senior Cup twice around this time.

Yorkshire League

The club changed their name to Bridlington Town F.C. in 1920 and moved into the Yorkshire League Division Two, during their first season in that league, they finished runners up and were promoted. In 1960–61 they reached the First Round proper of the FA Cup eventually losing out to Bishop Auckland who were very strong at the time.

In the mid to late 1960s, Town built up a rivalry with fellow Bridlington side Bridlington Trinity. During the 1966–67 season in the Yorkshire League, Town won the championship while Trinity finished second. The following year it would be Trinity who took the title and Town finished in third. This rivalry continued until the early 1970s when Trinity became part of the Midland League.

Northern Counties East League

In 1982, the club were one of the founder members of the Northern Counties East League after the Yorkshire and Midland Leagues were merged. They were put into Northern Counties East League Division One, here they stayed for four seasons.

By 1986–87, they were promoted to the Northern Counties East League Premier Division, even though they only finished sixth. This was because several teams in the Premier Division had resigned in the close season. This gave Town the opportunity to ignite their old rivalry with Bridlington Trinity, for the first time since the early 1970s.

During the first three seasons in the Premier Division, Town finished higher. With a third and a fourth place, while Trinity were in the bottom half. The 1989–90 season was the concluding showdown for the two clubs. Town were crowned champions, while Trinity ended the season a respectable fourth. This would prove to be the end of the rivalry as Trinity folded due to the termination of their groundshare with Bridlington Town. Unfortunately for Bridlington, they were unable to put the icing on the cake in their FA Vase final clash at Wembley with Yeading, they drew the game, but lost in the replay 1–0 at Elland Road.

Cup and League success, before folding

Ken Richardson had joined the club as president and was essential in helping the club with the necessary finance to develop their ground, in order to climb the football ladder. They added a new stand, clubhouse, turnstiles and floodlights.

Town marched on to the Northern Premier League Division One. The 1992–93 season was the most successful in the club's history, they finished as champions of the NPL Division One, and they finally took the FA Vase at Wembley, beating Tiverton Town 1–0. Alan Radford scored the only goal of the game.

The sunny spell would not last. Due to legalities, the team was forced to play their home games at Doncaster Rovers' ground; Belle Vue. The club went into turmoil. They finished 21st in the Northern Premier League Premier Division and were deducted three points. Instead of going into Northern Premier League Division One, they folded.

Return

A local pub team The Greyhound, approached the lease-holders of Bridlington Town's former stadium Queensgate, looking for it to become their base. A deal was struck under the condition that the team would change their name to Bridlington Town AFC, essentially bringing the old club back to the town.

The Greyhound club agreed and a new club crest was designed and a new motto "Pergere et Eniti", which means "Onwards and Upwards". The club returned on 10 September 1994, and were put into the league where they had originally played during their formative years; the Driffield and District League, it was literally back to square one.

Bridlington progressed steadily, gaining entry to the East Riding County League Division One, they won the league and cup double. After three seasons in the East Riding County League Premier Division, Town finished runners-up and applied for promotion back into the Northern Counties East League Division One. They were accepted and spent three seasons at this level; finishing fifth, and then fourth, before achieving promotion with a runners-up spot in 2001–02.

Town made their mark in 2002–03, reaching the quarter-final of the FA Vase before going out to Brigg Town. And they also reached the Fourth Qualifying Round of the FA Cup, eventually losing to Conference National side Southport. Bridlington Town won the league that year, they were crowned champions with 20 points ahead of the runners-up.

Recent times

The club was back in the Northern Premier League Division One. Bridlington Town finished 11th but was promoted back into the Northern Premier League Premier Division after the league was reorganised. 10 years after they were forced to start again, the club had ranked at the highest division they had been in. It took the original club 85 years to reach that level.

In 2007, it was announced that Bridlington Town would play in the inaugural season of the Northern Premier League Division One North. However, a campaign resulted in them finishing last of the division and were relegated to the Northern Counties East League Premier Division. In 2012, The Seasiders won the East Riding Senior Cup, beating Hall Road Rangers (res) 9–2 in the final at the KC Stadium. They won the cup again in 2015, beating Hull United F.C. 4–2.

Steady Progression saw the club join the East Riding County League Division One, where the League and Cup Double was achieved. Over the next three seasons in the County Premier Division, the club made applications to the Northern Counties East League. It was on the third application that Bridlington Town was accepted, having finished runners-up in the league and beat the league champions in the league cup final of 1998–99 under manager John Bowman. On 25 December 2000, the club had downgraded to mid-table. Bowman was replaced by Billy Heath, and the club ranked in fourth place.

Towns' third season back in the NCEL saw an 18-game unbeaten run lift. Town to finish Division One Runners Up and gained promotion to the Premier Division. The 2002–03 season started with 14 straight wins in all competitions. Town also reached the fourth Qualifying round of the FA Cup, losing away at Conference side Southport, and the quarterfinal of the Vase, losing away at League rivals and eventual Vase winners Brigg Town. Town lost only one of the last 26 games and the club finished as champions with a 20-point winning margin, advancing to the Unibond League for 2003–04.

Winter postponements and the cup success saw Town playing three games each week through March and April. To ensure promotion, Gary Wilkinson of Wilkinson Caravans, the main sponsor, secured the purchase of Bridlington Town AFC Ltd. from the former owners, thus ensuring the future of the club. The season in the Unibond Division One saw injuries and suspensions take their toll in the second half of the season, but the club finished in 11th place to complete a third successive promotion, this time to the Unibond Premier Division, that was due to the reorganisation of the league. The new club had returned to the status held by the former club when they folded, and had achieved this in just ten seasons.

Current squad

As of 3 February 2026.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Honours

Northern Premier League First Division

Champions: 1992–93

NCEL Premier Division

Champions: 1989–90, 2002–03, 2009–10

NCEL Division One

Runners-up: 2001–02

Promoted: 1985–86

Yorkshire League

Champions: 1966–67

Yorkshire League Division Two

Champions: 1974–75

Runners-up: 1959–60

FA Vase

Winners: 1992–93

Runners-up: 1989–90

East Riding Senior Cup

Winners: 2011–12, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2018–19, 2022–23

Records

FA Cup

First Round: defeated 3–2 by Bishop Auckland in 1960–61 and defeated 2–1 by York City in 1991–92.

FA Trophy

Second Round Replay: defeated 4–0 by Eastwood Town in 2004–05.