Hebburn Town FC - A Spectata history of the club

Hebburn Town FC have grown from a 1912 shipyard works side into an ambitious Northern Premier League outfit with national silverware and deep community roots.

Early years and industrial roots

Hebburn Town’s origins lie in the Reyrolles engineering works in the shipbuilding town of Hebburn, with the club founded in 1912 as the company team Reyrolles.

They began life in local competitions such as the Jarrow and District Junior League and later the South Shields Combination and Tyneside Combination as football developed alongside the town’s collieries and heavy industry. By 1927 they had stepped up to the Tyneside League and claimed their first league title there in 1938–39.

Post-war progress and Wearside success

During the Second World War the club competed in the Northern Combination, winning the Durham Challenge Cup in 1942–43 and the Northern Combination title in 1943–44. After a brief spell in the North Eastern League immediately after the war, they returned to the Combination before later rejoining a relaunched North Eastern League in 1959. A move into the Wearside League in 1960 brought further success, highlighted by a league championship in 1966–67.

From Reyrolles to Hebburn Town

The decline and eventual demise of the Reyrolle company in the 1980s prompted a rebranding of the club and a push up the pyramid. They became Hebburn Reyrolles in 1986 and then simply Hebburn in 1988, at the same time upgrading their Hebburn Sports Ground and lobbying successfully for a place in the Northern League.

Entry to Northern League Division Two came in 1989, and a strong 1991–92 campaign delivered promotion to Division One and a second Durham Challenge Cup triumph.

Ups, downs and a modern revival

Ground grading issues saw the club relegated again in the years that followed, and they spent spells back in the lower reaches of the Northern League while battling financial challenges and modest crowds.

A turning point arrived in the 2010s, when improved performances under Scott Oliver brought promotions, stronger FA Cup and FA Vase runs and rising attendances at Hebburn Sports Ground. By the end of the decade Hebburn were established as one of the Northern League’s more progressive community clubs, drawing support from between Newcastle and Sunderland.

Wembley glory and climbing the pyramid

Hebburn’s modern high point came in the FA Vase, where they won the 2019–20 competition by beating Consett 3–2 at Wembley in a final played in May 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Their league form across the interrupted 2019–20 and 2020–21 seasons helped secure a place in Northern Premier League Division One East as part of the non-league restructuring. They quickly adapted, winning the JR Cleator Cup in 2021, reaching the Division One East play-offs in 2022–23, lifting the Durham Challenge Cup for a third time that same season and then taking the Division One East title in 2023–24 to reach the Northern Premier League Premier Division.

Community club and current status

Today Hebburn Town operate as a members-only, not-for-profit association run by a voluntary management committee and held in trust under a club constitution.

The club’s junior section has also grown significantly, with Hebburn Town Juniors providing a dedicated base and unified identity for youth teams in the town. On the pitch, Hebburn now sit in the seventh tier of the English pyramid with records that include an FA Vase win, three Durham Challenge Cups, multiple league titles and a best FA Cup run to the fourth qualifying round in 2011–12.