Vauxhall Road: Hemel Hempstead Town
It is fair to say that Hemel Hempstead Town Football Club have moved around a week bit over the years. When the club was first formed, games were played in Salmon Meadow, which had been named after the nearby pub, ‘The Salmon’. After that, the club played at the Apsley Club & Institute, then games were played at Gee’s Meadow. From there the club moved on to Crabtree Lane, which was sold in 1972 in the wake of Aplsey End’s merger with Hemel Heamstead United. They played at Vauxhall Road, so the new-look club continued to use that venue for its matches, finally bringing to an end the constant change of venues.
As you can gather from that, Hemel Hempstead Town is made up of two clubs, with one of them being Apsley End. That club was formed in 1885 and is considered to be the original side that Hemel Hempstead Town’s history is traced back to. The re-naming to become Hemel Hempstead Town took place in 1955, which was actually 16 years before the merger with the other club that makes up the side, Hemel Hempstead United. The new side became Hemel Hempstead Football Club, with the ‘Town’ added back into the title of the side in 1999, which has remained the in the title of the football club ever since.
Stats
| Vauxhall Road Stats | |
|---|---|
| Year Opened | 1948 |
| Capacity | 3152 |
| Average Attendance | 704 |
| Record Attendance | 3500 (Hemel Hempstead Town vs Tooting and Mitcham United (20/01/1962)) |
| Pitch Size | 101 x 64 (6464) |
| Sponsor | Focus Rigging |
| Clubs Hosted | Hemel Hemstead United, Hemel Hempstead, Hemel Hempstead Town |
| Hemel Hempstead Town FC Stats | |
|---|---|
| Year Founded | 1885 |
| Nickname | The Tudors |
| Rivals | St Albans City, Boreham Wood |
| Previous Stadiums | Salmon Meadow, Apsley Club & Institute, Gee's Meadow, Crabtree Lane |
| Kit | Red (Home) / Green & Black (Away) |
| Shirt Sponsor | Bugler Group |
| Team Owner | Hemel Hempstead Town Football Club Limited |
| Record Goalscorer | Jordan Parkes (110) |
| Record Appearances | John Wallace (1012) |
Vauxhall Road Photos
Vauxhall Road Seating Plan and Where to Sit
The Adeyfield School End is located behind one of the goals and is a large covered terrace, whilst the CRK Windows Stand is found at the opposite end and saw the terrace replaced by seating back in 2015. A small covered seating area is to be found on the Tenzing Road side of the ground, boasting a capacity of just shy of 300. On the opposite side is a much smaller covered area that is used mainly by the club’s Directors and the media. The clubhouse and dressing rooms are also to be found on that side of the ground.
Hemel Hempstead Town FC Ticket Prices
Whilst the website might not be amazing, it is good enough to tell us how much tickets cost for Hemel Hempstead Town’s matches in the 2023-2024 season, which should offer you some sense of how much you’re likely to pay to see the side play. Adults will be asked to pay £15, whilst concessions will make it into the ground for £10 and under-18s will have to shell out £5.
How To Get Hemel Hempstead Town FC Tickets
Whilst Hemel Hempstead Town’s website is better than those of some clubs in the lower reaches of the English Football League pyramid, it still isn’t the best. There is no obvious way to get tickets from it, for example, so your best bet is to head to the turnstiles on the day of the game.
Where to Buy
Getting To Vauxhall Road
Train – Hemel Hempstead Station is located about 45 minutes away from the ground if you’re walking, whilst it will take less than ten minutes if you jump in a taxi.
Bus – There are a few different buses that stop close to the ground, with numbers 1, 302, H10 and ML1 all getting close enough for easy access to Vauxhall Road.
Car – If you’d like to drive to see a Hemel Hempstead Town match then you’ll need to leave the M25 at Junction 21 for the M1 North. Once you’re on the M1, keep going to Junction 8 towards Hemel Hempstead and get off that onto the A41, keeping your eye out for the ground from there.
By Air – London Luton is just over nine miles away from Hemel Hempstead, which makes it the closest airport to the town. That means that other London airports will always be more than good enough for you.
Taxi – If you’re looking to get a taxi from the train station to the football ground, you should expect to pay in the region of £10 depending on what the traffic is like heading to Vauxhall Road.
Parking Near Vauxhall Road
Vauxhall Road does boast a small car park, which obviously fills up quite quickly around match time. The local area is mostly taken up by the cars of residents, but if you can park there then do so, just make sure you look out for any parking restrictions.
Useful Resources
- Parking - Just Park
Pubs and Bars Near Vauxhall Road
The Old Bell
Greenacres Tavern
The Gade & Goose
About Hemel Hempstead Town FC
Apsley End was formed in 1885, joining the West Herts League six years later. The club was re-named to become Apsley Football Club in 1893, but that was far from the final time that the side would change its name. A founder member of the Hertfordshire Senior County League, the club won it in its second season. There were numerous changes and alterations in the years that followed, such as in 1922 when Apsley left the division in order to join the Spartan League. The club became Hemel Hempstead Town in 1955, being runners-up in the Delphian League seven years later and a year before that league was dissolved.
The club merged with Hemel Hempstead United from the South Midlands League in 1971, being re-branded to become Hemel Hempstead Football Club, taking Hemel Hempstead Town’s in the Athenian League’s Division Two. Yet another re-brand occurred in 1999, taking on the club’s current moniker of Hemel Hempstead Town for the second time in its existence. It is entirely fair to surmise that the club has enjoyed numerous ups and downs over the years, with numerous moments of relative success to crow about. The club’s crest feature King Henry VIII, who is a feature of the history of the town of Hemel Hempstead.
Vauxhall Road History
There isn’t actually a huge amount to tell you about the history of Vauxhall Road, not because nothing has happened there but because the information isn’t easy to come by. At the time of writing it is known as The Focus Community Arena, thanks to a sponsorship agreement with Focus Rigging. The company organised a major refurbishment of the ground in the summer of 2023, making it into one of the most impressive venues in the National League South. It is a far cry from when Apsley End used to move from venue to venue, playing in countless different places as they sought a more permanent home.
One of the major advantages of the merger with Hemel Hempstead United was that they got to take that club’s home ground, which was Vauxhall Road. Their former venue of Crabtree Lane was sold to housing developers, with the money put towards improvements at the new location. In 1992, the clubhouse and changing rooms burnt down and needed to be re-built, with temporary facilities used for five years. At the time of writing, there is a capacity of more than 3,000 in place, with 300 seats and around 900 people able to watch matches from underneath a cover of some sort or another.