Dorchester Town F.C.

History

The history of the club can be traced back to 1871, but the club in its current format was founded (reformed) on Monday 18 October 1880 as Dorchester Football Club, playing home games at The Recreation Ground on Weymouth Avenue. Dorchester were Dorset Senior Cup finalists in 1888 and 1890, before joining the Dorset League in 1896. The club struggled for many years due to the importance of the town's market impacting player availability on Saturdays and, in 1908/09, the club imposed a policy of only playing fellow clubs from Dorchester and visiting military teams. This policy lasted for one season, and on 26 August 1910, Dorchester FC, Dorchester Wanderers, Dorchester United, Dorchester Athletic, and Dorchester Rovers came together to create "a team worthy of the good old town of Dorchester". The newly merged team became known as Dorchester Town Football Club.

In 1929 the club moved from the Recreation Ground but remained on Weymouth Avenue, on land which became known as the Avenue Football Ground.

Despite being founder members of the Dorset League, the club had little success before winning the championship in 1937/38 with a 2–0 victory at Sherborne on 25 April 1938. The club joined the Western League in 1947, winning promotion from Division Two in 1950, and going on to take the league championship in 1954/55. The fifties proved to be a successful decade for the Magpies, winning the Dorset Senior Cup for the first time in 1951, and having a number of good runs in the FA Cup, facing the likes of Norwich City, Queens Park Rangers, Port Vale, and Plymouth Argyle. In 1954, Dorchester reached the 2nd Round before eventually losing out to York City in front of 5,500 fans at the Avenue ground. York went on to reach the semi-finals.

Following four more victories in the Dorset Senior Cup, the club entered the Southern League (Division One South) in 1972. They first tasted success in this division when they finished runners-up to Margate in 1977/78, going unbeaten in the final 16 matches of the season, with manager David Best utilizing his links with his old club AFC Bournemouth to attract former first-teamers such as John O'Rourke, Jack Howarth, and Harry Redknapp to the Avenue.

The formation of the Alliance League (now the National League) unfortunately meant the Magpies returned to the reformed Southern Division a year later, but the club celebrated its centenary by winning the Southern Division in 1979/80 by a one-point margin over Aylesbury. Stuart Bell succeeded David Best as manager during the season, and the Magpies went unbeaten in the last 14 games to clinch the title. A young Trevor Senior impressed alongside ever-present top scorer Paul Thorne, whilst Graham Roberts joined neighbours Weymouth early in the campaign for £6,000 before going on to star for Tottenham Hotspur and England.

Community Ownership

Operating as a Community Benefit Society since 2015 (registered as Dorchester Town Community Football Club Limited), the club is a democratically run, not-for-profit community-owned organisation, run by its supporters. Fans can become members, own a part of the club, and have a say in its running, adhering to a model where football belongs to the community. The structure focuses on sustainability and community involvement rather than private profit, and Dorchester are recognised as a fan-owned club within the Football Supporters' Association directory.

Colours and badge

The club has a long tradition of playing their home matches in black and white striped shirts with black shorts and socks, though did have a brief spell wearing cherry, white and blue between 1921 and 1926. For the 2005–06 season, to celebrate the club's 125th anniversary, the team sported a black and white quartered home shirt, similar to the original strip from the club's founding.

The away kit has taken on differing colours over the years, including yellow, red, white and sky blue. Currently the away shirt is sky blue and white stripes, taking inspiration from the colours of the club crest. The third kit is all purple, a nod to the symbolic royal purple on the town’s coat of arms.

The club's badge is circular, with the words 'Dorchester Town F.C.' and 'The Magpies' on a white outer rim, in black text. The central area contains two magpies on a brown branch in front of a sky blue background. Above them is a design based upon the town's coat of arms, a purple circle containing a castle, upon which is a shield.

Stadium

Dorchester Town play their home games at the Avenue Stadium, Weymouth Avenue, Dorchester, Dorset, DT1 2RY.

The Avenue Stadium is located on the southern outskirts of Dorchester. Opened in 1990, it consists of one main stand, which is all-seated, and three small banks of terracing, which are all-standing. A railway line runs behind the stadium.

Whilst the capacity of the stadium is 5,229, Dorchester tends to attract crowds of around 600–700 although, during the 1990s, the club regularly achieved 900–1000 attendances.

The first match to take place at the stadium was a pre-season friendly against Exeter City, who triumphed 2-0. The first competitive game was a 3-2 league victory over Worcester City, whilst the official opening of the stadium took place two months later in October 1990 when the Magpies took on Chelsea in a friendly match, with the Blues winning 4-1.

The record attendance at the Avenue Stadium came on 1 January 1999, when a crowd of 4,159 watched the Dorset Derby against local rivals Weymouth. A crowd of 4,029, the second-highest attendance at the stadium, watched the same derby on 27 December 2025.

The Avenue Stadium featured on live television for the first time in 2013/14, when Dorchester faced Plymouth Argyle in the FA Cup - a game where 3,196 fans were in attendance. Dorchester beat their higher league opponents 1–0 in a match which was televised live by ESPN in the UK and Fox Network in the USA.

Players and personnel

First Team

As of 31 August 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.

Under 23s

As of 25 August 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.

Coaching staff

As of 18 July 2026

Honours

Southern League Eastern Division

2003–04 Champions

Southern League Southern Division

1979–80 & 1986–87 Champions

1977–78 Runners up

Southern League Cup

2001–02 Winners

1991–92 Runners up

Southern League Challenge Trophy

2002–03 Winners

Western League Division One

1954–55 Champions

1960–61 Runners up

Western Football League Professional Cup

1960–61 & 1961–62 Runners up

Western Football League Alan Young Cup:

Winners (1): 1961–62

Dorset Senior Cup

1950–51, 1960–61, 1967–68, 1968–69, 1971–72, 1993–94, 1995–96, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2006–07, 2010–11, 2011–12

Club records

Cup runs

Best FA Cup performance: 2nd round (1954–55, 1981–82, 2012–13)

Best FA Trophy performance: 3rd round (1971–72, 1996–97, 2003–04)

Points in a season

Most – 93 in 42 games (2.21 points/game). (Southern League Division One East, 2002–03)

Least – 20 in 38 games (0.53 points/game). (Southern League Premier Division, 1983–84)

Wins in a season

Most – 28 in 42 games. (Southern League East, 2002–03)

Least – 4 in 38 games. (Southern League Premier Division, 1983–84)

Draws in a season

Most – 18 in 46 games. (Southern League South, 1981–82)

Most – 18 in 42 games.(Southern League South Premier 2024-25)

Least – 2 in 36 games. (Western League Division 1, 1958–59 and 1959–60)

Defeats in a season

Most – 27 in 40 games. (Southern League South, 1985–86)

Least – 5 in 42 games. (Southern League East, 2002–03)

Least – 5 in 42 games. (Southern league South Premier 2024-25)

The same number of drawn games occurred in the Western League Division Two, 1949–50, but the club played only 30 games.