The History of Barton Town

Barton Town Old Boys Football Club was formed at the start of the 1995/96 season as a result of the amalgamation of the two longest established and most successful clubs in the North Lincolnshire town of Barton upon Humber, Barton Town FC and Barton Old Boys FC.

Barton Town had been in existence for well over 100 years, being formed in 1880, and playing out of their Marsh Lane ground, still the home of the new club, since 1927. 'Town' was one of the founder members of the Lincolnshire League, winning it in 1960/61, before embarking on its 'golden era' over the following two decades, initially in the Midlands League and then, particularly, in the Yorkshire League. The club returned to the Lincolnshire League in the early 1980's, winning the first division title in 1981/82.

The 'Swans' remained in the league for the next 10 years before dropping out for the usual off-field reasons, lack of help and finance. Barton Old Boys had been a member of the Scunthorpe and District League since 1959, eventually boasting two sides, in the first and second divisions. Over the ten year period from the mid-1980's, 'Old Boys' were the arguably the most consistently successful team in the league, culminating in 1994/95 with the winning of all four major Scunthorpe League competitions, a first at the time.

In order to progress the two clubs merged and started the 1995/96 season in the Lincolnshire League. After a disastrous start, the new Barton Town Old Boys finished a very creditable fourth and won the Lincs. County Senior 'B' Cup for good measure. 1996/97 saw the team's fortunes peak, winning the League and Challenge Cup 'double', since when another County Cup triumph and two more Challenge Cup titles have been added to the list of honours.

After five highly successful and enjoyable seasons in the Lincolnshire League, things were starting to stale, on and off the pitch, so the decision was made to move on, into the newly-formed Humber Premier League for the start of the 2000/01 season. Despite being the only side from south of the River Humber, the team performed well, finishing third.
However, in order to gain a foothold on The Football Pyramid, the decision was made to move on again. Consequently, Barton Town Old Boys joined the Central Midlands League for the start of the 2001/02 season, bringing in Leigh Palin as first team coach to work alongside manager Peter Mitchell. The move paid off as the team finished runners up in the Premier Division, gaining automatic promotion to the Supreme Division for the start of the 2002/03 season. After a difficult start to the following season, Leigh Palin left the club in October 2002 and was succeeded in January 2003 by Alex Irvine who joined the club as joint manager, working alongside ex Hull City and Brigg Town stalwart, player Neil Buckley. After flirting with relegation, the team put together an excellent run of nine wins from the last 12 games to finish a difficult season in a relatively comfortable 13th position.

Alex Irvine left the club that summer, leaving Neil Buckley in sole charge and it has been a story of further progress since then. 2003/04 saw the team finish in 7th place, separated from the top six by goal difference only.
There was further improvement in 2004/05 as Buckley, alongside long-serving Old Boys player Ian Durnian as assistant manager, saw the progress continue as the team claimed fourth spot, being denied a top three place only because of a draw in the final game of the season. Summer 2005 marked the installation of state of the art floodlights at the Marsh Lane ground and that, along with the securing of a long term sponsorship deal with the local Euronics Centre, signalled the club's intent both on and off the pitch prior to season 2005/06. [continued]