Barnstaple Town Football Club is a football club based in Barnstaple, Devon, England. They are currently members of the and play at Mill Road.
The club was established in 1904 as Pilton Yeo Vale, and were founder members of the North Devon League in the same year. They played in the league's first match, hosting Ilfracombe on 1 October; the visitors won 4âÂÂ2 with several hundred in attendance. However, that was to be the only defeat all season in the league and club went on to win the inaugural league title. At the end of the season they adopted their current name.
After winning a second North Devon league title in 1908âÂÂ09, they club switched to the Exeter & District League, where they remained until World War I. After the war they returned to the North Devon League, before rejoining the Exeter & District League. They won the league title in 1946âÂÂ47 and were runners-up the following season, before joining Division Two of the Western League in 1948.
In 1949âÂÂ50 Barnstaple won Division Two, earning promotion to Division One. In 1951âÂÂ52 they reached the first round of the FA Cup for the first time, losing 5âÂÂ2 to Folkestone in a replay. The club were league champions in 1952âÂÂ53, and reached the first round of the FA Cup again in 1954âÂÂ55, losing 4âÂÂ1 at home to Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic in front of a record crowd of 6,200. They reached the first round of the FA Cup for a third time in 1959âÂÂ60, losing 4âÂÂ0 at Exeter City.
The league was reduced to a single division in 1960, and the club reached the FA Cup first round again in 1972âÂÂ73, before losing 2âÂÂ0 at home to Bilston. The league expanded back to two divisions in 1976, with Barnstaple placed in the Premier Division. In 1979âÂÂ80 they won their second Western League title, and finished as runners-up in the following two seasons. After finishing second-from bottom in 1990âÂÂ91, Barnstaple were relegated to Division One. Three seasons later they won Division One, earning promotion back to the Premier Division.
They remained in the Premier Division until being relegated again at the end of the 2012âÂÂ13 season, which saw them finish bottom of the Premier Division. However, they made an immediate return to the top division after winning Division One in 2014âÂÂ15. The following season saw the club finish as runners-up in the Premier Division, earning promotion to Division One South & West of the Southern League. In 2021âÂÂ22 they finished bottom of Division One South, resulting in relegation back to the Premier Division of the Western League. In 2023âÂÂ24 the club finished fifth in the Premier Division and qualified for the promotion play-offs, in which they lost 3âÂÂ1 to Falmouth Town in the semi-finals. A fourth-place finish in 2024âÂÂ25 was followed by a 3âÂÂ0 loss to Brixham in the play-off semi-finals.
The club have played their home games at Mill Road in Barnstaple since the late 1930s. It has a capacity of 5,000, of which 250 is seated and 1,000 covered. The record attendance at Mill Road was set in the 1954âÂÂ55 season when a crowd of 6,200 watched an FA Cup first round tie against Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic. Floodlights were installed in 1988 and inaugurated with a friendly match against Aston Villa on 15 November 1988, with the lights switched on by Villa manager Graham Taylor.