Bedlington Terriers Football Club was a football club based in Bedlington, England. Established in 1949, the club played at Welfare Park until folding in 2025.
The club was established in 1949 as Bedlington Mechanics. They joined the Northumberland Miners Welfare League, and were champions of the North Section in 1951âÂÂ52. The club subsequently transferred to the Northern Combination, and won the Northumberland Minor Cup in 1953âÂÂ54. They were Northern Combination champions the following season. They joined the Northern Alliance in 1955, and entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1959.
The club disbanded in 1963, but were reformed as Bedlington Colliery Welfare in 1965, and rejoined the Northern Alliance. They were league champions and League Cup winners in 1966âÂÂ67, and were runners-up the following season and again in 1969âÂÂ70 and 1971âÂÂ72, as well as winning the League Cup again in 1969âÂÂ70.
After leaving the Northern Alliance at the end of the 1978âÂÂ79 season, the club spent the 1979âÂÂ80 season in the Tyneside Amateur League as Bedlington United, before rejoining the Northern Alliance as Bedlington Terriers in 1980. In 1982 they were founder members of the new Division Two of the Northern League. They finished as runners-up in 1984âÂÂ85, earning promotion to Division One. After finishing as runners-up in their first season in Division One, the following season saw them finish bottom of the table, resulting in relegation back to Division Two.
Bedlington won Division Two in 1993âÂÂ94, earning promotion to Division One. This started the most successful era in the club's history, as they finished as runners-up in 1995âÂÂ96, also winning the League Cup and Northumberland Senior Cup. They then won five consecutive league titles between 1997âÂÂ98 and 2001âÂÂ02. They also reached the first round of the FA Cup for the first time in 1998âÂÂ99, and after beating Second Division Colchester United 4âÂÂ1 in front of a record crowd of 2,400, they progressed to the second round, where they lost 2âÂÂ0 at Scunthorpe United. The same season saw them reach the final of the FA Vase, eventually losing 1âÂÂ0 to Tiverton Town at Wembley Stadium. They reached the FA Vase semi-finals again in 2000âÂÂ01 and 2004âÂÂ05, but were beaten by Berkhamsted Town and AFC Sudbury respectively. During this period the club also won the Northumberland Senior Cup again in 1997âÂÂ98, 2001âÂÂ02 and 2003âÂÂ04 and the League Cup in 2000âÂÂ01.
Following their run of league titles, Bedlington finished as runners-up in Division One in 2002âÂÂ03 and 2005âÂÂ06, but the club then suffered financial difficulties, finishing third-from-bottom in 2006âÂÂ07. In 2010 the club received sponsorship from American billionaire Robert E. Rich Jr. after his wife discovered ancestral links to the town and purchased the title Lord of Bedlington. Rich's investment included purchasing a ã30,000 electronic scoreboard and laying a new pitch, as well as financing a club tour to the United States, with a friendly match against FC Buffalo styled as the "Lord Bedlington Cup". This led to the BBC broadcasting a programme about the story in 2012 under the title Mr Rich and the Terriers.
In 2015âÂÂ16 Bedlington finished bottom of Division One and were relegated to Division Two. They finished third in Division Two in 2022âÂÂ23, qualifying for the promotion play-offs, going on to lose on penalties to Billingham Town in the semi-finals. The club finished fourth the following season before being beaten 4âÂÂ0 by Easington Colliery in the play-off semi-finals. At the end of the following season the club were demoted to the Premier Division of the Northern Alliance for failing ground grading requirements.
In July 2025 Northumberland County Council recovered ownership of the team's facility, Dr Pit Park Welfare Ground, and effectively locked out the club, stating that the club did not have a lease in place. The adult club subsequently folded in December 2025, with their first team taken over by West Allotment Celtic to act as a new reserve team. The junior Terriers continues to operate, using school pitches.