Billingham Synthonia Football Club is a football club based in Stockton-on-Tees, England. Nicknamed the "Synners", they are currently members of the and play at Bishopton Road West in Stockton-on-Tees.
The club was established in 1923 and was named after an agricultural fertiliser, Synthonia being a contraction of "synthetic ammonia", a product manufactured by ICI, with which the club was affiliated. They initially played in the South Bank & District League, later joining the Teesside League. They won the Teesside League Cup in 1934âÂÂ35, the league title in 1936âÂÂ37 and the League Cup for a second time in 1938âÂÂ39.
In 1945 the club joined the Northern League. They reached the first round of the FA Cup for the first time in 1948âÂÂ49, losing 5âÂÂ0 to Crewe Alexandra at Gresty Road. The following season saw them finish as Northern League runners-up and reach the first round of the FA Cup again, this time losing 3âÂÂ0 at Stockport County. After finishing as runners-up again in 1950âÂÂ51, a season in which they did not concede a goal during their home league matches, the 1951âÂÂ52 season saw them win the League Cup with a 1âÂÂ0 win over Tow Law Town in a replay, finish as runners-up for the third consecutive season and reach the FA Cup first round for a third time, losing 5âÂÂ0 at Scunthorpe & Lindsey United. They won the Northern League for the first time in 1956âÂÂ57, a season which also saw another FA Cup first round appearance, resulting in a 6âÂÂ1 defeat at Carlisle United. The following season they reached the first round again, losing 5âÂÂ2 at Boston United.
In 1985âÂÂ86 the club were relegated to Division Two after finishing second-from-bottom of Division One. However, they made an immediate return to Division One by winning Division Two at the first attempt. The 1987âÂÂ88 season saw a second League Cup win with a 2âÂÂ1 defeat of Shildon in the final, as well as another FA Cup first round appearance â a 4âÂÂ2 loss to Halifax Town in a home match played at Hartlepool United's Victoria Park. They went on to win back-to-back Division One titles in 1988âÂÂ89 and 1989âÂÂ90; The 1989âÂÂ90 season also saw a third League Cup win, beating Whitby Town 5âÂÂ2 in the final, as well as a seventh appearance in the FA Cup first round, this time losing 1âÂÂ0 at Lincoln City.
A fourth Northern League title was won in 1995âÂÂ96. In 2006âÂÂ07 Billingham reached the semi-finals of the FA Vase; after beating AFC Totton 2âÂÂ1 away from home, they lost the home leg 2âÂÂ1, with Totton winning the penalty shootout 5âÂÂ4. At the end of the 2014âÂÂ15 season they were relegated to Division Two after finishing in the Division One relegation zone. A third-place finish in 2016âÂÂ17 saw them promoted back to Division One. However, in 2017âÂÂ18 the club finished bottom of Division One and were relegated back to Division Two.
The club initially played at Belasis Lane, which was part of the ICI sports complex. The first ground was on the south side of the road, with the club moving to one on the north side of the road prior to joining the Northern League in 1945. The Belasis Lane ground saw the first floodlit game in northern England on 11 November 1952 when Billingham defeated an RAF team 8âÂÂ4 in front of a crowd of 3,000. In 1958 they moved to Central Avenue; the new ground was opened on 6 September 1958 by Lord Derby, with the first game ending in a 2âÂÂ2 draw against Bishop Auckland; the crowd of 4,200 remains the club's record attendance. In the same year, the stadium was used for an England 'B' international athletics meeting; the stadium's 2,000 capacity cantilever stand was the longest in the country at the time. Central Avenue was also used by the Billingham Athletics club and hosted Middlesbrough reserve matches until 2011
In April 2017 the club left Central Avenue due to the cost of upgrading works, initially agreeing to use the Norton Sports Complex in Norton for two seasons, which was later extended until 2022. In April 2022 the club announced that home matches in 2022âÂÂ23 would be played at Stokesley Sports Club. They relocated to Stockton Town's Bishopton Road West ground in 2024.