Hednesford Town Football Club is a football club based in Hednesford, Staffordshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Keys Park. They won the FA Trophy in 2004.
The club was established in 1880 as a merger of the Red & Whites and Hill Top. Based at the Anglesey Hotel, they were sometimes known as Hednesford Anglesey. The club were founder members of the Birmingham & District League in 1889 and finished sixth in their first season. Despite finishing third in 1890âÂÂ91, they left the league at the end of the season, and played only friendly matches before joining the Walsall & District Junior League in 1894. The club were runners-up in the league in their first two seasons, before the league was renamed the Walsall & District League in 1897.
Hednesford were league runners-up again in 1899âÂÂ1900 and 1901âÂÂ02. After finishing third in 1907âÂÂ08, they joined the Birmingham Combination, which they won in 1909âÂÂ10. After World War II the club rejoined the Birmingham & District League. They reached the first round of the FA Cup for the first time in 1919âÂÂ20, losing 2âÂÂ0 at Castleford Town. The club finished bottom of the league in 1924âÂÂ25, 1925âÂÂ26 and 1931âÂÂ32. They withdrew from the league during the 1937âÂÂ38 season and folded before reforming as Hednesford. The new club rejoined the Birmingham & District League for the 1938âÂÂ39 season; however, with the league reduced to 10 clubs, two round robin leagues were played â the King's Cup, in which the club finished bottom of the table, and the League Cup, in which they finished second-from-bottom.
After World War II Hednesford joined the Birmingham Combination. They won the league in 1950âÂÂ51 and were runners-up in 1952âÂÂ53, after which they rejoined the Birmingham & District League. The league was split into two divisions for the 1954âÂÂ55 season, with Hednesford playing in the Northern Division. A thirteenth-place finish saw them placed in Division Two the following season. They remained in Division Two until the league was reduced to a single division in 1960. In 1962 the league was renamed the West Midlands (Regional) League. Hednesford became members of the Premier Division when the league gained a second division in 1965. The club returned to its original name in 1971, and in 1972 they joined the Midland League. However, after finishing bottom of the table in 1973âÂÂ77, the club left the league, returning to the Premier Division of the West Midlands (Regional) League. They were league champions in 1977âÂÂ78, and after finishing as runners-up in 1983âÂÂ84, the club moved up to the Midland Division of the Southern League.
In 1991âÂÂ92 Hednesford were Midland Division runners-up, earning promotion to the Premier Division; they also reached the final of the Welsh Cup, losing 1âÂÂ0 to Cardiff City. They won the Premier Division in 1994âÂÂ95 and were promoted to the Football Conference. In their first season in the Conference the club finished third. The 1996âÂÂ97 season saw the club reach the first round of the FA Cup for the first time since 1919âÂÂ20. After beating Southport 2âÂÂ1 in the first round, they defeated Second Division clubs Blackpool in the second round and York City in the third round, winning both games 1âÂÂ0. In the fourth round they were drawn at home to Premier League Middlesbrough. However, the match was played at Boro's Riverside Stadium. In what was a close game Hednesford lost the tie 3âÂÂ2.
The following season saw Hednesford entered directly into the first round of the FA Cup, where they defeated Hull City 2âÂÂ0, before losing 1âÂÂ0 to Darlington in the second round. The club reached the second round again in 1998âÂÂ99, beating Barnet 1âÂÂ0 in the first round before losing 3âÂÂ1 at Cardiff City. A gradual decline in league performances saw them finish bottom of the table in 2000âÂÂ01, resulting in relegation back to the Southern League's Premier Division. In 2003âÂÂ04 the club reached the final of the FA Trophy, winning the competition with a 3âÂÂ2 win over Canvey Island at Villa Park. In 2004âÂÂ05 they finished fourth in the Premier Division, qualifying for the promotion play-offs; after beating Merthyr Tydfil 5âÂÂ3 on penalties in the semi-finals after a 1âÂÂ1 draw, they beat Chippenham Town 1âÂÂ0 in the final to earn promotion to the Conference North.
Hednesford finished bottom of the Conference North in 2005âÂÂ06, resulting in an immediate relegation, this time to the Premier Division of the Northern Premier League. In 2009 they were transferred to the Southern League's Premier Division, and a fourth-place finish in 2009âÂÂ10 saw them qualify for the play-offs again, this time losing 2âÂÂ0 to Chippenham in the semi-finals. They were Premier Division runners-up the following season; another play-off campaign saw them beat Leamington 3âÂÂ1 in the semi-finals before losing 3âÂÂ2 on penalties to Salisbury City in the final after the game had ended 2âÂÂ2. The club were transferred back to the Northern Premier League in 2011 and finished fifth in 2011âÂÂ12 before losing 5âÂÂ0 to Bradford Park Avenue in the play-off semi-finals.
A fourth successive play-off campaign was secured when Hednesford were Premier Division runners-up in 2012âÂÂ13. After beating AFC Fylde 3âÂÂ1 on penalties in the semi-finals following a 3âÂÂ3 draw, they defeated F.C. United of Manchester 2âÂÂ1 in the final, earning promotion to the Conference North. Their first season back in the Conference North ended with a fourth-place finish and a play-off semi-final defeat to Altrincham, losing 4âÂÂ3 on aggregate. In 2015âÂÂ16 they finished second-from-bottom of the renamed National League North and were relegated to the Northern Premier League's Premier Division. The 2022âÂÂ23 season saw them relegated to Division One West of the Northern Premier League. In 2024âÂÂ25 they were runners-up in Division One West. After beating Vauxhall Motors 3âÂÂ1 in the play-off semi-finals, the club defeated Congleton Town 2âÂÂ0 in the final to earn promotion to the Premier Division.
The club originally played at a ground behind the Anglesey Hotel, which became known as 'the Tins' due to the metal sheeting that was erected around the ground. In 1904 they moved to the Cross Keys ground after a local councillor agreed to pay off the club's ã40 debt if they moved away from the Tins. The first match at the new stadium drew a crowd of 900 to see Hednesford beat Stafford 3âÂÂ1. A large wooden stand was erected on one side of the pitch and banking on the other. The banking was replaced by a pitch-length stand in the 1950s and floodlights were installed in 1953, with over 7,000 attending the inauguration match in which local rivals Wolves defeated West Brom 4âÂÂ2.
By the 1990s the capacity of Cross Keys had been reduced to around 4,000. The final match at the ground saw Hednesford beat Leek Town to secure the Southern League title and promotion to the Football Conference in front of 2,776 spectators. The club then moved to Keys Park, which was built at a cost of ã1.3m. The ground initially had a capacity of 3,500, but was expanded during the 1997âÂÂ98 season and now has a capacity of 6,039, of which 1,011 is seated and 5,335 covered. The record attendance at Keys Park was set when 4,784 spectators attended the Northern Premier League Premier Division match against FC United of Manchester on 27 December 2025.