Chilton Colliery Recreation Athletic F.C.

Chilton Colliery Recreation Athletic, the football club of the County Durham pit village of Chilton, was founded in 1919 and played at the Recreation Ground behind West Chilton Terrace. Nicknamed the Colliers, it reached the semi-final of the FA Amateur Cup in 1923-24 and, in 1925-26, went to the third round proper of the FA Cup, beating Carlisle United and Rochdale before losing 3-0 to South Shields in front of 15,000. It won the Northern League at its first attempt in 1927-28, but the coalfield's decline told against it and the club dissolved in 1940.

The mining history in this record

The Colliers Chilton Colliery Recreation Athletic was formed in 1919 as the recreation club of the Chilton colliery village in County Durham and played at the Recreation Ground, opened in 1921 behind West Chilton Terrace. Playing in the Palatine League, and known as the Colliers, it reached the semi-final of the FA Amateur Cup in 1923-24, losing at Feethams to Clapton, the eventual winners.

The 1925-26 cup run In 1925-26 the club reached the third round proper of the FA Cup, the first year of the competition's new format. It beat Carlisle United in the first round and Rochdale, of the Football League Third Division North, in a second-round replay, before going out 3-0 to South Shields in front of a crowd of 15,000. The club entered the FA Cup five times in all.

Northern League Chilton joined the Northern Football League in 1927 and won the title in its first season, 1927-28. The turn of the economy against the coal-mining areas late in the decade told against the club; it failed re-election to the Northern League in 1939 and joined the Durham Central League, but did not re-emerge after the outbreak of the Second World War.

People

Unknown.

Legacy today

The club dissolved in 1940 and was not revived after the war. It is remembered as one of the strong Durham colliery sides of the inter-war years, its 1925-26 FA Cup run and its Northern League title marking the high point of football at Chilton.

Recorded claims

Individual factual claims, each tagged with how solidly it's grounded and attached to the source(s) that support it. Where sources disagree, both are kept.

• Chilton Colliery Recreation Athletic was founded in 1919 as the recreation club of the Chilton colliery village and played at the Recreation Ground, opened in 1921. (documented fact) ¹
• Playing in the Palatine League, the club reached the semi-final of the FA Amateur Cup in 1923-24, losing to the eventual winners Clapton. (documented fact) ¹
• In 1925-26 the club reached the third round proper of the FA Cup, beating Carlisle United and Rochdale before losing 3-0 to South Shields in front of 15,000. (documented fact) ¹
• Chilton joined the Northern Football League in 1927 and won the title in its first season, 1927-28. (documented fact) ^1,2
• The club failed re-election to the Northern League in 1939 and dissolved in 1940, not re-emerging after the outbreak of the Second World War. (documented fact) ¹

Mines

• Chilton Colliery — County Durham
  The club was the recreation side of Chilton Colliery, taking the pit's name and playing at the colliery village's Recreation Ground.

Sources

1. (secondary) Chilton Colliery Recreation F.C. (Wikipedia) — Wikipedia
2. (secondary) Chilton Colliery Recreation Athletic (Football Club History Database) — Football Club History Database

Record created: 23 September 2026 · Last researched: 23 September 2026