History

Portishead were inaugurated in 1912 by Molly Jukes, the daughter of a local rector, who had moved to Portishead in 1903. Always keen on sport, Molly formed a cricket side in 1910 and two years later a football team she called St. Peter’s Portishead.

Initially there were two teams, a first XI and a Reserves, and a year later a junior side was formed. In 1915 Molly married the Rev. H.S. Briggs but her interest and devotion to ‘the lads’ didn’t waver and despite the intervention of two World Wars she battled on as Chairman, Treasurer and Manager, as well as playing in goal as often as she could.

In the early 1950s Molly stepped down and Portishead AFC – as the club were now known following a name change in 1948 – was left in the hands of Len Pickering and Eddie Clapson.

Following successive Divisional Championships in 1973 and 1974 the club were accepted into the Somerset Senior League in 1975 and a year later moved from their original pitch, where the present health centre now stands, to Bristol Road.

In 1993/94, under the leadership of Terry Hale, the team won the Somerset Senior League Premier Division Championship. They retained this title in 1994/95, made it a treble in 1995/96 and notched up their fourth Championship win at the end of the 1997/98 season. In May 2000 Shaun Hill’s side beat Radstock Town to win the Somerset Senior Cup for the second time.

Following major ground improvements and finishing the 2004/05 season as runners up in the Somerset County League, Portishead successfully applied for promotion to the Western League.

In Portishead’s first season of Western League football they finished in the top half of the table only to better their performance the following season.

In 2006/07 Portishead achieved their, then, highest ever finish in the history of the club finishing runners-up to Truro City. Although Portishead were unable to be promoted to the Western League Premier Division as their ground was not suitable, lacking (at that time) floodlights.

Under Chairman Adrian Green 2019 saw the arrival of former player James W Hughes as Director of Football. Eamonn Daly was appointed manager and he provided stability and a platform for future successes before taking on the role of Head of Men’s football.

Eamonn was replaced by experienced player Kye Mountford, who took on the manager position for season 2023/24, heralding the club’s most successful season yet. Posset won the Western League Division One title, amassing 99 points and scoring 122 goals in the process. Several records were broken including going 21 league games unbeaten between August and December.

Portishead Town took the Western Premier League by storm and secured back-to-back promotions by winning the league with 91 points. This was despite being forced to play away from home up until November as Bristol Road was redeveloped and an artificial pitch installed. Not content with the title Kye Mountford’s side completed the double by winning the Les Phillips Cup after defeating Brixham in the final.

As well as the Firsts the Reserves also clinched promotion in season 2024/25, and will compete in the Somerset County League Division One this season. Meanwhile the Thirds compete in the Weston-Super-Mare & District League Division Two and the newly formed Colts team have joined the Bristol Suburban Football League Division Four.

Having previously had a Ladies team, Portishead Town resurrected the Ladies section in 2011. The team was to be led by Chip Wright and were elected to join Somerset County Women’s League. After initially struggling, the 2015/2016 season saw the team achieving a league and cup double, beating Staplegrove in the final 2-0.

The 2016/17 season followed on from the previous year with a league and cup double once again, this time beating Penn Mill 4-3 in a thrilling final. This led to promotion to South West Regional Women’s Football League (Eastern Division) for the 2017/18 season.

A second promotion in a row was achieved the following season with Portishead then competing in the South West Women’s Football League (Premier Division). Three seasons followed in the Premier League, with two seasons interrupted by COVID and neither fully completed.

Two successful FA Cup runs, reaching the 1st round proper in 2019/20, finally losing to Southampton Women, helped with the promotion to the FA National Women’s League South West, the fourth tier of the Ladies pyramid, for the 2021/22 season, where they finished 8th.

This was bettered in 2022/23 when they finished in 7th position, but the highlight of the season was the club’s FA Cup run. For the first time in their history they reached the 3rd round proper, eventually succumbing to Ipswich Town.

The Ladies’ Reserves team compete in the Somerset County Women’s League Division One, whilst the Thirds compete in Division Two, following promotion in 2024/25.