1919 was a somewhat pivotal year in the history of Maidenhead. With the town's two senior clubs both losing many members in the Great War it was decided to amalgamate them.
The merged club was to become known appropriately as Maidenhead United and wear a black and white strip to respect the
colours of both pre war clubs.
Previously Maidenhead FC had been based at York Road wearing black and red kit but it was decided to play the first team's competitive fixtures at Kidwells Park, home of Maidenhead Norfolkians FC who had worn a red and white strip.
The move away from York Road was due to the ground being seen as not fit for senior football as it was shared with the town cricket club. It was initially hoped that the council would build a new ground on the Cordwallis Estate. Thus began a century long ground move saga, the latest chapter of which closed last year when the council called a halt to a move to a new purpose built stadium at Braywick.
Keen football historians may by now be furrowing their brow at the thought of Maidenhead United not playing at York Road, and indeed the stay at Kidwells Park lasted only one season.
In November 1920 York Road was bought from owner Lord Desborough, thanks in no small part to the generosity of
Ernest Dunkels. He also helped finance the 500 seat stand opened in September 1922. The cricket club then moved out and the matter of the Magpies’ location was settled for a generation.
Post World War Two a move was again proposed. This time as part of a brand new sports complex at Braywick to celebrate the 1951 Great Exhibition. This never got beyond the drawing board but by the start of the 60s the ground was starting to hold the club back, as a run of Corinthian League titles proved to be bitter sweet success as elevation to a more senior league was denied due to poor facilities.
The construction of the Bell Street Covered terrace in the mid 60s helped the spectator experience but the 80s property boom saw eager developers beating a path to the boardroom. A project to build stadium in Bray was floated with the destruction of the 1920s stand in an arson attack seeming to make a move at some stage inevitable.
The fact that the ground was and remains in the ownership of trustees, prevented a leave now, build later approach, which proved to be disastrous for former local rivals Wokingham Town to name but one example, However local politicians very much coveted the town centre site and serious progress was made towards a move to a Thames Water site just across the railway tracks, and then to Summerleaze.
Ominously the main stumbling block over the latter move was the local authority's refusal to grant permission for anything more than a County League set up which effectively settled the moving debate for a decade or more.
It was progress on the pitch which brought the matter to the fore again. The Magpies’ sensational 2017 National League South title season brought step one football to York Road for the first time and with the requirement to develop a stadium fit for the football league. Needless to say the plans for this required significant investment, not to mention the possibility of having to temporarily groundshare whilst the work was done.
This sparked conversations with a more biddable local authority about a move to Braywick, as part of the redevelopment of the whole town centre. An incredibly thorough plan was drawn up in conjunction with the local Athletics club to create facilities which would not only provide a state of the art football stadium but also a much needed recreational Athletics track and football pitches for the local community.
Steady progress was made clearing all the obstacles in the path of starting construction, and in 2022 a proposal to purchase the land was put forward, the final step before planning permission was applied for.
Unfortunately this was effectively the end of the project. As the local Conservative authority stagnated in the manner of its national counterpart, deadlines were missed and the putative new ruling Lib Dem led coalition started to cast aspersions about the move.
Almost as soon as they were swept into power they cancelled the Braywick project, backed by an unholy coalition of disgruntled ex Tories, Nimbys, an egregious Rugby club chairman, and naked anti football prejudice.
A brave supporter led campaign to overturn the decision last autumn was contemptuously overturned by the council who refused to even debate the petition backed by thousands of Maidonians.
A club now United in every sense of the word went onto secure National League football for an eighth successive season, and the recent transfer windfall from ex Magpie Max Kilman's move from Wolves to West Ham does at least offer the prospect of some redevelopment at York Road. The worry now is what will end up surrounding the ground, and what limits the residents occupying the planned neighbouring tower blocks may seek to place on the club.
Whatever happens next, the only certainty is that change continues to be a requirement for Maidenhead United FC.
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