Club History

The history of Banbury Hockey Club is currently being researched and compiled for this section. The brief account below outlines the some of the developments in the last 70 years.

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The development of organised hockey in Banbury appears to have started after the Second World War through Banbury Mens’ Hockey Club (who were affiliated with Banbury Cricket Club at the Grange Road Ground), Banbury Ladies Hockey Club (who became based at the Horton View Sports Ground) and also Alcan Hockey Club. The teams from these separate clubs played ‘friendly’ home and away fixtures on grass pitches, as well as in a variety of tournaments and Cup fixtures. In the 1970s Banbury Mens’ teams also played on the new red-gra pitch at Banbury School. By the late 1980s the introduction of astro turf pitches saw many changes in the rules and style of the game. Both the Mens and Ladies teams benefited from the opportunity to play some of their home games on the new astro turf pitch at Bloxham School.

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Changes on the pitches were matched by changes off the pitch with the formation of a ‘joint’ Mens and Ladies Club in 1998 and the move to N.O.A. (formerly Drayton School) with a new clubhouse and astro turf pitch. This move coincided with the start of a long and successful run with the senior Mens, Ladies and Mixed 1st XIs achieving highly in the South Leagues, winning national and county cups and establishing Banbury as the premier home of hockey in north Oxfordshire.