History of Nequay

It is generally thought that Mr G.R. Card, a master of Newquay Grammar School, was responsible for the introduction of association football in the town. It was in January 1890 in the grounds of the Newquay Grammar School (now the Pendennis Hotel, Mount Wise) that the first team match took place under the Association Rules. Following this match sufficient enthusiasm was worked up to form the first Newquay Football Club.

The towns club did not play competitive matches until season 1896/97 when the team were grouped with Truro, Camborne School of Mines, Illogan, St Agnes and Penzance in the Western Division of the Cornwall County Cup (Senior Cup). Newquay won the trophy in season 1906/07 defeating Looe 4-1 at Bodmin to win the Cornwall Charity Shield. The Newquay Club’s nickname of ‘The Peppermints’ evolved during the turn of the century and was first mentioned in 1906, alluding to the red and white shirts worn by the players, which resembled a boiled peppermint sweet of that time.

A milestone in the history of the club was in 1921 when Newquay was elected to the Plymouth & District League. In 1922 the Newquay Urban District Council, under pressure from the general public to provide a football field for the town, sought permission from the Ministry of Health to lease a piece of land (originally acquired for allotments) to the club and so from that date Mount Wise has been the home of Newquay Football Club. In 1927, the financial burden of travelling to Plymouth on a regular basis proved too great and the club withdrew from the P&D League.

In season 1931/32 Newquay Rovers played in the newly formed Cornwall Senior League and in 1935 won both the League and Cup for the first time. The Newquay Club was reformed in April 1946 following the Second World War and the First XI played in the Cornwall Senior League until 1951 when a new senior league was formed, namely the South Western League. The first XI won the title on seven occasions. The Newquay club’s second team stayed in the Senior League until 1959 when the Cornwall Combination League was formed and the reserve team, also founder members have been there ever since.

During the 1980s, the clubs members raised funds to erect the clubhouse and changing rooms that are still in use today, floodlight were also added and were opened in 1989 in a match against West Bromwich Albion. In July 1998, the clubs record attendance of 3,500 saw Manchester City visit Mount Wise. Other clubs with Premiership experience including Graham Taylor’s Watford, Hull City and Harry Redknapp’s Portsmouth, all brought quality sides to take on The Peppermints in the years that followed.

In 2007 Newquay AFC first XI joined the newly formed South Western League (West Division) when the South Western League merged with the Devon County League. They were runners up in 2008/09 and were eventually crowned champions in 2011/12 thus securing promotion to the Premier Division, Step 6 in the National FA Pyramid, the highest level the club has ever played.