A friendly match v Dorking which ended in a 2-2 draw at Wiggie Lane in 1894 marked the birth of Redhill Football Club. For several years after that Redhill competed in a succession of friendlies, which even at that infant stage attracted large crowds of spectators.

The decision was made to move into senior football at the turn of the 20th Century and Redhill became members of the East and West Surrey League in 1902. Their first season ended with them winning the League title by five points over runners up Woking. The club has an illustrious history, yet one needs to go back to the 1920s to find it’s most successful period. In the middle of that decade Redhill were the most feared club in the South of England, winning the prestigious Athenian League once and being runners up on two occasions. Also they reached the semi finals of the old FA Amateur Cup, where they were defeated by the great Northern Nomads side before 17,000 people at Arsenal’s Highbury Stadium.

No great success came the club’s way for several years after that and it wasn’t really until the 1950s that they started making headlines again. They reached the First Round proper of the FA Cup for the first and only time in 1957 and took several thousand fans with them to Division Three (South) leaders Norwich City. Sadly they lost 6-1 but the Redhill team won great praise for a brave performance in the national press. A copy of the match day programme and an admission ticket is on display in the Clubhouse, along with other historic photographs. Crowds at the old Memorial Ground, in the centre of the town would often be close to the 4,000 mark and the main road outside the ground would be closed off for half an hour at the final whistle, such was the volume of people vacating the ground.

In the 1960s Redhill again put together a formidable side and County cup success was achieved with the trophy being claimed when they defeated local giants Sutton United in the 1966 final. Again the club hit the doldrums in the seventies with little in the way of success coming their way. The biggest game of that decade was in 1976 when former Redhill player Alec Stock brought his Fulham side down to play a friendly. Amongst the visiting side were former England captain, the late Bobby Moore, Rodney Marsh and George Best. A huge 5,000 crowd were treated to an unforgettable night as Best and Marsh turned on the style as Fulham won 6-2.

Moving into the 1980s, and once again Redhill were on the rise. They had a wonderfully talented side and went onto claim the final Athenian League title in 1983/84 with a 1-0 victory at Marlow. Sadly at this time, after a long battle, Redhill were unmercifully kicked off their ground and moved to their present headquarters at Kiln Brow. However, the ground itself offered lesser facilities than the Memorial Ground so instead of celebrating their title win with promotion to the Isthmian League they were instead moved sideways into the London Spartan League. After a successful period in that league they took up a vacant space in Division One of the Sussex County League in 1988, finishing 11th in their first season.

In 1988/89 Redhill were relegated to Division Two before winning promotion back to Division One in 1996/97 after finishing third behind Littlehampton Town and Chichester City.

Since finishing fifth on their return to Division One, subsequent seasons have been marked by mid-table mediocrity, with the Club flirting with the relegation zone on more than one occasion, only to pull away from danger. An increase in attendances in 2004/05 was a positive aspect, and these remained constant over the past two seasons despite lowly finishing positions. With the surprise close season announcement that the experienced Tommy Sampson had been appointed manager, plus further developments to their Kiln Brow ground, the Reds will doubtless be hoping to build on a modest improvement shown in 2006/07 (Adapted from an original history written by Michael Stewart).

Groundtastic feature (published Spring 2005) PDF   

Description of ground
One of three County League clubs actually located in Surrey (Lingfield & Dorking Wanderers are the others), it has to be said that Redhill’s Kiln Brow ground, hemmed in between the busy A23 and London to South Coast railway line; and within a stone’s throw of the East Surrey Hospital, would not figure on too many “must see” lists in recent years. However, progress is slowly being made with regards its transformation.

In 1984, ironically just as the club had won the last ever Athenian League championship, Redhill were given notice to vacate their premises at the Memorial Ground in the middle of town, and it was only through the generosity of local businessman Eric Pratt that the club was able to survive in senior football, enabling them to move to their current home at Kiln Brow. Although the club remained in business, the lesser facilities at Kiln Brow meant they had to move sideways into the Spartan League rather than upwards into the Isthmian League.

The ground is accessed by a rather bumpy access road that requires a certain degree of naviagtion to avoid the numerous potholes, leading into the main car park. The various buildings extend for much the length of the near touchline and are a real hotch-potch: in an era of bland, homogenous grounds, Kiln Brow certainly bucks that trend!

Thankfully the rather tatty, unattractive red Portakabins that extended for much of near touchline have also been replaced by 'new' buildings that originally housed the Visitor & Reception Centre during the construction of Reading's Madejski Stadium. Whilst they would not win any design awards they have a Tardis-like quality to them and are surprisingly spacious inside. The only old buildings that remain are rather musty Portakabins housing the tea bar; a very well-stocked club shop selling all sorts of paraphernalia, some of which has to be seen to be believed; and a Museum containing a great array of Redhill artifacts. With regards the latter, we must be grateful for the hoarding mentality that has resulted in the preservation of many items that might have otherwise been disposed of.

In February 2003 work was completed on a smart new changing room block, and a further significant improvement to the overall look of the Kiln Brow was the addition of new perimeter fencing during the 2004/05 season. There are two uPVC dugouts on the opposite side of the pitch.

A small stand somewhat bizarrely situated next to the near corner flag behind the near goal, and that dated from soon after the move to Kiln Brow in 1984 has now been demolished and a replacement erected in the same place. This meant that planning permission was not required but there is the intention of extending this further along behind the goal. In addition work on a new seated stand (originally planned for November 2006), turnstiles and toilet block is finally due to start in December 2007 and will be situated in front of the clubhouse.

Directions
Travel north on the A23. Follow signs for East Surrey Hospital. Turn right into Three Arch Road at large junction, and ground is about 100 yards on the right.

Nearest railway station: Earlswood (approx 15-20 mins walk) has a limited service only. Alternative station is Redhill (3 miles).

Map (link to www.streetmap.co.uk)