Histon are one of those smaller clubs that found itself punching well above its weight – only to slip back down the pyramid. From almost nowhere during the 2000s, they’d reach the Blue Square Premier in 2007 and claim a playoff place one season later. Two years later, however, they were relegated. And things didn’t get better in the following years; another relegation at the end of the 2013-4 campaign and falling further, into the Eastern Counties League, in 2018.
The rot didn’t stop until their 2018-9 Eastern Counties League title-winning campaign; one that secured them a place in the Isthmian League. The pandemic got in the way, however; two seasons wiped out and ultimately robbing them of their chance to compete in the competition. The Stutes were moved to the Northern Premier League in 2021, before relegation at the end of the 2021-2 campaign saw them drop into the United Counties League – a far, far cry from their late-2000s heyday.
For a long time, the Histon story is a relatively uneventful one; forming in 1904 and given a chance to be part of the Cambridgeshire League. Here they remained until 1948 but for a campaign during World War Two in which point they played in the East Anglian League. In 1948, however, the Stutes moved up to the Spartan League and – three years later – dropped the word Institute from the club’s name.
The Stutes then bounced about a little bit; joining the Delphian League in 1960 and then moving into the Athenian League when the Delphian went under. It wasn’t a successful venture and, in 1965, the Eastern Counties League beckoned. It’d be a competition they’d be a part of for the rest of the century. And one they didn’t manage to register any success in until 2000.
By winning the title at the turn of the Millennium, the Stutes were promoted to the Eastern Division of the Southern League. Four years later, they went up again; this time to the Premier Division. They also got to the first round of the FA Cup for the first time. Things were now heating up for Histon. It took just one bid to win the Premier Division title, which took them up into the Conference South.
At the end of their first season in Conference South, they reached the playoffs; losing out to Stalebuns in the final. Any heartache was short-lived. They went one better the following season with title success.
How to get to Histon – Travel Information – Distance: 34 miles
By Road
All being well, you should be able to do this in less than an hour. From Stevenage, go north on the A1 (or preferred route) to Junction 9 and take the A505 towards Baldock. Head along until you come to the outskirts of Royston and, after passing Tesco on the right, take the first exit at the roundabout for the northbound A1198.
Follow the A1198 for around four-and-a-half miles over two roundabouts until you reach the one with the option to join the A603. You’ll want this to take you Cambridge-bound.
Just over seven miles later, you need to join the M11 northbound. Go along the M11 for two-and-a-half miles, before leaving at Junction 14 for the eastbound A14. Come back around on yourself to join the A428 and this becomes the A14.
Don’t get too set, however; you’ll be needing the junction just over a mile down the road. This is the B1049. Take the first exit at the roundabout. After going over a former railway bridge, the ground is on the right.
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