Bass Alton F.C.

Bass (Alton) F.C. were a long running amateur football club based in Alton, a market town in east Hampshire, England.

They merged with neighbours and league rivals Alton Town in 1991 to create Alton F.C.

The club were formed circa 1920 as Courage & Co - they were the works side of the large brewery site based in Alton, and played on the company owned sports ground.

Courages began in the Aldershot League before progressing on to the Hampshire League Division 2 in 1928 and winning the Hampshire Intermediate Cup. The following year they won the title and were promoted to Division 1, where they remained until 1938 when they were relegated after finishing bottom.^[1]

After World War II, Courages found themselves living in the shadow of the recently formed Alton Town, who would soon enjoy great success.^[2] This saw 'the Brewers' spend many years playing in the Aldershot League, apart from the 1954/55 campaign when they took part in the Hampshire League's short-lived North Division.^[3]

In 1972 Courages returned to the county league and were placed in Division 4. They initially performed well and won promotion in 1975, but then only lasted two seasons before being relegated.^[4]

When the brewery was taken over by Bass in 1979, the club was renamed Bass (Alton), and with Alton Town now in decline, they then re-emerged as the top team in the area. A series of promotions saw them return to Division 1 in 1983 after a 45-year absence. ^[5] Bass then did well to consolidate in a very strong top-flight, although the competition was weakened in 1986 after the Wessex League was formed.^[6]

A year later, their resurgent neighbours joined them in Division 1 for what was the first time that the two rivals had played at the same level. However, after a poor 1990/91 campaign (which saw Bass finish rock bottom and Town a few places above) it had become clear that the area could not sustain two successful senior clubs. There had always been a close friendly relationship between the two camps so they then decided to join forces and become Alton Town Bass.^[7]

Although now represented by a single Hampshire League club, Alton still had two sides participating in the competition, with the Reserves joining the recently reformed Division 3 (later moving to the Combination).^[8] The newly merged club initially played at Anstey Park before returning to the Bass Sports Ground a year later and amending their name to Bass Alton Town ^[9]. In 1998 they became Alton Town after the brewery was taken over by Coors. ^{[10] [11]}

The merger has been successful and has enabled the club to progress further up the pyramid system.^[12]

• Hampshire Football Association ^[13]
  • Intermediate Cup Winners 1928/29
• Hampshire League
  • Division 2 Champions 1929/30, Runners-up 1982/83
• Aldershot Football Association ^[14]
  • Senior Cup Finalists 1984/85 and 1987/88
• Aldershot League
  • Division 1 Champions
  • Division 2 Champions

Bass (Alton) played at the Bass Sports Ground, London Road, Alton until it was closed in 2015 and sold by the brewery for housing.^[15]

The venue was enclosed with a large wooden stand, fixed pitch barrier, floodlights and pavilion. The current day club now play back at a redeveloped Anstey Park.

Bass (Alton) enjoyed a healthy rivalry with number of clubs in the east Hampshire area including Liss Athletic, Petersfield Town, Liphook and most notably Alton Town - with whom they eventually merged with.

• See Alton F.C.

• Alton F.C. website
• Football Club History Database 1
• Football Club History Database 2
• Hampshire League Final Tables
• Hampshire Soccer Archive