Bowers & Pitsea Football Club, nicknamed “The Bowers,” is a non-league football club based in Basildon, Essex.
Established in 1946, they currently compete in the Pitching In Isthmian League North Division, which is part of the eighth tier of English football. The team calls Len Salmon Stadium their home ground.
The team started in the Southend District League at Gun Meadow, Pitsea, then joined the Thurrock & Thameside Combination and the Essex Olympian League in 1965. It entered the Essex Senior League in 1974 and moved to Crown Avenue in 1975, opening against a Tottenham Hotspur XI. Senior status followed in 1978, and Malcolm Slater delivered league and cup wins in 1981 and 1982.
Tony Cross led a treble of league, Challenge Cup and Harry Fisher Trophy in 1998-99, helped by David Hope’s 52 goals and Don Douglas Trophy, but lack of promotion scattered the squad. A 2004-05 merger with Pitsea FC upgraded facilities. Under Michael Barnard and Barry Hubbard the club steadied, and Rob Small added the 2016 league title, an FA Vase semi-final and promotion to the Isthmian Premier by 2019.
The first Isthmian Premier campaign was aborted by Covid-19 with the side 14th. In 2021-22 they fell to Lincoln City in the FA Cup First Round, ending Small’s term. James Collins’ 2022 rebuild earned the Thameside Trophy but not survival. A nine-game surge in 2023-24 led to play-off shoot-out wins over Felixstowe & Walton United and Brentwood Town, keeper David Hughes decisive, sealing instant promotion.