30/08/2026
The London Groundhopper doing what they do best - more than just a match report. If you love your london non-league football recommend a follow.
Foxbury Avenue, Chislehurst
Chislehurst Glebe v Fisher
SCEFL Premier
Fisher twice came from behind to grab a deserved share of the spoils in this entertaining contest set amidst the south London green belt.
Affluent Chislehurst is a nice place to live. A very nice place. I you want to be in the capital and your housing budget begins at the £2million mark, then you will find a place where the PPC-ratio (Porsche Per Capita) is reassuringly above the national average.
Chislehurst offers no big tourist draws, but of all the stadium spots in the outlying boroughs of London, this is one that I'd recommend arriving early and having a good explore. Indeed, spend the day and enjoy seeing how the other half lives.
The name is derived from the Saxon words 'cisel' and 'hyrst', known today as "wooded hill". Queen Elizabeth I's spymaster, Francis Walsingham, had a home in Scadbury Park, which remains as a moated manor ruin in a massive and scenically-pleasing nature reserve.
Chislehurst Common was saved from development by the locals in 1888. Chunks of the local woods are owned by the National Trust. Every other person seems to be walking a dog.
You might have heard of Chislehurst Caves. Originally producing flint and chalk, during World War II they were used nightly as an air-raid shelter. There is a chapel inside. The caves have also been used as a music venue. Jimi Hendrix, the Who, the Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and a local lad by the name of David Bowie all played there. The singer Siouxsie Sioux (Siouxsie and the Banshees) was the only rock star who ever had to live here. So did the writer Richmal Crompton, author of the Just William books.
Chislehurst was a Kentish village until the 1960s when it was gobbled up by the borough of Bromley. But it still has a very villagey vibe with its parades of shops, village green, lots of pubs, lots of churches, lots of cricket clubs and lots of private schools.
Chislehurst does have a railway station. Of course it does. But it's on the other side of this greenified village. It is a good 30-minute roadside walk up a steep hill to the ground. Plenty of buses will get you closer but I'd jump off at the war memorial stop where the patriotically (en)titled Royal Parade hosts The Cockpit micro pub. It's just been voted the best pub in London by CAMRA.
The cockpit from which it takes its name can be seen just behind on Chislehurst Common. No c***s have been seen here since 1834. Stick fighting was a more recent local past-time but that too was banned for attracting the wrong sort. Locals keep it in good condition as "one of the few perfect examples of a cockpit which still exist”.
From here you follow the road on for another 10-minutes before you arrive at a big sign announcing Foxbury - the home of Chislehurst Glebe Football Club.
It is actually down quite a long track. You pass the local pistol club on the way.
The football club was established by Rocky and Grace McMillan as Glebe Globetrotters in 1995, initially with just a single under 8s youth team based in West Wickham. In 2013 an adult team was formed as Glebe FC. They won promotion to this division as champions in 2016–17.
They initially played at Holmesdale's Oakley Road ground in Bromley, but in 2014 obtained a 25-year lease on Foxbury Avenue. As the engraved stone on the entry gate states, it had been the ground of Old Elthamians rugby club since 1951.
Foxbury is a grand Victorian mansion and estate built 150 years ago for a wealthy banker. It was reported that Michael Jackson rented the property for a month as a "hideaway" during his planned O2 residency in 2009. His sudden death prevented him from ever becoming a Chislehurst resident.
I first came here a couple of years ago to watch a game involving Stansfeld FC who were groundsharing here. A lot has changed since then, with the ground becoming a 3G pitch and the club announcing a name change to Chislehurst Glebe, to better reflect their local identity. It is a very impressive community set up, with a big emphasis on youth football. The club has more than 400 members with facilities spread over numerous pitches. Kent United's first team from the Kent Premier League currently groundshare here.
After all the exploring, I was ready to stay in one spot and enjoy a game of football. Today, Glebe's opponents were fan-owned Fisher FC, who always bring a good following for this level. And what an entertaining match it was. A real showcase for the level of football now being played in this league.
The home side made a cracking start with the Fisher defence offering Jamie Phillpot a free header, which he duly placed into the bottom corner. The half see-sawed between the two goals. Both keepers made great saves to ensure it was only that early goal which separated the sides at half-time.
The second 45 minutes was a bluster of blocked shots, goal-line clearances, and near misses. Fisher's usual flowing wing-play finally clicked into its rhythm. The home keeper impressed with two more sharp stops. Chislehurst were more direct and quick on the break. Their height was always a danger from set pieces.
It was hard to believe that another 20 minutes sped by without more goals. That was until a stream of Fisher substitutions paid off, with Alex Kozak creating space down the left. His low cross found Temi Alaka to poke the ball home.
Ten minutes later and Glebe finally broke the Fisher offside line. Phillpot again. He duly raced through and grabbed his second with an unstoppable bullet.
Fisher though never gave up. The returning-from-injury Jack Gibbons was Fisher's final throw of the dice. His driving wing-back play gave the visitors fresh options. And two minutes into added time, it was his perfectly-flighted cross that found Euan Mutalle to equalise. Both sides could have snatched a winner in the embers of the game, but overall the 2-2 scoreline was a fair outcome.
Entrance was £10. Online programme. Average attendances here are around 120. Set in open countryside, Foxbury is a pleasant setting to watch a game - but it is a cage with a 3G pitch inside. There is a ready-assembled seated stand with a small covered terrace on one side. Another covered terrace sits behind one goal with a little cabin selling snacks and hot drinks (closed this time). Outside the ground is the main clubhouse and changing rooms. Hot food and drinks were available from a little van in the car park.
