THE early history of New Milton Football Club dates back to 1898 when it was established “as an amateur team in the New Forest district of Hampshire”. Matches were played on the town centre recreation ground, nowadays a public park with its bandstand and a skateboarding arena.

The team spent its earliest years establishing a local footprint, playing friendly fixtures before joining the competitive New Forest League. During this era, the club first wore its current yellow and blue, a heritage that harks back to the town's historic local brickmaking industries.

In 1924 the club was elected to the Hampshire League West Division, rapidly rising through the tiers. By the late 1920s, they had progressed to Division 1. In 1931, they achieved an historic 4th-place finish, marking their highest-ever final position in that version of the league.

During this golden pre-war era, the club began participating in national tournaments, securing short runs in both the FA Cup and the FA Amateur Cup. However, in 1936, severe financial problems forced the club to resign from the high-standard county league to play in the less demanding Bournemouth League.

After football was halted by World War II, the club reformed in 1946, briefly under the name New Milton Argyll. They returned to the county league and quickly reverted to their original title, New Milton FC. In 1993 the club moved from its original home at the Recreation Ground to the present-day Fawcetts Field.

The club's recent history began with the merger with AFC Lymington for 1998/99. At the time, Lymington were in the Wessex League, and New Milton FC, Division Two of the Hampshire League. The newly-formed club, Lymington & New Milton FC, played its home games at Fawcetts Field.

The amalgamation of those two clubs also led to the formation of Lymington Town, which entered Division Three of the Hampshire League, plus a new, New Milton club based in Milford-on-Sea, which joined Division Two for a single season before folding. 

In their first season, Lymington & New Milton retained the Wessex League title won by AFC Lymington in 1997/98. However, they were unable to take promotion as their ground failed to meet the requirements. They were runners-up in the league in each of the next two seasons, making further failed applications for promotion in the 1999/2000 season.
 

In 2003/04, Lymington and New Milton were Wessex League champions, earning promotion to Division One of the Isthmian League and then to Division One South & West of the Southern League.
Despite finishing above the relegation zone in 2006/07, the club resigned from the league at the end of the season after most of its officials resigned. Dropping back into the Premier Division of the Wessex League, the club was renamed New Milton Town FC, as the club is known today.
 
In 2012/13, they finished bottom of the Premier Division. After rescinding their resignation from the league, they were relegated to Division One, which was when a proposed merger with Bashley Football Club fell through. The following four seasons saw the club struggle to enter the top half of the table. 

Lou Fern took over as chairman at the beginning of the 2018/19 season and set out to make the club more professional. While things improved off the pitch, results did not, leading to frequent changes in management. No one made a significant improvement until the appointment of Paul Turner from Poole. 

With a new management team and playing squad in the 2020/21 season, the club endured a stop-start season with the rest of the country due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The season subsequently came to a close at the halfway stage. However, in the same season, the club had one of its best runs in the FA Vase, reaching the third round before being eliminated by Clevedon Town from the division above. 

With normal service resumed for the 2021/22 season, the Linnets - as they were then known - had a cracking season, finishing 9th in the league and making it further in the FA Vase by reaching the 4th round before losing 2-0 to Brockenhurst from the division above. The game also saw the club’s highest attendance, with 952. 

The 2022/23 season brought DMW Glazing in as the stadium sponsor. The club had another strong campaign, narrowly missing out on promotion, finishing third in the league before losing the Playoff Final 4-2 on penalties at home to Petersfield. 
The club faced significant challenges in the 2023/24 season.

 

Paul Turner and his management team resigned, leaving the club struggling to find a suitable replacement and managing only 3 points from the first 20 league games. This led to a mid-season change in management, and John Breaker was drafted in as emergency chairman following Lou Fern’s departure. 

The second half of the season ended in stark contrast to the previous one, with New Milton Town finishing 3rd from bottom by amassing a brilliant 30 points from their remaining games. It meant that the club narrowly avoided relegation to the county leagues. 

Having staged that remarkable “great escape”, New Milton re-grouped with great success in 2024/25. Dan Wills took over as chairman, with John Breaker continuing his role as club president and Matt Maybury as team manager. 
There had been much change at the club throughout the season, with the committee's decision to adjust its image. Fans were asked to vote on whether to remain as The Linnets or change to something new. The choice was “something new” and the fans re-branded it The Brickmakers - a nod right back to the club’s early days and one of the town’s traditional industries.
New Milton’s history as a brickmaking centre was driven by rich local clay deposits, with thousands of bricks being produced for local and regional construction, until the industry declined in the 1960s due to competition from mass-produced, machine-made brick.

The nickname was shortened to “The Brickies”, who soon turned Fawcetts Field into a brick-solid fortress. Home form was maintained - in fact even bettered - on the road, where only one game was lost, and New Milton were runaway winners of Wessex League Division One, ending with 90 points, 11 clear of second-placed Frimley Green. The season was rounded off in great style, perhaps slightly poetically, with a sizzling 5-1 win at Lymington, of all places, on the final day.
Summer, however, unexpectedly brought the need for dramatic re-structuring off the field - and on it. The problems inevitably took their toll, with key departures from the playing staff. Chairman Dan Wills also departed, and soon afterwards manager Matt Maybury also left.

Gary Squires took over as chairman, supported by president John Breaker and a committee determined not to let the club die, especially straight after what had been one of the most successful seasons in the club’s history. Jamie Kay was appointed manager, but with an inexperienced squad at his disposal it was soon clear the season would be difficult - especially after a three-points deduction by the League.

Gary Squires and his committee re-grouped in January with the influx of several local business people - many with substantial football experience at other clubs in the area. Additional funding was also acquired.
Although results improved towards the end of the season, the changes on and off the field came too late to prevent the club remaining at the foot of the Premier Division table and being relegated to Division One.
 

The team management structure remains, strengthened, however, by the arrival of former long-standing Brockenhurst FC committee member Matt Parfect as Director of Football, and Iain Roberts, a Bashley stalwart for 30+ years, as Head of Football Operations. Other former Bashley committee members Steve and Julie Williams, Gary Dobbs, Larry Cummins and Roger Ware are also now adding their experience and expertise to The Brickies’ off-field mix.

So there is new optimism at Fawcetts Field, and there’s no doubt The Brickies are back, building towards a brighter future!

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NICKNAME: The Brickmakers (Brickies)

 

GROUND: Fawcetts Field

 

CAPACITY: 1,500 (262 Seated)

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RECORD CROWD: 952 (v Brockenhurst, FA Vase 2021/22)

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HOME COLOURS: Yellow & Blue

 

AWAY COLOURS: White & Blue

 

BEST FA CUP PERFORMANCE: 4th Qualifying Round 1999–2000, 2003–04, 2004–05

 

BEST FA TROPHY PERFORMANCE: 1st Qualifying Round 2005/06

 

BEST FA VASE PERFORMANCE: 4th Round 1998/99