New To The Northern Premier League Division One East For 2026/27: Getting To Know Guisborough Town FC

As excitement grows ahead of the upcoming Pitching In Northern Premier League Division One East campaign, we continue our look at some of the clubs that will be facing Tom Claisse’s Grimsby Borough side for the first time at this level. Guisborough Town are one of those teams, and recent history suggests Nathan Haslam’s men will provide a stern test for all of their rivals at step four.

Situated towards the peak of North Yorkshire, Guisborough, a town of around 18,000 inhabitants, has the likes of Middlesbrough and Redcar as neighbours to its west and north respectively, and therefore finds itself part of a real footballing hotbed and catchment area.

Known as the Priorymen, named so after a 12th-century monastery based in the town, the club, who play at the King George V Stadium, was formed in 1973, and having quite recently celebrated their 50th anniversary, supporters will now be looking forward to seeing their side showcased at the highest tier in their history in what appears to be an ever-competitive NPL Eastern section for 2026/27.

Starting out in the Middlesbrough & District League, and having tasted success for the first time when lifting the North Riding County Cup in 1976, the somewhat newly established club found themselves in the Northern Alliance ahead of the 1977/78 campaign. Losing just eight games across their first three seasons in the division, they’d win their second honour as 1979/80 champions.

Under the stewardship of boss Mick Hodgson, a club legend who managed the first-team over 700 times during a 20-year spell stretching from 1973 to 1993, the aforementioned title triumph was just part of what proved to be a special season in more ways than one, with Guisborough seeing off the likes of Hall Road Rangers, Whickam, Windsor & Eton, and Hungerford Town to reach the final of the FA Vase and a trip to Wembley Stadium.

Though the Priorymen would lose out 2-0 to Lincolnshire outfit Stamford on the day in front of a crowd of over 11,000, the nine-match run to the final and their day in the capital remains a proud moment for all associated with the red and whites - the stripes their shirts adorn in homage to nearby Sunderland’s famous FA Cup success that took place the same year as Guisborough’s formation.

After a brief spell in the Midland League, Hodgson’s men would take their place in the original NCEL Premier Division following a shake-up of the wider non-league divisional framework across neighbouring counties. Though they’d quickly be on the move once more, becoming part of the Northern League Division Two ahead of the 1985/86 season.

Soon promoted to the Premier Division a couple of years later, another of the club’s most successful eras beckoned as they won the Northern League Cup and Cleator Cup double in 1988/89, whilst also reaching the first round proper of the FA Cup, defeated by third-tier Bury in a game played at Middlesbrough’s former Ayresome Park home to cater for a larger crowd.

From the early 90’s until recently, the club has occasionally bounced between step five and step six of the Northern League structure. A run to the FA Vase Semi-Finals in 1995/96 was later followed up by promotions, relegations, appeals, and reprieves at various junctures, along with the final two North Riding Senior Cup titles of the six won by Guisborough in total, before Haslam took the reigns and the Priorymen pushed on once more.

Following on from a strong, unbeaten summer of preparations, they soon saw off Consett in the early FA Cup qualifying rounds, before embarking on an impressive 2025/26 EBAC Northern League Division One title-winning campaign, losing just two games over the entirety of a season where Haslam saw his side pick up 94 points, including 12 victories and two draws from mid-January onwards that allowed them pull away from the chasing pack.

Key players in that success were ex-Hartlepool United goalkeeper Ryan Catterick, defender and Northern League Player of the Year James Frazer, and the goalscoring attacking duo of Kurtis Howes and Matthew Wilshaw, the latter joining the club from West Auckland Town in September.

Guisborough has had some recognisable figures turn out for the club over the years, including former Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, and Norwich City defender Kevin Scott, along with Chris Swailes, who had a notable career with the likes of Ipswich Town, Bury, and Rotherham United.

More recently, striker Danny Johnson rose to prominence at the King George V Stadium, netting an incredible 59 goals during the 2013/14 season, paving the way for a move to Gateshead, and then onto the EFL with Leyton Orient and Walsall, among others.

Haslam’s Guisborough are upwardly mobile, and will be looking to maintain that trajectory in the NPL Division One East over the upcoming campaign. We look forward to making the trip north, and also welcoming the Priorymen and their supporters to The Technica Home of Grimsby Borough in the months ahead.