Early history The club was formed on 15 April 1898 as a result of the amalgamation of two strong local clubs, Watford St. Mary's and West Herts. West Herts began life as Watford Rovers in 1881, when George Devereux de Vere Capell,
Earl of Essex and owner of
Cassiobury Park, gave a group of boys permission to use the grounds for football. However, the agreement stipulated that the team could not play organised competitive matches on the estate. Matches played when the club was not entering competitions included the first recorded fixture against future
rivals Luton Town; a 1–0 home win to Watford on 5 December 1885. From 1886 Rovers participated in the Herts Senior Cup, a competition open to all clubs in
Hertfordshire, winning it on four occasions. They also participated in the Hennessey Cup—open to clubs within a radius of
Uxbridge—between 1888 and 1891. Rovers' first match against Watford St Mary's was a 7–4 home win on 17 January 1891. The teams met on eleven further occasions prior to their amalgamation in 1898. In total, Rovers and their successors West Herts won six times, St Mary's four times, and the remaining two matches ended in draws.
League history From 1896–97 until 1919–20, the
Football League and
Southern League ran in parallel, and were organised by separate bodies. The Southern League was therefore not part of the English football league pyramid. In 1920–21, the Southern League First Division was absorbed by the Football League, thus becoming part of the
English football pyramid, initially as the Football League Third Division. From 1921–22 until 1957–58, the
Third Division South operated as the third highest level of English football, running in parallel with the
Third Division North. From 1958–59 until 1991–92, Division 1 was the highest level of English football, Division 2 the second highest, Division 3 the third highest and Division 4 the fourth highest. The Premier League was formed in 1992–93, and since then has been the highest level of English football. Division 1 became the second level, and Division 2 the third level. In 2004–05, Division 1 was renamed as the Football League Championship. ==Footnotes==