Chesham and Waterside FC was founded by Rev Reade, curate of Christ Church, Chesham in 1879; its first game was against Amersham in October 1879, and its first competitive entry, in the
Berks & Bucks Senior Cup in 1879–80, ended in a 5–1 first round defeat to
Wycombe. By 1881, the club was simply known as
Chesham. The club first entered the
FA Cup in
1885–86, losing at
Luton Wanderers in the first round - the 3–2 score slightly flattered Chesham, as the Wanderers did not contest a claim for a goal for which neither umpire had a clear view. The club's only win in the main rounds of the competition came the
following year when it beat
Lyndhurst 4–2 at home - a win over
Watford Rovers in
1887–88 was annulled after Chesham fielded an ineligible player. In 1894 Chesham became a founder member of the
Southern League. It was renamed
Chesham Town in
1899 and continued to play in the Southern League until
1904, when it finished 11th and bottom of the table. After a successful 1907–08 season, in which the club won the
Berks & Bucks Senior Cup and the Lowndes Challenge Cup, it re-entered the Southern League in
1908 - simultaneously taking part in the second division of the South-Eastern League, which the club won in 1908–09 - but left four years later to become founder members of the
Athenian League. It left the Athenian at the end of the 1913–14 season to join the
Great Western Suburban League. In
1917 the club merged with
Chesham Generals to form
Chesham United, which is still in existence. ==Colours==