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NOTTINGHAM FOREST HISTORY
10 November, 1865

Forest founded at Clinton Arms (1865)*

On this day in 1865* Nottingham Forest are founded at a meeting in the Clinton Arms in Nottingham.

Club milestones

Club founded
Plaque commemorating the formation of Nottingham Forest Football Club in 1865.
Plaque commemorating the formation of Nottingham Forest Football Club in 1865. Image: El Loco / CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Nottingham Forest’s story began in a Nottingham pub, when a group of shinty players met at the Clinton Arms in 1865 and chose a future in football.

The meeting took place at the Clinton Arms on Shakespeare Street, where J. S. Scrimshaw’s proposal to switch from shinty, or shinney, to association football was accepted. It was a modest beginning, but the decision carried enormous weight: from that room came a club that would grow into one of the great names of English and European football.

Plaque commemorating the formation of Nottingham Forest Football Club in 1865.
Plaque commemorating the formation of Nottingham Forest Football Club in 1865. Image: El Loco / CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The founding story also gave Forest their colours. The club chose red in honour of Giuseppe Garibaldi and the Italian Redshirts, creating an identity that would run through generations of players, supporters, trophies and matchdays.

Later evidence points broadly to November 1865 rather than to a precise date. But the importance of the moment is beyond doubt. At the Clinton Arms, a small sporting decision became the beginning of Nottingham Forest.

*The exact date of Forest’s founding meeting is not known for certain, so 10 November is used here as an approximate November 1865 marker.

Sources

Nottingham Forest official site; Forza Garibaldi; The Official History of Nottingham Forest

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Notts County 0–2 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 3–0 Blackburn
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Vitória SC 1–1 Nottingham Forest
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Portimonense 1–2 Nottingham Forest Sporting CP 4–1 Nottingham Forest
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Udinese 1–0 Nottingham Forest Barcelona 1–0 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 2–1 Bayer Leverkusen
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Nottingham Forest 2–0 Stade Brestois 29
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Nottingham Forest 0–1 Leeds
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Nottingham Forest 0–2 Leeds
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Liverpool 2–2 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 0–0 Tottenham
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Aston Villa 1–2 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 0–1 Coventry
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Crystal Palace 14:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 16:30 Arsenal
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Ipswich 20:00 Nottingham Forest
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Brentford 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 17:30 Manchester City
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Bournemouth 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 20:00 Chelsea
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Hull City 20:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Brighton
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Sunderland 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Everton
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Manchester United 16:30 Nottingham Forest
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Newcastle 19:30 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Fulham
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Nottingham Forest 19:30 Hull City
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Manchester City 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Bournemouth
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Chelsea 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Brentford
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Fulham 20:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Manchester United
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Everton 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 20:00 Newcastle
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Tottenham 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Aston Villa
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Leeds 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Liverpool
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Sunderland
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Brighton 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Crystal Palace
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Arsenal 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Ipswich
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Coventry 16:00 Nottingham Forest
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1865
Forest founded at Clinton Arms (1865)*

Nottingham Forest’s story began in a Nottingham pub, when a group of shinty players met at the Clinton Arms in 1865 and chose a…

Club milestones