Long before there was Orient, there was Leyton.

In 1868, to be exact, some 13 years before The O’s were first founded the other side of the River Lea in Hackney, Leyton Football Club was born.

However, the club’s early history was rocky, disbanding in the late 1890s, 1911 and 1914 before reforming at later dates.

Down the road, Leytonstone FC was established in 1886 and became a founder member of the Spartan League 21 years later in 1907. 

The club finished bottom in its first season and made the switch to the Isthmian League, which it won for the first time in the war-shortened 1919 season.

By the turn of the century, another club, Walthamstow Avenue, had appeared on the scene, joining Division Two of the London League in 1901, but leaving after just one season.

In 1921, the club opened its Green Pond Road ground and became a member of the Athenian League in 1929, winning the title in their first season.

East London and West Essex Guardian Series:

A Walthamstow Avenue side of the 1960s (pic: Vestry House Museum)

By the 1920s, the latest incarnation of Leyton FC were finding success, capturing the FA Amateur Cup in 1926-27, retaining the trophy in 1927-28, winning the Athenian League in 1928-29.

After baron spell in from the mid-1920s to 1930s, Leytonstone enjoyed a resurgence, capturing the Isthmian League twice in a row in 1938 and 1939, and beat Wimbledon in 1947 and Barnet in 1948 to lift FA Amateur Cups.

Walthamstow Avenue switched to the Isthmian League after the Second World War, becoming the division’s first post-war champions in the 1945-46 season.

The club secured its first FA Amateur Cup win in 1952, beating Leyton 2-1 in a derby final. 

The A’s won the league again the following season and went on a miraculous FA Cup run, beating Wimbledon, Watford and Stockport County to earn a dream fourth round tie against Manchester United.

Walthamstow heroically held the Red Devils to a 1-1 draw, before losing a replay, which was moved to Arsenal’s Highbury stadium, 5-2.

East London and West Essex Guardian Series:

A team photograph of Leytonstone FC in the 1950s

Leytonstone also enjoyed success in the 1950s, winning three-consecutive Isthmian League titles between at the start of the decade and reaching the second round of the FA Cup in 1952, before being knocked out by Newport County.

The 1970s saw a great deal of upheaval for the borough’s clubs, with Leytonstone first moving out of their Granleigh Road ground, near Leytonstone High Road station and into a ground share with Walthamstow.

The club finished in the bottom two of the Isthmian League in 1979 and were due to be relegated, but instead merged with Ilford to form Leytonstone-Ilford. 

Leyton, meanwhile, merged with Hendon-based Wingate FC in 1975 to form Leyton-Wingate, which would exist until the clubs once again parted ways in 1992.

By 1988, Walthamstow were also struggling. Relegated from the Isthmian League the previous season, the club then joined forces with Leytonstone-Ilford to become Redbridge Forest.

The new club did not last long however, merging with Dagenham in 1992 to form Dagenham and Redbridge.

The side would enjoy nine seasons in the Football League between 2007 and 2016, before dropping down to the National League last year.

East London and West Essex Guardian Series:

Leyton FC was London's second oldest active team until it folded in 2011

Meanwhile, another new incarnation of Leyton had spawned in 1997, based at the Wingate Stadium in Lea Bridge Road.

In 2002, the club won a High Court battle to be recognised as a continuation of the original Leyton FC formed in the 1860s, making them the second-oldest active football club in London, after Cray Wanderers of Bromley.

The club achieved back-to-back promotions to reach the Isthmian League Premier Division in 2004 and narrowly missed out on reaching the Conference South after losing a play-off final to Eastleigh in 2005.

However, by the early 2010s, the club was struggling both on and off the pitch and received a suspension in January 2011 for not paying its league subscription fees due to debts.

The financial problems meant the club was unable to recover and withdrew from the Isthmian League shortly after, bringing an end to its 143-year history.