1895-1908: Palmerston Road, big in the League and records made

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One of the founding members of Harchester Saint through to their birth as Harchester United was Robert Ball, and was the manager of the Dragon Leather Tannery. So in April 1895 at the time the club's professional future looked bright, he was appointed official team manager following which they took up residence on the new improved Palmerston Road ground, formally Harchester St. Augustine’s while the two sides were separated. The stadium itself was the envy of many of Harchester's Division 2 rivals, and a visit to face The Dragon's at their home was one to be relished. Harchester started at their new home as they meant to carry on with a 6-1 win over Burton Swifts. The 1897-98 season proved to be one of HUFC's most historically illustrious. At the start of the season they signed ultimately their biggest ever league goal scorer (with a total overall of 247) Arthur Slapper, and recorded both their record league win (11-3 against Loughborough Town in 1898) and achieved their most league goals ever of 119. This all saw the team Second Division Champions and promoted to Division 1. Another great season followed in 1898-99 when Charlie Cogg achieved the club's most goals scored in a season at 47. But also included their lowest moment away to Burton Swifts in the FA Cup First Round with the club's record cup defeat at 2-11. Harchester continued in Division 1 and by the 1902-03 season Robert Ball had become chairman, starting a trait of manager/owner that would still be occurring at HUFC 100 years later. It was here he stood down as manager and his company assistant within the tannery, David Ryan, who was also a player in the team became the club's second ever gaffer. At the end of 1904-05 the team were relegated back to Division 2, but fought hard over the next two seasons to win promotion back in 1907. The following season back in the top flight was crunch time. Palmerston Road's owners Harchester St. Augustine were suffering financial hardship and were required to sell off the ground, and thus Harchester United were on the lookout for a new home. During the first half of 1908 a London businessman Ian Mayes took over the chairmanship from Robert Ball, who by this time had closed down the tannery. The first of the 'outsiders' to Harchester FC's original setup, Mayes also brought in his own unconnected manager in Joseph Peterson, replacing David Ryan. With his new investment, Mayes saw that a brand new, fully equipped stadium would be built, and with a 100 year lease on the new ground, would see Harchester forever secure. Addison Road was completed shortly before the 1908-09 season, while Palmerston Road, that held a little bit of Harchester United's history for those thirteen years it was in operation, was redeveloped to see out the twentieth century as St. Augustine Retail and Leisure Park.