Formed by the local branch of the Church of England Young Men's Society on 22 August 1888,Blakeman, M (2010) The Official History of the Eastern Counties Football League 1935-2010, Volume II the club was known locally as "Churches". They won the Norfolk Senior Cup in 1891–92 and 1896–97. In 1897 they were founder members of the Norfolk & Suffolk League, winning it in 1899–1900, losing only a single match.1899-00 Pride of Anglia They then won the Senior Cup three times in a row between 1900 and 1902. Frustrated by a perceived lack of ambition, in 1902 the team's captain (Robert Webster) and vice-captain (Joseph Cowper Nutchey) left to form a new club, Norwich City, which also joined the Norfolk & Suffolk League. City finished above CEYMS in their first season,1902-03 Pride of Anglia and although CEYMS won the league again in 1906–07 and 1910–11, Norwich City went on to become the dominant team in Norwich.
