Thames Ironworks took over the tenancy of The Old Castle Swifts' Hermit Road ground in Canning Town until their eventual eviction in October 1896.

[10] Looking to bolster their attacking strength, the Irons had also recruited Ironworks employee George Gresham, an inside-forward who had played for Gainsborough Trinity, who would go on to score many goals for the club in the following four seasons.

[11] In what would be their first competitive game, Thames Ironworks took on Chatham Town in the first qualifying round of the FA Cup on 12 October, losing 0–5 before a crowd of 3,000.

[8][14] An epic confrontation followed as Thames Ironworks faced Barking in the final of the West Ham Charity Cup on 21 March 1896 at The Old Spotted Dog Ground in Upton Lane.

[16] The following month, "The Irons" went out in the FA Cup first qualifying round for the second year running, losing 0–8 away to Kent Southern League team Sheppey United on 10 October 1897.

By the turn of 1897 Arnold Hills had managed to lease a temporary piece of land for the team, located in Browning Road, East Ham.

[18] It was also around that time that Thames Ironworks' inspirational captain Robert Stevenson left to return to his native Scotland to play for Arthurlie.

[19] Thames Ironworks' biggest defeat of the season came soon after, on 1 April 1897, when they lost for the second time to the champions-elect 3rd Grenadier Guards 0–5 at Browning Road.

The Irons had not yet played London Welsh and as a result, and probably thanks also to Arnold Hills' presidency of the league and Francis Payne's drafting of the rules, Thames Ironworks F.C.

1897 ended with Thames Ironworks top of the table and unbeaten in the London League, having only conceded five goals, three of them coming in a 3–3 thriller against local rivals Ilford.

Brentford were only one point behind "The Irons" and the game caused much local interest, including a newspaper article on Thames Ironworks' rising star Charlie Dove.

At Shooters Field on 23 April 1898, Thames lost the tie 0–1, and Brentford leap-frogged "The Irons" and were now one point ahead with one game left to play.

A final day victory away to 2nd Grenadier Guards on 30 April ensured that Thames Ironworks won the London League title by a single point, as fellow challengers Brentford lost to Barking Woodville.

The team's attacking options were increased with the signings of winger Patrick Leonard from Manchester City and the snaring of centre forward David Lloyd from former rivals 3rd Grenadier Guards.

In an away game against Maidenhead on 31 December 1898, which Thames Ironworks won 4–0, Charlie Dove completed the distinction of playing in every position for the club when he deputised for goalkeeper Tommy Moore.

A 10,000 strong crowd saw Thames Ironworks win the game 3–1, with goals coming from David Lloyd, Patrick Leonard and Henderson.

The Ironworks then had to face Sheppey United, who had finished 12th in the 13 team Southern League Division One, and had beaten The Irons two and a half years previously 8–0 in an FA Cup game.

To bolster the squad for their first season in Southern League Division One, Arnold Hills supplied a transfer fund of £1,000 to club secretary Francis Payne, who raided Tottenham Hotspur for inside-right Kenny McKay, centre-forward Bill Joyce and left-winger Tom Bradshaw, who was immediately appointed captain of the team.

Before the season began, Francis Payne was suspended by The Football Association for tapping-up a Birmingham player and soon resigned his post as club secretary.

Thames Ironworks recorded their biggest win of the season, in the third qualifying round of the FA Cup on 28 October, trouncing Dartford away 7–0.

Only a week later, the teams met again in the fourth qualifying round of the FA Cup, and after another 0–0 draw at Priestfield, the replay went Thames Ironworks' way 2–0 at home.

The Irons' 9 December FA Cup game at home to Millwall attracted their biggest attendance of the season with 13,000 Londoners making the tie.

Thames Ironworks finished 14 out of 15 in the Southern League Division One and would be required to play a Test Match to preserve their divisional status.

Only two days later at a game held at Tottenham Hotspur's White Hart Lane Ground, The Irons faced a Fulham team featuring former centre-forward David Lloyd.

On 5 July 1900 they reformed under the new name of West Ham United and accepted an offer of the Southern League place left vacant by Thames Ironworks.

Tom Bradshaw's close friends Bill Joyce and Kenny McKay left for Portsmouth and Fulham respectively, while Albert Carnelly joined arch-rivals Millwall.

Irons right-half Charlie Dove had got the kits for the club from William Belton, who was a professional sprinter of national repute, as well as being involved with the coaching at Thames Ironworks.

On 12 October, Thames' had to play their first competitive game at the ground of Chatham Town in a preliminary qualifying round of the FA Cup as the opposing team had rated Hermit Road as "unsuitable".

Thames Ironworks played their next few fixtures at the grounds of their opponents, until, at the turn of 1897, Arnold Hills managed to lease a temporary piece of land for the team, located in Browning Road, East Ham.

However, the new situation was not ideal, as explained by future Ironworks player and West Ham United manager Syd King in his 1906 book: Arnold Hills earmarked a large piece of land in Canning Town and would eventually spend £20,000 on the construction of a new stadium but the ground would not be ready until the following season.