Manor Ground (Plumstead)

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Manor Ground
Manor Ground, Woolwich Arsenal vs. Everton.jpg
Data
place United KingdomUnited Kingdom Plumstead , London
Coordinates 51 ° 29 '29 "  N , 0 ° 5' 14"  E Coordinates: 51 ° 29 '29 "  N , 0 ° 5' 14"  E
opening 1888
demolition circa 1913
Societies)

Royal / Woolwich Arsenal (1888–1890, 1893–1913)

The Manor Ground was an English football stadium in Plumstead , which served in south-east London between 1888 and 1890 and between 1893 and 1913 as the home ground of the “Woolwich Arsenal” club - which was later renamed Arsenal FC .

Still under the name “Royal Arsenal”, the team played first on the common land “Plumstead Common” and later on the “Sportsman Ground”, as an ordinary pig field in the marshland “Plumstead Marshes” was called. When the Sportsman Ground was no longer usable in 1888 due to a flood, the club moved to the neighboring "Manor Field", as the venue was later called at that time. The pitch was notorious for its very muddy ground and there was even a sewer along the south side. At that time, there were no grandstands at this point and the club helped itself out from the British Army with carts to accommodate spectators. The club's first official game took place there on February 11, 1888 against Millwall Rovers and ended 3-3

In 1890, Royal Arsenal decided to move into the somewhat better Invicta Ground on the south side of Plumstead High Street , which had at least a grandstand, terraces and changing rooms. There the club spent three years (during which time they renamed themselves "Woolwich Arsenal" and gained professional club status) before the owner of the Invicta Ground increased the rent, which resulted in the club relocating again. With the help of shares issued by the club, Arsenal used the proceeds to buy the Manor Ground and moved back to this old site before the start of the 1894/94 season - on the occasion of the Football League debut . This season, the club should host an average of around 6,000 spectators.

At this point in time, the club had built a grandstand and further terrace benches before a second grandstand was added in 1904 with the "Spion Kop". It is interesting in this context that the first Kop grandstand in the country was created and only later did many other clubs - including Liverpool FC in particular - build much more famous grandstands of the same name. While the club was promoted to the First Division in 1904 , the response from the supporters rose to over 20,000 spectators in some games.

Mainly due to the very isolated location in an industrial area with only very few inhabitants, these numbers decreased again in the period that followed. This was one of the decisive factors for the increasingly precarious financial situation of the club, which in 1910 was even on the verge of bankruptcy . The average attendance at that time was only around 11,000, which was a significant competitive disadvantage compared to the 28,000 average for Chelsea . The rescue followed in the person of Sir Henry Norris , who - even though Chairman of FC Fulham - Arsenal bought up and the move to the north London to Highbury to the new Highbury Stadium drove forward. This took place three years later after Norris failed with plans to merge Arsenal with Fulham FC.

The last game at the Manor Ground was completed by Woolwich Arsenal on April 26, 1913, when they separated 1: 1 from Middlesbrough FC . Shortly after the club's relocation, the former venue became overgrown and was finally demolished and rebuilt. The property enclosed between Nathan Way, Griffin Manor Way and Hadden Road is now part of the industrial area.

The departure of Arsenal should be one of the decisive factors for the change of the Charlton Athletic club into professional business in 1920, which took over the former role of Arsenal as the main club in this region.

swell

  1. ^ The Knowledge (Guardian Unlimited)

literature

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