North Road (stadium)
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| Location | Newton Heath, Manchester, England |
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| Coordinates | 53°30′13″N 2°11′56″W / 53.50361°N 2.19889°W |
| Owner | Manchester Deans and Canons |
| Surface | Grass |
| Capacity | ~15,000 |
| Tenants | |
| Newton Heath F.C. (1878–1893) | |
North Road was a football stadium in the district of Newton Heath, Manchester, England. It was the first home of Manchester United Football Club – then known as Newton Heath Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway Football Club – from the club's foundation in 1878 to 1893, when they moved to a new ground at Bank Street, Clayton.
Originally, the ground consisted only of the pitch, around which an estimated 12,000 spectators could congregate. On the club's addition of stands in 1891 the capacity was increased to around 15,000. However, the football club split from the railway company by whom they were run and, without the company's financial support, they were unable to afford the rent on the ground and were evicted.
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[edit] History
[edit] Early years
Upon the foundation of Newton Heath L&YR F.C. at the request of the employees of the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway Company's Carriage and Wagon Works, it became apparent that the club would require a pitch upon which to play. Although in a prime location, adjacent to the wagon works,[1] the site chosen was a "bumpy, stony patch in summer, [and] a muddy, heavy swamp in the rainy months",[2] and owned by the Manchester Cathedral authorities. The railway company would pay a nominal rent to the authorities and then lease the football ground to the club.[3] Located adjacent to the railway line operated by the L&YR, the ground was often clouded with a thick mist of steam from the passing trains, and there was not even a place for the players to get changed on site. Instead, they had to change at The Three Crowns public house a few hundred yards away on Oldham Road.[4] Nevertheless, there may have been some refreshment facilities of some description for supporters at the east end of the ground.[1]
The first recorded matches at the ground took place in 1880, two years after the club's formation, and were mostly friendlies. The first competitive match held at North Road was a Lancashire Cup first round match against Blackburn Olympic's reserve team, played on 27 October 1883; Newton Heath lost 7–2. The details of the match attendance have been lost, though it is assumed that the ground was now enclosed as an entry fee of 3d was levied for the match.[5] Football became a professional sport in England in 1885, and Newton Heath signed their first professional players in the summer of 1886. Their income at the time was not sufficient to support the new wage bill, a problem they overcame through the extension of the 3d admission charge to all matches at North Road, later rising to 6d.[6]
[edit] Expansion and eviction
Records show that the ground originally had a capacity of around 12,000, but the club officials decided that they should be able to provide for more spectators if the club was to have any hope of joining the Football League.[7] Some level of expansion took place in 1887,[1] but in 1891, Newton Heath used what little financial reserves they had to purchase two grandstands, each able to hold 1,000 spectators. However, this transaction put the club at odds with the railway company, who refused to contribute any finance to the deal.[7] The two organisations began to drift apart from that point, and, in 1892, the club attempted to raise £2,000 in share capital to pay off the expansion of the ground.[8] The split also meant that the railway company now refused to pay the rent on the ground to the Manchester Cathedral authorities, who – to add insult to injury – then raised the rent.[9] Unable to afford the increased rent, especially as the Manchester Deans and Canons felt it inappropriate for the club to charge admission to the ground,[4] the Heathens were served with an eviction notice in June 1893.[10] The club's management had been seeking a new stadium ever since the first attempted eviction in May 1892, and they moved to a new ground on Bank Street, three miles away in Clayton.[10] They attempted to take the two grandstands with them, but the attempt failed and the stands were sold for just £100.[8]
[edit] Present
The stadium no longer exists, and North Road has been renamed Northampton Road.[1] After a spell serving as playing fields for locals, Moston Brook High School was opened on the site; however, the school was closed down in August 2000.[11] A red plaque could once be found attached to one of the school's walls at the location of the old stadium, as a marker of the social history of the city of Manchester,[12] but the plaque has since been stolen and not replaced.[13] Following the school's closure, the site was chosen by the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) as the location of the North Manchester Business Park in 2002.[14][15]
[edit] References
- General
- Inglis, Simon (1996) [1985]. Football Grounds of Britain (3rd edition ed.). London: CollinsWillow. ISBN 0-00-218426-5.
- James, Gary (2008). Manchester – A Football History. Halifax: James Ward. ISBN 978-0-9558127-0-5.
- McCartney, Iain (1996). Old Trafford - Theatre of Dreams. Harefield: Yore Publications. ISBN 1-874427-96-8.
- Shury, Alan; & Landamore, Brian (2005). The Definitive Newton Heath F.C.. SoccerData. ISBN 1-899468-16-1.
- Tyrrell, Tom; Meek, David (1996) [1988]. The Hamlyn Illustrated History of Manchester United 1878-1996 (5th edition ed.). London: Hamlyn. ISBN 0-600-59074-7.
- White, Jim (2008). Manchester United: The Biography. London: Sphere. ISBN 978-1-84744-088-4.
- Specific
- ^ a b c d James, p.392
- ^ Tyrrell et al., p.93
- ^ McCartney, p.7
- ^ a b Inglis, p.234
- ^ Shury, pp.6–7
- ^ Shury, p.8
- ^ a b White, p.21
- ^ a b White, p.23
- ^ Tyrrell et al., p.97
- ^ a b Shury, p.21
- ^ "Battle for Moston Brook lost". northmanchester.net. 16 April 2000. http://www.northmanchester.net/content/view/90/2/. Retrieved on 5 July 2009.
- ^ "Red commemorative plaques in Manchester". manchester.gov.uk. Manchester City Council. 17 November 2005. http://www.manchester.gov.uk/info/200064/local_history_and_heritage/1436/commemorative_plaques/3. Retrieved on 5 July 2009.
- ^ White, p.15
- ^ "NWDA formally makes Compulsory Purchase Order North Manchester Business Park". NWDA.co.uk (Northwest Regional Development Agency). 19 September 2002. http://www.nwda.co.uk/news--events/press-releases/200101/nwda-formally-makes-compulsory.aspx. Retrieved on 5 July 2009.
- ^ James, p.393
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