Kepier Haughs is a

haugh Haugh may refer to: People * Daniel Haugh (born 1995), American athlete *David Haugh (born 1968), American sports journalist *Gabrielle Haugh, American actress * John Haugh (1930–1998), Irish hurler * Kevin Haugh (1901–1969), Irish barrister ...

located to the north of

Kepier Hospital Kepier Hospital (properly the Hospital of St Giles of Kepier) was a medieval hospital at Kepier, Durham, England. Founding at Gilesgate The hospital was founded at Gilesgate, Durham, by Bishop Flambard as an almshouse "for the keeping of t ...

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city in north east England **County Durham, a ceremonial county which includes Durham *Durham, North Carolina, a city in North Carolina, United States Durham may also refer to: Places ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. It has been used as a rifle range and a sports field, as well as hosting a brick works. It was the home ground of Durham City

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club between 1920 and 1923.

History

The land originally belonged to the

, and on the dissolution of the monasteries, it was transferred to

William Paget William Paget may refer to: *William Paget, 1st Baron Paget (1506–1563), English statesman *William Paget, 4th Baron Paget de Beaudesert (1572–1629), English colonist *William Paget, 5th Baron Paget (1609–1678), English peer *William Paget, 6 ...

and John Cockburn, who sold it to John Heath in 1555. The land subsequently changed hands a few times, with mining works being established in 1822 and 1872. The site housed a brick works, which remained in use until the 1880s; this was dismantled in the 1890s, leaving only the kiln. The space was then used as a rifle range, with firing posts every 100 yards from a concrete target (also extant). The latter 500 yards of the range were removed in 1920, when Durham City moved to the ground.Paul Smith & Shirley Smith (2005) ''The Ultimate Directory of English & Scottish Football League Grounds Second Edition 1888–2005'', Yore Publications, p72, The only spectator facility was a wooden seated stand. In 1921 Durham were elected to the Third Division North of

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...

, and the first Football League match played at the ground on 3 September 1921 saw Durham beat

Southport Southport is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of ...

2–0 in front of 3,800 spectators. On 3 December 1921 the ground's record attendance of 7,886 was set for an FA Cup match against

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...

. However, the ground's location some distance from the city centre made it unpopular with supporters, and in 1923 the club relocated to Holiday Park, taking with them the wooden stand. The last League game played at Kepier Haughs was on 5 May 1923 when Durham beat Barrow 4–1 in front of only 1,000 spectators, equalling the lowest recorded attendance at the ground. The remaining 400 yards of the rifle range survived into the 1930s. By 2019 only the concrete frame of the target remained. The site was purchased by the

North Eastern Electric Supply Company The North Eastern Electric Supply Company (commonly abbreviated to NESCo) was responsible for the supply of electricity to a large amount of North East England, prior to the nationalisation of the British electricity industry with the Electricity ...

in the 1940s, with a view to constructing a

power station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the electricity generation, generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electr ...

on the site, and on nationalisation ownership was transferred to the

British Electricity Authority The British Electricity Authority (BEA) was established as the central British electricity authority in 1948 under the nationalisation of Great Britain's electricity supply industry enacted by the Electricity Act 1947. The BEA was responsible for ...

, which disposed of it in the 1950s. The former football ground is now used as a school playing field; the final 400 yards is pasture land.

References

{{reflist Defunct football venues in England Durham City A.F.C. Buildings and structures in Durham, England Sports venues completed in 1920 English Football League venues Sports venues in County Durham