Memorial Grounds was an outdoor stadium in

West Ham West Ham is a district in East London, England and is in the London Borough of Newham. It is an inner-city suburb located east of Charing Cross. The area was originally an ancient parish formed to serve parts of the older Manor of Ham, a ...

that served as the home of Thames Ironworks F.C. from the beginning of the 1897–98 season, until the end of the 1899–1900 season. The team continued to play at the stadium, under its new name of

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

, until they moved to the

Boleyn Ground Boleyn Ground, often referred to as Upton Park, was a football stadium in Upton Park, London, Upton Park, east London, England. It was the home of West Ham United F.C., West Ham United from 1904 to 2016, and was briefly used by Charlton Athletic ...

in 1904. The Memorial Grounds stadium was situated at the east end of Memorial Avenue, close to where

West Ham station West Ham () is an interchange station in West Ham, London, England. It provides London Underground, Docklands Light Railway (DLR) and National Rail services. The station was opened in 1901 by the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway on the r ...

now stands.

Ground history

After being evicted from their previous permanent home at Hermit Road in October 1896, Thames' chairman Arnold Hills leased a temporary piece of land for the team at Browning Road,

East Ham East Ham is a district of the London Borough of Newham, England, 8 miles (12.8 km) east of Charing Cross. Within the boundaries of the Historic counties of England, historic county of Essex, East Ham is identified in the London Plan as a ...

. However, the new situation was not ideal, so Hills earmarked a large section of land in

for a new stadium to be built upon. The new home cost £20,000 of Arnold Hills' own money to build. The Memorial Grounds was opened on Jubilee Day, 22 June 1897, to coincide with the sixtieth anniversary of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

coronation A coronation ceremony marks the formal investiture of a monarch with regal power using a crown. In addition to the crowning, this ceremony may include the presentation of other items of regalia, and other rituals such as the taking of special v ...

. Aside from a football pitch, the stadium contained a cycle track, a cinder running track, tennis courts and one of the largest outdoor swimming pools in England. It was said at the time that the grounds, with a capacity of 100,000 spectators, were "good enough to stage an English Cup Final." In November 1897 Arnold Hills secured an agreement with

London, Tilbury and Southend Railway The London, Tilbury and Southend Railway (LT&SR), was a British railway company, whose network connected Fenchurch Street railway station, Fenchurch Street station, in central London, with destinations in east London and Essex, including , , , T ...

(LT&SR) to build a station at Manor Road. The LT&SR board approved this in February 1898 and Mowlem's was given the contract to build a four platform station, allowing for the proposed quadrupling of the line. The station was completed in May 1900 but did not open until 1 February 1901 as

. On 11 September 1897, in their first game at their new ground, Thames beat

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

1–0. In West Ham United's first game at the grounds in front of 2,000 spectators, in the Southern League on 1 September 1900, they won 7–0 against Gravesend United, with Billy Grassam scoring four. The Memorial Grounds was also home to National Cycle Union meets, hosted

speedway Speedway may refer to: Racing Race tracks *Daytona International Speedway, a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida. *Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta. *Indianapolis Motor Spe ...

and

motorcycle racing The motorcycle sport of racing (also called moto racing and motorbike racing) includes motorcycle road racing and off-road racing, both either on circuits or open courses, and track racing. Other categories include hill climbs, drag racing and ...

, and had the longest swimming pool in Britain. The faint outline of the cycle track remained visible on aerial photographs prior to the building of new football pitches at its north end at the turn of the 21st century. The venue was the first football ground to stage a boxing match, on 31 July 1909 when Johnny Summers beat Jimmy Britt in the ninth round of a 20-round contest. Nowadays, the site is a public park, known as Memorial Recreation Ground. It retains its sporting connection as the home of East London RFC, Kings Cross Steelers RFC and Newham Dockers Rugby League Club as well as having football facilities.

References

{{coord, 51.5281, 0.0103, type:landmark_region:GB-NWM, display=title West Ham United F.C. Defunct football venues in England Sports venues in London Sport in the London Borough of Newham Boxing venues in the United Kingdom Sports venues completed in 1897 Parks and open spaces in the London Borough of Newham

Ground history

See also

References