Stoney Lane was a football ground in

West Bromwich West Bromwich ( ) is a market town in the borough of Sandwell, West Midlands, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is north-west of Birmingham. West Bromwich is part of the area known as the Black Country, in terms of geography ...

, England. It was the home ground of

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional Association football, football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English foo ...

from 1885 until 1900.

History

West Bromwich Albion moved to Stoney Lane in 1885 from their Four Acres ground in 1885. A 600-seat grandstand was built on the southern touchline, with open wooden stands on each side of the grandstand. Banking was raised on the northern touchline.Paul Smith & Shirley Smith (2005) ''The Ultimate Directory of English & Scottish Football League Grounds Second Edition 1888–2005'', Yore Publications, p126, In 1888 West Bromwich Albion were founder members 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, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

, and the first league match was played at Stoney Lane on 29 September 1888, with West Brom beating

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River ...

4–3 with 2,100 in attendance. The ground's record league attendance of 19,700 was set on 5 January 1895 when West Brom lost 5–4 to

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syst ...

, whilst the overall record attendance of 20,977 was set in March 1895, for Albion's 1–0 victory over local rivals

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Ro ...

in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competit ...

third round. At the end of the 1899–1900 season the club moved to

the Hawthorns The Hawthorns is an all-seater football stadium in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England, with a capacity of 26,688. It has been the home of Championship club West Bromwich Albion since 1900, when it became the sixth ground to be used by the clu ...

, taking the wooden grandstand with them. The final league match was played at Stoney Lane on 16 April 1900, with West Brom beating

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

8–0. Stoney Lane remained in use as a training ground for some time, and was later known as the Fairground because of its use by visiting fairs. It was used to build a housing estate in the 1980s. The area which was covered by the pitch is now a road named Albion Field Drive.

References

{{West Bromwich Albion F.C. Defunct football venues in England West Bromwich Albion F.C. Defunct sports venues in the West Midlands (county) Sports venues completed in 1885 English Football League venues 1885 establishments in England 1900 disestablishments in England Buildings and structures demolished in 1900

History

Related links

References