Crabble Stadium
Encyclopedia
Crabble Athletic Ground (also known as The Crabble or simply Crabble and currently known under the terms of a sponsorship deal as The Perrys Crabble Stadium) is a football
stadium
located in the northern Dover suburb of River, Kent
, England
. It was the home of the various incarnations of Dover F.C.
from 1931 until the club folded in 1983. Since then it has been the home of Dover Athletic F.C.
, and it was also the temporary home of Margate F.C.
between 2002 and 2004, when the club's Hartsdown Park
stadium was being redeveloped. The stadium has two seated stands and two covered terraces and holds a total of 6,500 fans, although in the past, crowds larger than that figure could be accommodated. It also has a clubhouse, which the club completely redeveloped in 2008.
In 1896, a syndicate of local businessmen began a project to create a sports complex at the site known as Crabble Meadows on the outskirts of Dover
. The word Crabble, which is also found in the name of a local corn mill, derives from the Old English crabba hol, meaning a hole in which crabs are found. The project was an extremely costly one but was completed in 1897, and football was first played on the Crabble site in the same year. In 1902, the original owners of the site, beset by financial problems, contemplated selling the land for redevelopment but eventually sold the site to the town council
for £5,500. The pitch was shared by the town's cricket
and football teams, with the cricketers being given priority, which meant that the football team was forced to begin and end its season either with a long run of consecutive away
matches or by playing matches at other, less satisfactory, venues in the town. To resolve the issue, the council opted to lay out a new football pitch further up the hillside, behind the lower pitch's pavilion. The first match played on the "upper pitch" took place in September 1931, with a small stand being constructed the following year. The football club then used the upper pitch whenever the lower pitch was unavailable due to cricket commitments.
Dover F.C. applied for permission to build a grandstand on the southern side of the "upper pitch" in 1947, but the application was rejected. Three years later, the club was permitted to extend the existing small stand on the opposite side and in 1951, Dover F.C. moved to the upper pitch on a permanent basis, initially paying the council rent of £300 a year. The final match on the lower pitch took place on 26 March 1951, and the first on the upper pitch was held eleven days later, when Fulham
were Dover's opponents in a friendly. Due to a shortage of bolts, the grandstand had not actually been completed at this time. Covered terracing at the Town End, where fans had previously stood on the hillside, was added soon afterwards. Floodlights were added in 1961 and inaugurated with a match against a Chelsea
XI.
Dover F.C folded in 1983, but the newly-formed Dover Athletic took over the ground and continued to make improvements. When the team won the Southern League championship in 1990, however, promotion to the Football Conference
was refused on the grounds that the stadium did not meet the standard required by the higher division. Subsequently, new turnstiles were installed and two new terraces were built behind the goals. The seating in the main stand was replaced and a second grandstand was added on the opposite side of the pitch. These improvements meant that the club was able to gain promotion after its second Southern League title in 1993. In the 2002–03
and 2003–04
seasons, Margate F.C.
played home fixtures
at the stadium while redevelopment work took place at their own Hartsdown Park
ground. What was originally intended to be a short-term arrangement ended up lasting for two years as the redevelopment work stalled.
Between 2003 and 2004, the ground was known as the Hoverspeed
Stadium under the terms of a sponsorship deal. In 2007, the club announced that under another such arrangement, the stadium would be known as the SeaFrance
Crabble Stadium, however a year later it was announced that the deal would not be renewed due to the ferry operator's financial constraints. On 1 July 2008, the club announced local car dealership Perry's as the club's new main sponsor, with the stadium being rebranded as the Perry's Crabble Stadium. In 2008 the club launched a project to replace the existing clubhouse with a new £200,000 building featuring a larger bar, better audio-visual facilities and a high quality kitchen. The club hopes the new building will become a popular venue for social and business functions.
as one of its home venues for first-class cricket
matches from 1907 to 1976, a total of 106 first-class matches being played there.
The stadium is known for its unusual location, being set into the side of a hill. It has two seated stands and two covered terraces. The Main Stand, which has been in place since 1951, occupies the length of one side of the pitch
and has a roof supported by numerous columns, which obscure the view for some fans. Identical covered terraces for standing spectators are behind both goals, which also suffer from an obstructed view. The small Family Stand occupies a portion of the side opposite the Main Stand. The remainder of this side of the ground is taken up by the clubhouse, toilets
and other club facilities. Unlike most football stadiums, the club directors' lounge is set atop one of the stands. In December 2009 the Football Association
gave the stadium's facilities an A grade, meaning that it meets the minimum standard for entry to the Football League
.
The stadium is approximately 1.5 miles (2 km) from Kearsney railway station
, which lies on Southeastern
's Chatham Main Line
from London Victoria
to Dover Priory
. Dover Priory itself is further away, but connecting bus services are available. Parking is available around the perimeter of the adjacent rugby
club.
on 13 October 1951. Current club Dover Athletic's highest ever home attendance was 4,186 for the visit of Oxford United
in the first round proper of the FA Cup
on 16 November 2002.
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
stadium
Stadium
A modern stadium is a place or venue for outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.)Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event...
located in the northern Dover suburb of River, Kent
River, Kent
River is a village and civil parish in Kent, England, United Kingdom, situated between the historic town of Dover and the neighbouring village of Temple Ewell. "Village" is a somewhat loose term for River; it is a community of several thousand and is probably more usefully regarded as a suburb of...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It was the home of the various incarnations of Dover F.C.
Dover F.C.
Dover F.C. was a football club based in Dover, Kent, England. The club joined the Kent League in 1894, but folded in 1901. Dover F.C. was revived a year later, this time as a purely amateur club, and rejoined the Kent League, but folded again in 1909...
from 1931 until the club folded in 1983. Since then it has been the home of Dover Athletic F.C.
Dover Athletic F.C.
Dover Athletic Football Club is an association football team based in the town of Dover, Kent, England. The club was formed in 1983 after the dissolution of the town's previous club, Dover, whose place in the Southern League was taken by the new club...
, and it was also the temporary home of Margate F.C.
Margate F.C.
Margate Football Club is an English football team based in the seaside resort of Margate, Kent, currently playing in the Isthmian League Premier Division. The club was known for a number of years during the 1980s as Thanet United....
between 2002 and 2004, when the club's Hartsdown Park
Hartsdown Park
Hartsdown Park is a football stadium located in Margate, Kent, England. It has been the home of Margate F.C. since 1929, apart from between 2002 and 2005, when the club was forced to share the grounds of other Kent clubs while protracted redevelopment work occurred.Although the football club was...
stadium was being redeveloped. The stadium has two seated stands and two covered terraces and holds a total of 6,500 fans, although in the past, crowds larger than that figure could be accommodated. It also has a clubhouse, which the club completely redeveloped in 2008.
History
Dover
Dover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings...
. The word Crabble, which is also found in the name of a local corn mill, derives from the Old English crabba hol, meaning a hole in which crabs are found. The project was an extremely costly one but was completed in 1897, and football was first played on the Crabble site in the same year. In 1902, the original owners of the site, beset by financial problems, contemplated selling the land for redevelopment but eventually sold the site to the town council
Town council
A town council is a democratically elected form of government for small municipalities or civil parishes. A council may serve as both the representative and executive branch....
for £5,500. The pitch was shared by the town's cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
and football teams, with the cricketers being given priority, which meant that the football team was forced to begin and end its season either with a long run of consecutive away
Road (sports)
Road game , more commonly known as an away game, is a reference to all cities and stadia/arenas/fields/venues where an athletic team plays games for which it is not the host. Most professional teams represent cities or towns and amateur sports teams often represent academic institutions...
matches or by playing matches at other, less satisfactory, venues in the town. To resolve the issue, the council opted to lay out a new football pitch further up the hillside, behind the lower pitch's pavilion. The first match played on the "upper pitch" took place in September 1931, with a small stand being constructed the following year. The football club then used the upper pitch whenever the lower pitch was unavailable due to cricket commitments.
Dover F.C. applied for permission to build a grandstand on the southern side of the "upper pitch" in 1947, but the application was rejected. Three years later, the club was permitted to extend the existing small stand on the opposite side and in 1951, Dover F.C. moved to the upper pitch on a permanent basis, initially paying the council rent of £300 a year. The final match on the lower pitch took place on 26 March 1951, and the first on the upper pitch was held eleven days later, when Fulham
Fulham F.C.
Fulham Football Club is a professional English Premier League club based in southwest London Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Founded in 1879, they play in the Premier League, their 11th current season...
were Dover's opponents in a friendly. Due to a shortage of bolts, the grandstand had not actually been completed at this time. Covered terracing at the Town End, where fans had previously stood on the hillside, was added soon afterwards. Floodlights were added in 1961 and inaugurated with a match against a Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
XI.
Football Conference
The Football Conference is a football league in England which consists of three divisions called Conference National, Conference North, and Conference South. Some Football Conference clubs are fully professional, such as Luton Town, but most of them are semi-professional...
was refused on the grounds that the stadium did not meet the standard required by the higher division. Subsequently, new turnstiles were installed and two new terraces were built behind the goals. The seating in the main stand was replaced and a second grandstand was added on the opposite side of the pitch. These improvements meant that the club was able to gain promotion after its second Southern League title in 1993. In the 2002–03
2002-03 in English football
The 2002-03 season was the 123rd season of competitive football in England.-Most Memorable rise:*Wigan Athletic marked their 25th season of Football League membership by winning the Division Two championship and reaching the league's second tier for the very first time.-Most Memorable...
and 2003–04
2003-04 in English football
The 2003-04 season was the 124th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:Arsenal completed the entire campaign without losing a single league game....
seasons, Margate F.C.
Margate F.C.
Margate Football Club is an English football team based in the seaside resort of Margate, Kent, currently playing in the Isthmian League Premier Division. The club was known for a number of years during the 1980s as Thanet United....
played home fixtures
Fixtures
A fixture is a legal concept that includes any physical property that is permanently attached or fixed to real property which once removed will cause [permanent] damage to the real property, usually land. If the property is not affixed to real property it is considered chattel property...
at the stadium while redevelopment work took place at their own Hartsdown Park
Hartsdown Park
Hartsdown Park is a football stadium located in Margate, Kent, England. It has been the home of Margate F.C. since 1929, apart from between 2002 and 2005, when the club was forced to share the grounds of other Kent clubs while protracted redevelopment work occurred.Although the football club was...
ground. What was originally intended to be a short-term arrangement ended up lasting for two years as the redevelopment work stalled.
Hoverspeed
Hoverspeed, formed in 1981 by the merger of Seaspeed and Hoverlloyd, was a ferry company that operated on the English Channel from 1981 until 2005....
Stadium under the terms of a sponsorship deal. In 2007, the club announced that under another such arrangement, the stadium would be known as the SeaFrance
SeaFrance
SeaFrance is a ferry company based in France that operates ferry services between Calais, France, and Dover, England.SeaFrance is 100% owned by the French railways, SNCF....
Crabble Stadium, however a year later it was announced that the deal would not be renewed due to the ferry operator's financial constraints. On 1 July 2008, the club announced local car dealership Perry's as the club's new main sponsor, with the stadium being rebranded as the Perry's Crabble Stadium. In 2008 the club launched a project to replace the existing clubhouse with a new £200,000 building featuring a larger bar, better audio-visual facilities and a high quality kitchen. The club hopes the new building will become a popular venue for social and business functions.
Other uses
The lower pitch at Crabble was used by Kent County Cricket ClubKent County Cricket Club
Kent County Cricket Club is one of the 18 first class county county cricket clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the county of Kent...
as one of its home venues for first-class cricket
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
matches from 1907 to 1976, a total of 106 first-class matches being played there.
Structure and facilities
Association football pitch
An association football pitch is the playing surface for the game of association football made of turf. Its dimensions and markings are defined by Law 1 of the Laws of the Game, "The Field of Play".All line markings on the pitch form part of the area which they define...
and has a roof supported by numerous columns, which obscure the view for some fans. Identical covered terraces for standing spectators are behind both goals, which also suffer from an obstructed view. The small Family Stand occupies a portion of the side opposite the Main Stand. The remainder of this side of the ground is taken up by the clubhouse, toilets
Washroom
A public toilet is a room or small building containing one or more toilets and possibly also urinals which is available for use by the general public, or in a broader meaning of "public", by customers of other...
and other club facilities. Unlike most football stadiums, the club directors' lounge is set atop one of the stands. In December 2009 the Football Association
The Football Association
The Football Association, also known as simply The FA, is the governing body of football in England, and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. It was formed in 1863, and is the oldest national football association...
gave the stadium's facilities an A grade, meaning that it meets the minimum standard for entry to the Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
.
The stadium is approximately 1.5 miles (2 km) from Kearsney railway station
Kearsney railway station
Kearsney railway station serves Kearsney in Kent. It is served by Southeastern.The station and the line it serves were built by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway as the station for Temple Ewell and the parish of River. The community of Kearsney grew around the Railway Bell Hotel which was on...
, which lies on Southeastern
Southeastern (train operating company)
London & South Eastern Railway Limited, trading as Southeastern is a train operating company in south-east England. On 1 April 2006 it became the franchisee for the new Integrated Kent Franchise , replacing the publicly owned South Eastern Trains on the former South East Franchise...
's Chatham Main Line
Chatham Main Line
The Chatham Main Line is a British railway line that runs from either London Victoria to Dover Priory / Ramsgate or London St Pancras to Faversham, with both services travelling via Medway...
from London Victoria
Victoria station (London)
Victoria station, also known as London Victoria, is a central London railway terminus and London Underground complex. It is named after nearby Victoria Street and not Queen Victoria. It is the second busiest railway terminus in London after Waterloo, and includes an air terminal for passengers...
to Dover Priory
Dover Priory railway station
Dover Priory railway station is the main station in Dover in Kent, with the other station being Kearsney situated on the outskirts of Dover. . All train services are provided by Southeastern...
. Dover Priory itself is further away, but connecting bus services are available. Parking is available around the perimeter of the adjacent rugby
Rugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
club.
Records
The highest attendance ever recorded at the ground was recorded when "just under 7,000" fans were in attendance for a match between Dover F.C. and FolkestoneFolkestone F.C.
Folkestone Football Club was the name of two English football clubs based in the town of Folkestone, Kent. It is unclear if the two clubs were in fact connected, but neither has any formal connection to Folkestone Invicta, who took over the Cheriton Road stadium after the demise of Folkestone F.C....
on 13 October 1951. Current club Dover Athletic's highest ever home attendance was 4,186 for the visit of Oxford United
Oxford United F.C.
Oxford United Football Club is an English association football club based in Oxford, Oxfordshire. The club play in League Two, following promotion from the Conference National in May 2010. The club had been a non-League side since their relegation from the Football League in the 2005–06 season. The...
in the first round proper of the FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
on 16 November 2002.