Manor Ground, Plumstead
Encyclopedia
The Manor Ground in Plumstead
, south east London
was a football
stadium
which, between 1888 & 1890, and 1893 & 1913, was the home of the football club formerly known as Royal Arsenal, renamed Woolwich Arsenal in 1893, and later simply Arsenal F.C.
soon after they moved across London to Arsenal Stadium
, Highbury
.
, most likely by Glengall Road (now known as Tiller Road). After that, for the rest of the 1886-87
season, the newly-renamed team Royal Arsenal played on Plumstead Common
. They moved in September 1887 to a pig
field on Plumstead Marshes, which was renamed the Sportsman Ground after the Sportsman pub
nearby. They continued to play there for the next six months.
In 1888, after the Sportsman Ground had flooded, the club moved to the adjoining Manor Field (as it was originally known), which was soon renamed Manor Ground. The pitch was notoriously muddy and on its southern side ran a large open sewer
. There were no stands
as such; the club used wagon
s borrowed from nearby Army
bases to house spectators. The club's first match there was against Millwall Rovers
, on March 30, 1888; it finished 3-0 to Arsenal.
In 1890, Royal Arsenal decided to move to the much more suitable Invicta Ground
(which possessed a stand, terracing
and changing rooms), on the south side of Plumstead High Street. They stayed there for three years (in the meantime changing their name to Woolwich Arsenal, and turning professional), before leaving after the owner of the Invicta raised the rent on the ground. Arsenal bought the Manor Ground with money raised from a share
issue, erected a single main stand and banks of terracing, and moved back there before the start of the 1893-94
season, in time for the club's Football League debut. The stadium averaged a gate of 6,000 that season.
Woolwich Arsenal continued to play their home matches at Manor Ground for the next twenty years, with two exceptions. They were forced to stage one league fixture against Burton Swifts
at New Brompton's Priestfield Stadium
and one against Leicester Fosse
at Lyttelton cricket ground
, Leyton
in 1895; the Manor Ground had been closed by the Football League for a period of five weeks after crowd trouble
at a match against Burton Wanderers
in January of that year.
In 1904 a second stand was added (this was the first terrace in the country to be nicknamed Spion Kop
, although many other clubs, such as Liverpool
, also built eponymous stands that were better known). With the club having achieved promotion to the First Division
that year, with the additional capacity attendances reached over 20,000 for some matches. However, attendances soon dipped, thanks in no small part to the Manor Ground's relatively isolated location, in an industrial area with few local residents.
After years of financial precarity, in 1910 Woolwich Arsenal faced bankruptcy, with the club managing an average crowd of only 11,000, compared to Chelsea
's average gate of 28,000. That year, London property magnate and Fulham
chairman Sir Henry Norris
bought Arsenal out, rescuing the club, and he proceeded to move them all the way across London to the new Arsenal Stadium
in Highbury
three years later, after an attempt to merge Fulham and Arsenal failed.
Woolwich Arsenal played their last match at the Manor Ground on April 26, 1913, a 1-1 draw against Middlesbrough
watched by only 3,000 people. After they left, the ground soon fell derelict, and was eventually demolished and the land redeveloped. Today it is home to an industrial estate; the stadium's former site is roughly bound by Nathan Way, Griffin Manor Way and Hadden Road. Arsenal's departure was one reason for another local club, Charlton Athletic
, to turn professional in 1920 and taking their place as the area's main club.
Plumstead
Plumstead is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich. Plumstead is a multi cultural area with large Asian and Afro-Caribbean communities, in similarity to local areas such as Woolwich and Thamesmead...
, south east London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
was a football
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...
which, between 1888 & 1890, and 1893 & 1913, was the home of the football club formerly known as Royal Arsenal, renamed Woolwich Arsenal in 1893, and later simply Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
soon after they moved across London to Arsenal Stadium
Arsenal Stadium
Arsenal Stadium was a football stadium in Highbury, North London, which was the home ground of Arsenal Football Club between 6 September 1913 and 7 May 2006...
, Highbury
Highbury
- Early Highbury :The area now known as Islington was part of the larger manor of Tolentone, which is mentioned in the Domesday Book. Tolentone was owned by Ranulf brother of Ilger and included all the areas north and east of Canonbury and Holloway Road. The manor house was situated by what is now...
.
History
Under their original name of Dial Square, the club's very first match in December 1886 was on a field in the Isle of DogsIsle of Dogs
The Isle of Dogs is a former island in the East End of London that is bounded on three sides by one of the largest meanders in the River Thames.-Etymology:...
, most likely by Glengall Road (now known as Tiller Road). After that, for the rest of the 1886-87
1886-87 in English football
The 1886–1887 season was the 16th season of competitive football in England.-Events:* Dial Square FC are founded by workers at the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, and play their first match on 11 December...
season, the newly-renamed team Royal Arsenal played on Plumstead Common
Plumstead Common
Plumstead Common is a common in Plumstead, in the London Borough of Greenwich, south-east London. It is bound to the north by Old Mill Road and to the south by Plumstead Common Road. To the east lies Winn or Winn's Common...
. They moved in September 1887 to a pig
Pig
A pig is any of the animals in the genus Sus, within the Suidae family of even-toed ungulates. Pigs include the domestic pig, its ancestor the wild boar, and several other wild relatives...
field on Plumstead Marshes, which was renamed the Sportsman Ground after the Sportsman pub
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
nearby. They continued to play there for the next six months.
In 1888, after the Sportsman Ground had flooded, the club moved to the adjoining Manor Field (as it was originally known), which was soon renamed Manor Ground. The pitch was notoriously muddy and on its southern side ran a large open sewer
Sanitary sewer
A sanitary sewer is a separate underground carriage system specifically for transporting sewage from houses and commercial buildings to treatment or disposal. Sanitary sewers serving industrial areas also carry industrial wastewater...
. There were no stands
Stands
Stands may refer to:*The Stands, an English rock band*Bleachers, a seating or standing areas at a sports venue *Stand , a supernatural power in the manga and anime JoJo's Bizarre Adventure...
as such; the club used wagon
Wagon
A wagon is a heavy four-wheeled vehicle pulled by draught animals; it was formerly often called a wain, and if low and sideless may be called a dray, trolley or float....
s borrowed from nearby Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
bases to house spectators. The club's first match there was against Millwall Rovers
Millwall F.C.
Millwall Football Club is an English professional football club based in South Bermondsey, south east London, that plays in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football. Founded as Millwall Rovers in 1885, the club has retained its name despite having last played in the...
, on March 30, 1888; it finished 3-0 to Arsenal.
In 1890, Royal Arsenal decided to move to the much more suitable Invicta Ground
Invicta Ground
The Invicta Ground was a football stadium in Plumstead, south-east London, that was the home of Royal Arsenal between 1890 and 1893....
(which possessed a stand, terracing
Terrace (stadium)
A terrace or terracing in sporting terms refers to the traditional standing area of a sports stadium, particularly in the United Kingdom and Ireland...
and changing rooms), on the south side of Plumstead High Street. They stayed there for three years (in the meantime changing their name to Woolwich Arsenal, and turning professional), before leaving after the owner of the Invicta raised the rent on the ground. Arsenal bought the Manor Ground with money raised from a share
Share (finance)
A joint stock company divides its capital into units of equal denomination. Each unit is called a share. These units are offered for sale to raise capital. This is termed as issuing shares. A person who buys share/shares of the company is called a shareholder, and by acquiring share or shares in...
issue, erected a single main stand and banks of terracing, and moved back there before the start of the 1893-94
1893-94 in English football
The 1893–94 season was the 23rd season of competitive football in England.-Events:The 1893–94 season saw four of the most famous teams in English Footballing history join the Second Division: Liverpool, Newcastle United, Manchester City, and the first team based in London, Woolwich Arsenal...
season, in time for the club's Football League debut. The stadium averaged a gate of 6,000 that season.
Woolwich Arsenal continued to play their home matches at Manor Ground for the next twenty years, with two exceptions. They were forced to stage one league fixture against Burton Swifts
Burton Swifts F.C.
Burton Swifts were an English football club from Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire. The club ceased to exist in 1901 when they merged with Burton Wanderers to form Burton United.-History:...
at New Brompton's Priestfield Stadium
Priestfield Stadium
Priestfield Stadium is a football stadium in Gillingham, Kent...
and one against Leicester Fosse
Leicester City F.C.
Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester...
at Lyttelton cricket ground
Leyton Cricket Ground
Leyton Cricket Ground is a cricket ground in Leyton, London.-Cricket ground:...
, Leyton
Leyton
Leyton is an area of north-east London and part of the London Borough of Waltham Forest, located north east of Charing Cross. It borders Walthamstow and Leytonstone; Stratford in Newham; and Homerton and Lower Clapton in the London Borough of Hackney....
in 1895; the Manor Ground had been closed by the Football League for a period of five weeks after crowd trouble
Football hooliganism
Football hooliganism, sometimes referred to by the British media as the English Disease, is unruly and destructive behaviour—such as brawls, vandalism and intimidation—by association football club fans...
at a match against Burton Wanderers
Burton Wanderers F.C.
Burton Wanderers were a football club from Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England that spent three seasons in The Football League. In 1901, the club merged with Burton Swifts and formed a new club, Burton United.-History:...
in January of that year.
In 1904 a second stand was added (this was the first terrace in the country to be nicknamed Spion Kop
Spion Kop
Spion Kop may refer to:* Battle of Spion Kop, a battle fought during the Second Boer War in 1900 on Spioenkop , a hill in South Africa.* Spion Kop is a name for a number of sports terraces and stands....
, although many other clubs, such as Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
, also built eponymous stands that were better known). With the club having achieved promotion to the First Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
that year, with the additional capacity attendances reached over 20,000 for some matches. However, attendances soon dipped, thanks in no small part to the Manor Ground's relatively isolated location, in an industrial area with few local residents.
After years of financial precarity, in 1910 Woolwich Arsenal faced bankruptcy, with the club managing an average crowd of only 11,000, compared to 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...
's average gate of 28,000. That year, London property magnate and 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...
chairman Sir Henry Norris
Henry Norris
Sir Henry George Norris was an English businessman, politician and football club director, most famous for his chairmanship of both Fulham and Arsenal...
bought Arsenal out, rescuing the club, and he proceeded to move them all the way across London to the new Arsenal Stadium
Arsenal Stadium
Arsenal Stadium was a football stadium in Highbury, North London, which was the home ground of Arsenal Football Club between 6 September 1913 and 7 May 2006...
in Highbury
Highbury
- Early Highbury :The area now known as Islington was part of the larger manor of Tolentone, which is mentioned in the Domesday Book. Tolentone was owned by Ranulf brother of Ilger and included all the areas north and east of Canonbury and Holloway Road. The manor house was situated by what is now...
three years later, after an attempt to merge Fulham and Arsenal failed.
Woolwich Arsenal played their last match at the Manor Ground on April 26, 1913, a 1-1 draw against Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough F.C.
Middlesbrough Football Club , also known as Boro, are an English football club based in Middlesbrough, who play in the Football League Championship. Formed in 1876, they have played at the Riverside Stadium since August 1995, their third ground since turning professional in 1889...
watched by only 3,000 people. After they left, the ground soon fell derelict, and was eventually demolished and the land redeveloped. Today it is home to an industrial estate; the stadium's former site is roughly bound by Nathan Way, Griffin Manor Way and Hadden Road. Arsenal's departure was one reason for another local club, Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic F.C.
Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, in the London Borough of Greenwich. They compete in Football League One, the third tier of English football. The club was founded on 9 June 1905, when a number of youth clubs in the southeast London area,...
, to turn professional in 1920 and taking their place as the area's main club.