Parkside was a rugby league

Rugby league

Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...

 stadium in Hunslet

Hunslet

Hunslet is an inner-city area in south Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is south east of the city centre and has an industrial past.Hunslet had many engineering companies based in the district, such as John Fowler & Co...

, Leeds

Leeds

Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...

, 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 home to Hunslet

Hunslet Hawks

Hunslet Hawks is a professional rugby league club based in Hunslet, West Yorkshire, England. The club, sometimes known as 'the Parksiders' after their former stadium, are currently champions of Championship One.-History:-Early years:...

 rugby league club and the source of their nickname the Parksiders.

Hunslet Hawks now play at the South Leeds Stadium which is less than half a mile from the former site of Parkside.

The Stadium

Adjacent to the rugby pitch, there was a bowling green and a cricket ground. Parkside's surface had the reputation as being the best in the game and was often used by touring Australian teams as a training ground.

The Mother Benson’s End was named after the old lady who washed the players’ kit and lived in one of the Low Fold farm cottages which were situated at that end of the ground.

History

Hunslet purchased at little cost 10.25 acres (41,480.3 m²) of waste land at Hunslet Carr from the Low Moor Iron and Coal Company and had to shift 2,000 tons of rubbish to create what would become Parkside, which they moved to in 1888.

The first game at Parkside was played on 11 February 1888, when they played and beat Mirfield.

Parkside's stand was burned down by vandals in 1971. Parkside was sold off to an industrial developer for around £300,000 in 1972. The last game at Parkside was on 21 April, 1973 against York. Parkside was demolished and Hunslet became tenants at the Elland Road greyhound stadium.