On the hunt for Leicester City's 'ghost grounds'

[davieG]

By Leicester Mercury  |  Posted: May 29, 2017

By John Hutchinson

Picture one

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Before they moved to Filbert Street in 1891, Leicester Fosse, founded in 1884, struggled to find a ground they could call their own, forcing them to stage their home games at five different venues in the city.

When they moved to Filbert Street as a Midland League side in 1891, and in their early days as a Football League club after 1894, the Fosse found themselves playing in a variety of venues nationwide.

Today, these sites give not the slightest hint that the Fossils played important matches there. They are 'ghost grounds'.

This week, we look at those sites in the city of Leicester which hosted Leicester Fosse games before their move to Filbert Street.

In subsequent weeks, we will revisit a selection of some of the 54 ghost grounds to see how Leicester Fosse fared at such unlikely-sounding venues as Raikes Hall Gardens in Blackpool, the Bromheads Ground in Loughborough, and New Brighton Tower.

Leicester Fosse's first-ever game, on November 1, 1884, was a 5-0 victory over Syston Fosse.

The match was played on a field close to where the Midland Railway's Leicester to Burton line crossed what is now Fosse Road South.

The railway bridge is still there. Westleigh Avenue now covers the site (picture one).

Picture two

Playing on Victoria Park

This choice of venue is hardly surprising as all 11 members of the Fosse team lived within a half-mile radius of the house with the garden shed where the club was founded.

This was at other end of Fosse Road, near to King Richard's Road.

A week later, their second game was a 1-1 draw against Wyggeston School. Several of the team had been pupils there.

The game was played on Victoria Park, which became the Fosse's home ground for the next three seasons (1884-1887).

They also returned to play there in 1888-89.

Until 1883, Victoria Park had been used as the Leicester Racecourse, before that moved to Oadby.

From 1884 onwards, Victoria Park's Italianate-style Racecourse Grandstand, which had been able to hold 800 spectators, became a changing pavilion for cricket, rugby union and football teams, including Leicester Fosse (picture two).

This pavilion was sited on the park near to the top of Regent Road.

It was badly damaged by a landmine in November 1940, resulting in its eventual demolition.

For their fourth season (1887-88), Leicester Fosse moved from Victoria Park to the Belgrave Road Cycle & Cricket Ground. This ground opened in 1880. It was a 10-acre site with a three-lap running track, a four-lap cycle track (both a mile long), pitches for cricket, football and rugby, a refreshment room and a grandstand.

It once famously staged Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show.

There were no changing rooms. According to a contemporary account, "the teams had to dress at the White Hart Hotel over a mile away."

Picture three

The 'Fossils' and the 'Ancients'

There were two White Harts within a mile radius of the ground. One was on Wharf Street. The other one was in Belgrave Gate.

Although this was further away from the ground, it was opposite the Eastgates Coffee House, where the Fosse held its AGM in 1887, and is the more likely site.

By this time, Leicester Fosse had 45 playing members and ran three teams.

Fosse's year at Belgrave Road was the second of the four seasons that they wore brown and blue halved shirts.

A history of Leicester Fosse, published in 1893, gives Fosse two nicknames, the 'Fossils' and the 'Ancients'.

Fosse's first-ever game at Belgrave Road was a 5-0 defeat against Notts County Reserves on October 22, 1887.

This fixture reflected Fosse's ambition in these pre-league days to attract a higher class of opposition.

Fosse's first-ever cup match was also at Belgrave Road.

They beat St Saviours 4-2 in the new Leicestershire Cup but the result was declared void due to bad light.

A week later, in a fixture against Burton Swifts, Fosse charged their fans an entrance fee for the first time.

Loughborough, Kettering and Rushden were some other teams who played Fosse at their new ground.

Leicester Tigers outbid the Fosse for use of the ground the following season (1888-89), forcing Fosse to return to Victoria Park.

The Belgrave Road Ground closed in 1892, to be replaced by the British United Shoe Machinery factory (picture three) together with terraced streets, which are still there, named after the contemporary Victorian generals Roberts, Buller and Macdonald.

Picture four

Dreadful state of the pitch

After four years of playing their home games at either Victoria Park or the Belgrave Road Ground, Leicester Fosse moved to the Mill Lane Ground for two seasons, between 1889 and 1891.

The Mill Lane Ground, owned by the Town Council, was a field at the canal end of Mill Lane, so called because it led to Swan's Flour Mill on the canal bank.

It was situated between Outram Street and a tree-lined dyke connected to the canal. It could hold up to 2,500 fans.

Contemporary reports include complaints about the dreadful state of the pitch.

During December 1890, games were cancelled because the weather conditions were so severe, with heavy snow falls and the canal freezing between West Bridge and Aylestone.

Leicester Fosse, whose fixture list was predominantly made up of friendly fixtures and Leicestershire Cup games, joined the FA in 1890.

In their first season at Mill Lane, the Fosse played in their chocolate brown and blue halved shirts (picture four).

In their second season, they changed their kit to white shirts and dark blue 'knickers' (picture five).

Picture five

Beaten by FA Cup finalists Notts

Mill Lane was the venue of Fosse's first-ever FA Cup match, which was against Burton Wanderers. Gate receipts were £15.

Two months later, 2,500 fans watched Fosse play Loughborough.

The match was abandoned due to fog, but no one told the Fosse goalkeeper Charlie Walker, who remained on the fog-shrouded pitch for another 20 minutes unaware that the game was over.

To improve their profile with a view to joining the Midland League, the Fosse played Aston Villa Reserves and Derby County Reserves at Mill Lane.

Leicester Fosse's last-ever game at Mill Lane was against beaten FA Cup finalists Notts County in a prestige game which generated a record £30 in gate receipts

In 1891, Leicester Corporation decided to build the present day Ullswater Street (picture six) over the Mill Lane ground as part of a plan to develop the area for housing.

Picture six

Football at Grace Road Cricket Ground

Mill Lane itself is now pedestrianised and runs through the centre of the DeMontfort University's main campus.

While researching for the 'Foxes Footsteps' series that appeared in the Matchday Magazine between 2006 and 2008, we established, for the first time, that Leicester Fosse's home ground in September and October 1891 was Grace Road Cricket Ground, home of Leicestershire County Cricket Club.

This had not been mentioned in any previous history books, which had assumed these games had been played at what later became the Electricity Sports Ground on Aylestone Road.

In the 1890s, Grace Road was known as Aylestone Road or Aylestone Park.

Grace Road opened as a cricket ground in 1878. Eight acres were devoted to cricket, and a bicycle path about half-a-mile in circumference encircled the ground.

There was also a hotel, stabling and grounds for lawn tennis and quoits.

In 1891-92, Leicester Fosse became members of the Midland League.

Unfortunately, the Fosse had just been evicted from their Mill Street Ground by the Town Corporation who wanted it for housing.

Fosse's proposed new Walnut Street ground (later known as Filbert Street) was not ready for the new season.

Leicestershire CCC came to the rescue, offering the temporary loan of their Grace Road ground.

This short sojourn at Grace Road is recorded on the cover of the Fosse season ticket for 1891-92 (picture seven).

Picture seven

Crowds never exceeded 300

In September and October 1891, Fosse played five friendly games (Football League teams Derby County and Notts County were visitors), an FA Cup game (against Small Heath, later Birmingham City) and two Midland League games (against Derby Junction and Grantham Rovers).

The ground's out-of-town location, poor transport links (one horse-drawn tram) and the popularity of the Tigers, who were playing at Fosse's old Belgrave Road ground, meant that Fosse's crowds never exceeded 300 at Grace Road.

By contrast, 4,000 fans watched the Fosse's first Midland League fixture at Filbert Street.

This was a game against Loughborough Town on November 14, 1891.

In 1901, Leicestershire CCC moved to the new Aylestone Road Cricket Ground (which later became the Electricity Sports Ground).

They returned to Grace Road in 1946.

All traces of Grace Road's use as the home of Leicester Fosse disappeared to such an extent that this fact was only rediscovered eight years ago.

    

[The_77]

Bookmarked to read tomorrow; in the meantime, I have to say we're so lucky to have John Hutchinson.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[katieakita]

So we played at the White Hart before Spurs, happy days

[thursday_next]

7 hours ago, davieG said:

They beat St Saviours 4-2 in the new Leicestershire Cup but the result was declared void due to bad light.

 

It must have been Mike Dean in one of his first appearances as a referee. When floodlights were invented, he had to raise his game considerably to xxxx us around.