bbcgull
Programmes Room Manager
Posts: 1,346
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Post by bbcgull on Nov 26, 2008 19:09:01 GMT
Seedhill : Nelson
Wiki states: The Seedhill Football Ground was a football stadium in Nelson, Lancashire. It was the home of current North West Counties League Division One side Nelson F.C. until 1968. Nelson later moved to Victoria Park, before the ground was demolished in 1980 to make way for the M65 motorway.
The highest attendance at the stadium was the 14,143 for the Third Division North match between Nelson and Bradford Park Avenue in April 1926.
The stadium was also used for Speedway and Stock car Racing from 1966, and was promoted by Mike Parker Promotions. The speedway team eventually moved to Bradford, though the stock cars remained until the demolition.
The ground was situated near to the Seedhill Cricket Ground, currently the home of Lancashire League cricket team Nelson Cricket Club, and the perimeter red brick wall is still visible on the Cricket Ground and Victoria Park sides.
The Stadium had a main stand on the Carr Road side built in 1922 which held 2000 people with concrete terracing on the lower half and a wooden covered upper area with bench seating. There was another single storey stand with just earth and cinder flooring behind the goals at the park end, which was called the scratting shed, and the team changing rooms were behind the town end goals. Two spectator bankings were situated on each corner - the one nearest Carr Road had a wooden building at the top which was called the 'Alpine Bar'.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Nov 26, 2008 20:50:03 GMT
I think this one comes under the "forgotten" category.
The story of Nelson FC is a reminder of the rapid expansion of the Football League in the early 1920s which saw league membership double within the space of two seasons. This was achieved by the creation of Division 3 South followed by Division 3 North.
In the main, this was extremely successful with many of the newcomers retaining league status to this day. But, fairly soon, there were casualties: Aberdare Athletic (which we replaced) and Merthyr Town in the south; Ashington, Durham City, Nelson, South Shields (transplanted to Gateshead), Stalybridge Celtic and Wigan Borough in the north.
Nelson's spell was short and sweet: Div 3 N champions in 1923; mixing it with Leeds, Sheffield Wednesday and Manchester United for a season in Div 2; out of the league in 1931.
If anything cricket was the bigger sport in the town, this being the golden era of the Lancashire leagues with the great West Indian Learie Constantine starring for Nelson CC.
I actually lived in Nelson for a while in the mid 1980s but I never set foot at Nelson FC nor Colne Dynamoes. I did have a brief conversation with a member of England's 1966 World Cup squad, his precise words to being "do you want mushy peas?". This was John Connelly (Burnley and Man U), proprietor of a chippy in nearby Brierfield. There can't be many fish and chip shops that ever displayed a framed painting of a cup final - Burnley v Spurs 1962.
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