Manor Ground, Plumstead

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The Manor Ground in Plumstead, south east London was a football stadium that was the home of Woolwich Arsenal (later renamed Arsenal) between 1888 & 1890, and 1893 & 1913.

Royal Arsenal (as the club were originally named) first played on Plumstead Common, and then the grand-sounding Sportsman Ground (in reality, a pig field on Plumstead Marshes). 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 wagons borrowed from nearby Army bases to house spectators. The club's first match there was against Millwall Rovers, on February 11, 1888; it finished 3-3.

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, 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.

By this time, the club had erected a single main stand and banks of terracing; in 1904 a second stand, called the Spion Kop, was added – this was the first stand in the country to be called the Kop^[1], although many other clubs (such as Liverpool) also built eponymous stands that were much more well-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. 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 led to another local club, Charlton Athletic, turning professional and taking their place as the area's main club.

[edit] Footnotes

^ The Knowledge. Guardian Unlimited (2000). Retrieved on May 8, 2006.

[edit] References

Soar, Phil & Tyler, Martin (2005). The Official Illustrated History of Arsenal. Hamlyn. ISBN 0-600-61344-5.
Spurling, Jon (2004). Rebels For The Cause: The Alternative History of Arsenal Football Club. Mainstream. ISBN 0-575-40015-3.
A Conservation Plan for Highbury Stadium, London. Islington Council. Retrieved on March 20, 2006.