HOME   CLUBS

 

Hucknall Town

Est. 1945

Venue

Watnall Road, Hucknall Tel: 0115 963026

Ground Capacity

2300

Home Strip

 Away Strip

Seating 480

Record Attendance

1871 v Bishops Stortford F.A.Trophy Semi-Final 2005
Who are ya? Town
What Division are you in? Step 2 - Conference North
Websites http://www.hucknalltownfc.com

 

You must have come in a taxi

From M1 J27 - Follow the signs for the A611 (Hucknall) off the sliproad. Go straight over two roundabouts (keeping to the right hand lane after the second roundabout) following the lane markings for A611 Hucknall. After 1.2 miles veer right, going through the traffic lights on to the dual carriageway, after 2 miles turn right at the next roundabout. Go straight over the next roundabout, and after 0.6 miles, turn right at the next roundabout onto Watnall Road. Entrance to the ground is 100 yards on the right.

From Nottingham - take the A60 (Mansfield) onto the A611 (Hucknall) for 5 miles. Prior to the junction with Nottm Rd, Hucknall, continue on the A611 by pass for a further 1.5 miles. At the roundabout turn left. Entrance to the ground is 100 yards on the right.

From Mansfield - Head south  on the A60. After 6.8 miles turn right onto the B6011 (Papplewick). Continue through Linby, over a roundabout and over the railway line for 2.8 miles onto a roundabout. Turn left onto the A611. Go straight over the next roundabout, and after 0.6 miles, turn right at the next roundabout onto Watnall Road. Entrance to the ground is 100 yards on the right.

  TrentBarton Hucknall Connect - a circular route from Hucknall  train station around Hucknall town passes the ground.

Hucknall - There is a rail link between Nottingham and Mansfield called the 'Robin Hood Line'. The ground is about a 20 minute to walk from the station. Leave the station and walk up Station Road to the traffic lights (cinema/bingo club on far corner), turn right to the next lights, turn left and this is Watnall Road. Keep walking straight on over the roundabout. Entrance to the ground is 100 yards on the right.

  Hucknall - Regular trams terminate here from Nottingham. Follow the instructions from the train station to get to the ground, or hop on the Hucknall Connect.

For a map of the location, Click here.

 

My garden shed is bigger than this

Adoring  the walls in the home changing rooms are two inspiring mottos spelled out in the Club's yellow and black - "A quitter never wins and a winner never quits" &  "Winning is all that matters". Both have clearly worked wonders on Town's players over the years given the miraculous rise and rise of this football club. Indeed it would not be unfair to state that Hucknall are well on the way to becoming the 21st Century Wimbledon F.C.

The Club was formed as a pit side following the end of the Second World War named Hucknall Colliery Welfare. Other than playing at the wonderfully named Wigwam Park first the first decade of their existence, their impact on the local scene was minimal. All this was to change in 1963, when the Club captured their first piece of silverware, the Notts Junior Cup, though few could have believed just what this success would spur the Club on to do.  The zero's to heroes snowball commenced with a 'double double' in the Bulwell and District League between 1963-65. Following a spell in the Noptts Spartan League, they were promoted to the Notts Alliance in 1970, where they would reside for the next 19 years. In their first season they won the N.A. Second Division, along with the N.A. League Cup. During their time in the Notts Allaince, they would also capture the First Division and Senior Division title on many occasions, as well as adding another N.A. League Cup victory, a last eight place in the F.A. Vase and their first Notts Senior Cup.

In October 1986, 121 years of mining history came to an end at Hucknall Colliery and this signified a name change for the Club to Hucknall Town. The success story continued unabated with the reserves capturing their first Notts Intermiediate Cup in 1988, and the first team promoted to the Central Midlands League in 1989. With so much success, it would be understandable if the 90's proved to be a consolidation period. Not a chance. In their first season in the CML, they completed a League & Cup double, a feat they would repeat the a year later, along with adding the Notts Senior cup for a second time. Promoted to the Northern Counties East League Divsion One in 1992, the Club gained instant promotion to the NCEL Premier Division. A year later they won the NCEL Cup, and by 1998 they'd completed a double & were promoted as champions to the Northern Premier League Division One. In the same year, they became the only side ever to capture both the Notts Senior and Intermediate Cup's through their first team and reserves respectively. 

In 1999 they won the NPL Division One and the Club spent the summer completing the necessary ground improvements to ensure entry into the NPL Premier Division. The Club celebrated the beginning of a new millennium with further success in the Notts Senior Cup, and amazingly repeating their Senior & Intermediate double of 1998. By 2004 the Club had remarkably won the Premier Division by nine points and were all set for the Conference. However, they were cruelly denied the opportunity to test themselves a league away from the 'big boys' due to tough ground grading regulations and had to be content in with a place in the new Conference North. The pinnacle of the Club's success story arose a year later, when they stunned the non-league world by reaching the final of the F.A. Trophy, only to go down narrowly on sudden-death penalties to Kent side, Grays Athletic.

In the 15 years it took the Club to rise from the depths of the Notts Alliance to the Conference North, Watnall Road has been transformed beyond recognition. The Club now have a stadium which the whole community can be proud. 

On the entrance path to the Ground the first thing you notice is that everything is decked out in yellow, there is no escape whichever direction you turn at Watnall Road. Once you've stuck your shades on, you notice that the old shed of a Social Club has been replaced by a spanking new facility, aptly named 'The Talk of the Town'. This is much more than a place just for a half time cup of tea, offering drinks, food and entertainment throughout the week. It also has extensive catering facilities for those wishing to hire out the splendid Byron Suite, named after Hucknall's famous son, Lord Byron. Favourite features include the numerous oppositions pendants hanging above the bar and the trophy cabinet, which now houses an F.A. Trophy Runners-Up Plaque, along with other various pieces of memorabilia.

Six tall and modern floodlights tower over the ground, each high standard holding three clusters each. all appear to have avoided a splattering of custard yellow at the time of going to press.

The traditional home end, the Doff Portland Stand, is a corrugated terrace occupying the majority of the Social Club end of the ground. The stand is set back a couple of meters from the pitchside barrier, enabling more room for level standing leading back to a three step terrace. The Stand is fully covered and held aloft by black nine steel beams, which can hamper the view a little on busier days. In recent years, an extra, slightly higher section has been added onto the end. The new section matches more closely he height of the Main Stand. to the rear of the added section are two large flag poles, one of which is guaranteed to be proudly flagging a yellow flag on matchdays. Refreshments can be sort  next to this part of the stand, from a burger van if The Talk of the Town is a bit busy.

At the opposite end of the ground is a simple four step open terraced area with a line of yellow crash barriers installed. Behind the steps is a 14-foot sloped graveled area, ripe for development. This end  backs onto a housing estate, an ideal location for Town supporters to set up home one would think. A high netting structure, held aloft by yellow posts, has been placed behind the stand to try and prevent any wayward shots landing in these 'free view' premises. A burger van is also available for refreshments if the trek over the other side of the ground is a little too much.

To the south of the ground is the Main Stand, the only area to offer seated accommodation. Fully covered, the stand running the length of the pitch. Two thirds (running from left-to-right) now house approximately 480 seats bolted onto the old four step terrace. There are four different blocks of coloured plastic seats, black, red, yellow, then red again. All have been added in stages, though it is clear that the yellow seats on the half way line are for the V.I.P.'s due to their colour and location. If at all possible, avoid the back row, as the view is slightly restricted. The remaining terraced area to the right of the stand is the traditional away supporters section, and can be segregated if needs be.

Very little has changed in recent years for spectators on the north side of the ground, in that the area offers open level standing to the backdrop of a tall wooden fence. Thankfully this means that the old dug outs are still neatly incorporated into the pitchside barrier which stands at four foot high, making it the least ideal spot for smaller children, unless they've brought a crate with them. The dug outs are tall enough to stand up in, and the home & away dug outs are divided by the customary yellow painted pitchside barrier. In the north east corner is the Club's impressive souvenir shop and changing rooms, covered in, you've guessed it, yellow paint.

If the truth be told, not many of Nottinghamshire's Club's grounds featured on this website offer estimated ground capacities, as they have never had their estimates tested. Watnall Road is an exception. Some analysts have put the capacity as anything up to 5000. This is not the case. When they sold out for their F.A. Trophy Semi-Final in 2005, the ground capacity was set at 1900 by Safety Officials. The fact this left plenty of standing room in the ground demonstrates that there is still plenty of room for improvement.

Future Plans

The Club have made a bid to move to a purpose built site across the road on Aerial Way, with planning permission. The capacity would be 3000, with the option to increase to 4000 should the Club win promotion to the Conference. This proposal has been rejected by the local council, but the Club intend to appeal. Watnall Road is set to be developed by March 2007 to increase the capacity to 3000. This will then bring the ground up to the new Conference North requirements.

 

Additional Photography

                                 

                          

      Click on a thumbnail to view a full size picture.

� Christopher Rooney  - permission required for photo & text usage

 HOME   CLUBS