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Older than the Football Association itself,
Notts County Football Club proudly hold the distinguished title of the
oldest league side
in the world.
Formed in 1862, a year
after Nottinghamshire's oldest football team, Worksop Town, the committee
that formed the Club adopted the policy to establish itself as a gentleman's
club. Perhaps this explains the inclination to ply their trade in their
early years at grounds that hosted cricket, then regarded as very much a
gentleman's game. They started out at
Park Hollow, which was part of the privately owned Park estate, next to Nottingham
Castle. For the first two years of their existence, they would play games amongst
themselves. It was only after a move to the vast
open space of the Meadows Cricket Ground, close to their present
home, that County finally stumped up the courage to exhibit
their interpretation of the infant game against
genuine opposition in a 20-a-side encounter. For
matches likely to attract larger crowds, County hired out the then
privately owned Trent Bridge Cricket Ground.
In October 1877, County moved
away from the town centre to the Beeston Cricket Ground. However, County
still intermittently continued to use Trent Bridge, and in November 1878
they played Derbyshire in one of the earliest known floodlit games of
football. By November 1880,
County were to move to yet another cricket ground, the Castle Cricket
Ground. This was much nearer to the town centre, and thus had the
potential to attract more spectators. However, within three years the Club
was on the move again. With Trent Bridge able to accommodate over 5,000
spectators, County decided to move in permanently,
replacing local rivals Nottingham Forest as the tenants of Nottinghamshire
County Cricket Club. County's
arrival in 1883 at Trent Bridge in place of Forest was believed to have
been engineered by the Cricket Club's secretary , Edwin Browne, who
immediately assumed a similar post with Notts County. It was here that
Notts put aside their former inclinations and turned professional in 1885,
becoming founder members of the Football League in 1888.
Whilst
the Club were to remain at Trent Bridge for the next 27 years, their tenancy
arrangement
with Notts CCC was far from perfect. Cricket
still took priority at Trent Bridge, and each September and April, County
had to find alternative venues for home fixtures.
Throughout
the 1880s County would again use The Meadows and the Castle Cricket Ground's
during the cricket season. Up until 1908, they also built some bridges
with their rivals Nottingham Forest, and as a result reached an agreement
to use whatever ground Forest had at the time when Forest were playing away from home.
It was quite obvious
that Trent Bridge was not a suitable long-term venue for a League team, although
unlike Bramall Lane and the County Ground in Northampton, the ground's
owners did at least permit County to rest a portable wooden stand on the
open touchline (though the Club had to move this stand occasionally to
prevent wear and tear on the turf). A more serious handicap was County's
lack of support whilst at Trent Bridge.
An
all-time low attendance for a normal scheduled League match was recorded
at the ground when an estimated crowd of 300 saw Notts entertain Crewe
Alexandra in Division Two, on 17 February 2020. Such a pitiful turn-out is
even more astounding in view of the fact that only a month later County
won the FA Cup, becoming the first 2nd
Division club to do so, with a 4-1 annihilation of Bolton Wanderers
at Goodison Park in front of 38,000 spectators. No
less baffling was one of the lowest
attendances ever recorded for a First
Division match at Trent Bridge, when 1,500 were estimated to have watched
Notts v. Preston North End on 27 March 2020, towards the conclusion of
County's best season in Division One for a decade.
Whilst
all was not so rosy on the pitch, County's were able to make a valuable
contribution to the future of a future international dominant force off
it, if only by mistake. In
1903, a textiles wholesale dealer in Italy, came to view the pink
shirts and the black slacks used by the recently formed Juventus Football
Club in Turin. So
impressed was he with the potential of the kit, that he
suggested to Juve that they enhance the quality of the the jersey by importing a more complete
design from England . The Club agreed, and, as the textile industry was synonymous
with Nottingham at the time, a Nottingham's textile manufacturer was
contacted. The Nottingham firm were ordered to produce a pink and black
jersey. However, this message was somehow mis-communicated along the way
and as a result, things did not quite go to plan. The
sample garment sent over from Turin did not help matters, as one of the companies clerks thought that the pink colour looked rather white and stained.
Indeed, he saw the similarity between the "stained" jersey and
Notts County's black & white jersey. As
a result, a black and white strip, rather than a black and pink strip. were shipped
out to Italy, hence the reason Juve wear black & white to this day. In 1997, Juve
returned the faux par when they choose to celebrate their centenary by
mistakenly playing the black and white strips of Newcastle United, rather than the
club that had removed the pink from their colours all those years ago.
As
early as 1905, the Football League had made it clear that County's
groundhopping arrangements were unacceptable, and that Notts must find a home
they could use all through the season. Apparently, a number of clubs
threatened by relegation had complained that whilst some teams had played
Notts at Forest's Town Ground when Trent Bridge was being used by the
cricketers, they had had to play their away fixture against Notts at Trent
Bridge. The League agreed this was hardly fair, and Notts began a
half-hearted search for new premises.
It was not until 1910 that they moved, the final impetus coming from Notts
CCC, who were anxious to see the footballers leave. There were complaints
about the damage the footballers were doing to the pitch, a weak argument
given the fact that the football pitch only marginally encroached onto the cricket
field on the Fox Road Side of the ground, an area used mainly as a
practice area by the cricketers. Perhaps feeling some pressure, Notts
decided to switch their 1st Round home tie in the FA Cup to Bradford City's
Valley Parade. A short time after, Notts finally found a place they could
call there own, with not a cricket ball in sight.
Meadow Lane was initially an open field next
to the cattle market. With great haste, County had contractors erect the
steelwork and roof of the Main Stand in just nine days for �3,000. interestingly,
this
was an identical stand to the one built at Forest's City Ground. Once the
whole stand had been fitted out, the cost rose to �10,000. At the South
End (now the Family Stand) a small wooden stand was actually floated
across the river from their old home at Trent Bridge. This was the oldest
stand in the country before it was torn down in 1978, and seated 1,400
people. The other two sides of the ground were open terracing. The
Sneinton side
terrace the
more interesting of the two. Covered, it had
an open stream
behind it
called Tinkers Brook, which ran down to the River Trent. A man with a
long pole
with a cane basket on the end
would be stationed by the brook to fish
out the ball during games.
Meadow Lane was opened with a First Division
match against Forest on 3rd September 1910. An estimated 28,000 witnessed
a 1-1 draw. The local newspaper reported the match as follows:
"There
were some rousing scenes on Saturday in connection with the County Ground
in Meadow Lane, the admirably equipped and splendidly compact new home of
the Notts. F.C. Spectators rolled up in numbers which had no parallel in
the club's long history, and on all hands was to be found evidence of the
interest and enthusiasm which the launching of the new undertaking had
aroused. Moreover the good wishes of the powers that be in the football
world, of the city fathers, who stand in position of landlords to the
club, and of friends and rivals alike, found hearty expression at a
function which the directors could not have had more convincing testimony
of the wisdom of their decision to acquire headquarters of their own. In
honour of the day, flags and bunting were freely employed around the
ground. The old club flag floated proudly from a lofty mast at the Meadow
Lane end, and in the opposite comer, a brand new emblem, mounted on a
flagstaff of Ruddington oak, presented by Major Ashworth, offered its mute
welcome to the thousands of spectators who came to witness the first
match."
During the First World War, Meadow Lane was taken
over by the army. A little known fact is that due to some unlucky cup
draws and the First World War, Notts did not play a cup tie at Meadow Lane
until January 1920.
In 1923 the club built a new stand on top of the Sneinton side banking, appropriately
called The County Road Side, after the road which ran behind it. The
terracing under the roof was wooden, and the stand sported a simple
triangular gable - a lovable feature retained at Meadow Lane ever since. In
1926, Notts were relegated
back to Division Two, not to
regain
elite status for another 55 years.
The 1925/26
season
also the first season in which accurate gate
figures were required by the Football league.
Notts registered an average of just under 15,000 with gates of over 30,000
for the visits of Leicester City, Fulham and Arsenal.
In the early
1930�s, Newark born Willie Hall would grace the Meadow Lane turf for the
Magpies, later made famous for his record five goals in an international
for England against Ireland in 1938.
In
the same year, the legendary William �Dixie� Dean played his last year in English football at
Meadow Lane, having scored a record 60 goals in a season for Everton,
twelve goals in five games for England and an astonishing 473 goals in 502
first class games.
Disaster
struck Meadow Lane in the 1940's, both natural and man-made. In 1941, despite or
because of a machine gun emplacement on the open Kop, Luftwaffe
bombs destroyed the northern wing of the Main Stand and cratered the pitch
so badly that County had to withdraw from the wartime League competition.
During the winter of 1946-47, when prisoners of war were used to clear the
pitch of snow, the Trent submerged Meadow Lane only marginally less than
the City Ground. Being further from the river banks and slightly higher,
Meadow Lane drained more quickly and suffered less than Forest's ground
and for a time the clubs again shared their facilities.
On a brighter note, Meadow Lane's golden age was
unquestionably a five year period shortly after the end of the Second
World War. The signing of England centre forward Tommy Lawton brought
crowds flocking to see the 3rd Division South club, average gates were
approaching 35,000 as Notts won promotion to Division Two in 1950, this,
to date, was the last season in which Notts were in a higher division than
Forest.
By
the time Lawton had moved to Brentford in 1951, he had made a total of 166
appearances, scoring 103 goals. In
January 1949
County also recorded
a record
League victory At Meadow Lane,
11-1 against Newport County in Division 3 South. Floodlights were
installed at Meadow
Lane in March
1953,
switched on for a friendly against
Derby County.
Highly appropriate,
given
that County's
opponents in the first ever Nottingham
floodlit game in 1878 had been Derbyshire. In
1962 the
lights were updated for modern usage, remaining in use for 30 years.
Meadow Lane
recorded its highest attendance of 47,310 in a 6th Round F.A.
Cup tie against York City in March 1955.
Sadly,
within ten years, the Club would see attendance slump to around 4,500.
With the City Council embarking on a slum clearance exercise on the
Meadows side of the Ground, Notts were deprived of much of it's working
class support. They would recover a little during the Jimmy Sirrell inspired early
1970's, but would slump again as their neighbours across the Trent
embarked on their quest for world domination.
Built in 1910, the
wooden Meadow Lane End stand had a great deal of sentimental and historic
value. However, in an attempt to modernise and also to meet
legislation, it
had to go. In its place arose a
huge, blank, brick wall, the back of an �800,000 sports complex, the
Meadow Club.
An
uglier solution could not have been found, for now the ground was
effectively three-sided, although there could be no doubt about the
standard of sporting facilities housed beyond that blank wall, and
it proved to
be a vital source of income for the Club with the executive
boxes installed at the summit..
In the shadow of Brian
Clough's outrageous success with Forest, average gates failed to rise
above 12,000 and the much needed percentage of away gate money taken by
visitors suddenly scrapped. With such low gates Notts decided that extra
accommodation behind the Meadow Lane goal would not be necessary and so
left a void between the goal and the wall.
The Meadow Lane End would remain this way for over a decade, with very
little else changing at at the ground during the 1980's. However, all
this was to change in dramatic fashion as the Club entered the 1990's.
The
process began when a
proposal was muted in 1989 for a all-purpose stadium for County &
Forest to ground share on the Wilford power station site. Whilst County
were quite keen on the idea, Forest supremo Brian Clough certainly was
not. Following the events of Hillsborough in April 1989, legal requirements
for clubs in the top two divisions to have all-seater stadiums forced
County's hand in having to redevelop Meadow Lane. With the Club in the top
flight, desperate to grab a share of the promised finances of the inaugural
Premiership the following season, the Club took a gamble and
built. Astoundingly, the Club constructed three new stands in the summer of 1992 for less than
�3m.
This was partly helped by record gate receipts
of �125,000 for an F.A.Cup 6th Round tie against Manchester City in
February 1991, but mainly at the expensive of the Club's best playing
staff, who the Club were forced to sell to fund the developments.
The Kop terrace at
the Cattle Market end was replaced by an enormous, steep, covered stand
held aloft by two partially obstructive steel posts. Initially shared,
it now houses up to 5,400 visiting supporters. Taking a leaf out of
Forest's book, the club name 'Notts County F C" is spelt out in
yellow seats amongst the black. Whilst not for the faint hearted, the
views from the summit towards the Trent and the south
of the county beyond, are quite are magnificent. With Forest's City Ground
also within view, is it any wonder that the County faithful didn't want to
take up residence at this end of the ground?. At you enter the rear of
the stand, you will be able to notice the reminisce of the old banked
terracing behind the stand, a fine memory of times gone by.
The new County Road
Stand, later to be renamed the Jimmy Sirrell Stand, has fortunately
reinstated
it's famous, classic, 1920's style triangular gable. One of only a few like it
left in the country, it announces the Club's year of establishment, 1862,
with the magpie flag proudly fluttering on flagpole high above. Fittingly,
the club have spelt out the word 'Magpies' in yellow seating amongst the
black seats. This stand, an entirely cantilevered affair, houses the more vociferous
of County fans,
though strangely, in the top right hand corner.
Back in the mid
1980's, a small token concrete 5 step terrace had been erected in front of
the unwelcoming Meadow Lane End wall. Thankfully in 1992, serious action
was taken to return Meadow Lane to a proper four sided stadium, with a genuine
stand being built in front of the sports hall, with up to 19 steps running down from the executive boxes to pitchside. A roof, which is supported by
one central post, and wind guards on either side of the stand, have been
fitted on what has become a family stand from which the playing staff no
longer emerge. Simple, yet effective "N C F C" letter have been
spelt out with yellow seating, keeping in tradition with the other two
stands. The highlight of the stand is the large electronic scoreboard which
hangs precariously
from the roof fascia. Judging by the amount of times the white 'Notts County
F.C.' lettering fails to remain attached to the sport hall, one would not
take up residence directly below. The sports hall now houses administration
offices and the Club Shop. The scoreboard, along
with the flash new floodlights, said at the time to be the brightest in
Europe, were switched on for the official opening of the new stands on
November 14th 1992 by the legendary Tommy Lawton.
Sadly, by the time the work
begun on all three stands, Notts were back into Division Two. The
gamble had failed to pay off, and it almost cost them their very
existence. Nevertheless, the final project for
the Club went ahead, as the 82 year-old Main Stand on the
Iremonger Road side of the ground, (named after 1920's Magpie's keeper,
Albert Iremonger, County's most capped player) was demolished. The new stand alone cost more
to build than the other three sides put together, and it's air of class
partly justifies this. Built in 1994, the Derek Pavis Stand, renamed after the Club's Life
President, accommodates the main
offices, changing rooms and banqueting facilities. On the half way line
are the team dugouts, sitting below the directors box, and an area
designed similar to the old Wembley Steps. A cantilevered roof covers most
of the stand, and necessary windbreaks sit on either side. The most striking
feature in the stand are the seats. Rather than following the
lettering format of the other three stands, the Club have imaginatively
used the seating to artistically 'sketch' two magpies, seemingly hovering above
for a better view of the action. A truly stunning addition to the
stand.
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From
North - M1 to junction 26 and pick up the A610 Nuthall Road into
Nottingham. Once in Nottingham City centre, follow signs for A606 Melton
Mowbray. Once you reach the BBC studios, continue down London Road. You
will see the Ground on your LHS, turn left at traffic lights into Meadow
Lane.
Nottingham
City Transport no.s 2, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 & 11 from Nottm City
Centre; Centrebus X6 (Grantham Bus Station - Nottm Friar Lane);
Trent Barton Keyworth connection (Nottm Broadmarsh Bus
Station - Keyworth) & Ruddington Connection (Nottm Broadmarsh -
Ruddington) all go down London Road, passing the Ground.
Nottingham
Midland - 1 mile. As
you come out of the main station entrance, turn left and then left again
onto Queens Road. Follow the road down to the dual carriageway and then
turn right onto London Road. The ground is now easily in view. Turn left
into Meadow Lane at next traffic lights.