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11811

Football, Rugby Union, Greyhound Racing

Horsley Hill Road

54.989861, -1.416143

South Shields

Opened:

1902

Closed:

1966

Redeveloped

Condition:

Home Teams/Clubs:

Last Updated:

20 Jun 2022

South Shields RLFC (1902 - 1904), South Shields Adelaide (1908 - 1930), South Shields RUFC, South Shields FC (1936 - 1950), National Greyhound Racing Club (1933 - 1966)

HER Description

"Shown on Ordnance Survey third edition. Did retain ridge and furrow (HER 11719). Now built over." - Sitelines

"South Shields RLFC were established in 1902 and played at Horsley Hill during the 1902–03 and 1903–04 seasons. They were voted out of the league at the end of the 1903–04 season.

The ground was then used by a rugby union club, with South Shields Adelaide moving to the site from their Stanhope Road ground in 1908. At the time the only spectator facility was a pavilion behind the eastern goal line, but by 1916 two stands had been built; an uncovered seated stand on the northern touchline and a covered main stand with a paddock in front on the southern touchline.

In 1919 South Shields F.C. were elected to the Second Division of the Football League. Horsley Hill underwent further development, with new terracing built, covered areas being installed behind the eastern goal and on the northern touchline, whilst the main stand was also extended. The first Football League match was played at the ground on 6 September 1919, with 18,000 watching a 2–0 win over Fulham. A record attendance of 24,348 was set for an FA Cup fifth round match against Swansea Town on 19 February 1927.

In 1928 the club was relegated to the Third Division North. By then attendances had dropped sharply, with just 1,239 watching a match against Rotherham United on 1 February 1930. At the end of the 1929–30 season the football club moved to Redheugh Park in Gateshead, becoming Gateshead A.F.C. The club's last match at Horsley Hill was played on 3 May 1930, with 1,752 spectators watching a 2–2 draw with Accrington Stanley.

After a new South Shields football club was formed in 1936, they started playing at Horsley Hill.However, disagreements with the stadium owners who ran the greyhound racing, they left in 1950 to play at Simonside Hall." - Wikipedia, Creative Commons Licence

The pitch was enveloped by a greyhound track from 1932 and continued through to the venue's demise in 1966. It collapsed due to financial difficulties.

Ordnance Survey

Ordnance Survey, 1915

'Sketches of The Coal Mines in Northumberland and Durham' T.H.Hair, published in 1844

Horsley Hill Stadium, 1932. Source: Chronicle

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'Sketches of The Coal Mines in Northumberland and Durham' T.H.Hair, published in 1844

Horsley Hill Road during a local fair, undated. Source: Shields Gazette

Historic Environment Records

Durham/Northumberland: Keys to the Past

Tyne and Wear: Sitelines

HER information as described above is reproduced under the basis the resource is free of charge for education use. It is not altered unless there are grammatical errors. 

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Historic Maps provided by

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Historic Ordnance Surveys provided by National Library of Scotland

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