4894
Wrestling
Newcastle, Wrestling Ground
54.963634, -1.620452
Elswick, Newcastle
Opened:
1857
Closed:
1876
Redeveloped
Condition:
Home Teams/Clubs:
Last Updated:
8 Dec 2023
Wrestling Society of Newcastle
HER Description
The Redheugh Bridge and the notoriously dodgy car park below provide no clues that this was Newcastle’s first purpose built wrestling ground.
Not the WWE kind mind - more like the Greco Roman wrestling you might see during the Olympics.
It was opened in 1857 when Lord Decies, a Newcastle born military man and Olympian, paid for some stands to be used by the Wrestling Society of Newcastle.
Large scale meetings were held every Easter until 1876. At this point, the North Eastern railway absorbed the site to construct a large stables for their horses. They transported goods across the city and helped out in and under the goods depot.
From this year, the annual wrestling competition took place at the Northumberland Baths Cricket Ground. The main campus of Northumbria Uni stands here now.
Ordnance Survey, 1864
Pottery Lane Wrestling Ground in the 1860s or 1870s. Source: Newcastle Libraries via Played in Tyne and Wear by Lynn Pearson
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The site of the wrestling ground in 2023.
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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