bw01
Cricket, Football
Rendel Grounds
54.972675, -1.658426
Benwell, Newcastle
Opened:
19th c
Closed:
20th c
Redeveloped
Condition:
Home Teams/Clubs:
Last Updated:
3 Jul 2023
Rendel CC, Rendel FC, Elswick Works CC
HER Description
NEHL - A cricket and football ground could be found off Charlotte Pit Lane at Benwell, named so as 'Charlotte Pit' was over the road from the site. It was the home ground of Rendel Football & Cricket Club, named so after the Rendel family. There were limited facilities in the 1890s, and will likely have been just ground markings.
Rendel Cricket Club composed the same team as they did football, and contemporary newspapers indicate they were very skilled in both. One such piece in 1889 states they have made a name for themselves in the football world. Cricket fixtures included matches against such teams as Medomsley.
Elswick Works CC also played at this ground from 1889. A piece in the Newcastle Journal of the same year notes "no establishment of Englishmen is complete without a cricket club", and from the many thousands employed by Sir Armstrong, "it ought not to be difficult to select an eleven of considerable strength". Some 200 men signed as being prepared to join, and use of the Rendel Football Club ground during the summer was obtained.
The football team played in the North Eastern Counties League in 1889, regularly beating competitors by sizeable margins. They also came against Newcastle East End, famously the team that went on to become Newcastle United.
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Historic Environment Records
Durham/Northumberland: Keys to the Past
Tyne and Wear: Sitelines
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