NEHL - The first ground of West Hartlepool Rugby Club was situated at Foggy Furze, though the exact location is unclear. The earliest reference of the ground in use for rugby is 1879, when the West Hartlepool Club and the Middlesbro' Rovers met on the 25th October 1879 at 3:15. It was the first match of the season and "is expected there [would] be a numerous assemblage of spectators".

By 1881 West Hartlepool were utilising a field at Middleton Grange lane.

There are a number of candidates for the location of the ground. There were enclosed rectangular fields to the west of the main village lane north of Rose Villa, a large open space at Stranton House and a rectangular boundary next to Haswell House. I have placed the marker at the first possibility as a small building is illustrated on the 1890s map, perhaps indicating the site of a clubhouse.