Canal Street was a sports stadium used by Runcorn RFC and later Runcorn FC, in Canal Street, Runcorn, a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

now within the borough of Halton in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, and on the southern bank of the

River Mersey The River Mersey () is in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it has formed par ...

. It was also used for other sports.

History

Rugby league

The first owners of the Canal Street ground were Runcorn RFC, a

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

club formed sometime before 1886. In 1895 the club were one of the founders of the Northern Union, which later became the Rugby League. The club suffered badly during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and failed to return to the league after hostilities ended.

Football

At this point the ground was purchased by a R H Posnett, the owner of a local tannery company and was used by the Highfield and Camden Tanneries Recreation Club, who became known as Runcorn FC from 1918). The club continued to be run under the overall control of the tanneries until the football club became a limited company in 1953.

Rugby league returns in ground share

Huyton Rugby League Club moved to Canal Street under a ground sharing agreement with the football club from 1984–85 to 1989–90, changing their name to Runcorn Highfield RLFC.

Tragedy

The football club had mixed success on the field, but in later years had problems with the ground, which by the 1990s was in need of major works. Disaster struck three times off the field during the 1993–94 season. A first round FA Cup tie against

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's t ...

, attracted a larger crowd than expected. The away supporters gathered in a central position and although the ground attendants tried to split them they resisted. The result was that in order to get a better view of a goalmouth incident and Hull's first goal the crowd surged forward and the perimeter wall collapsed. Forty to fifty spectators were trapped and four spectators and a police constable were injured. The match was abandoned and replayed the following week at another local ground. Later in the season, the roof blew off a stand in high winds, and the main stand was gutted by fire. With the club's precarious financial position, and the cost of rebuilding their Canal Street home, Runcorn suffered on the pitch, resulting in relegation, which was to be the start of a downhill spiral.

Closure

The last competitive game to be played at Canal Street was on 5 May 2001 and resulted in a defeat 2–1 by Gateshead. Runcorn player Liam Watson scored the club's final goal in this match. At the end of the 2000–01 season, the football club, struggling with large debts and dwindling attendances, sold the ground and moved to

Halton Stadium The DCBL Stadium (historically known as Lowerhouse Lane and Naughton Park) is a rugby league stadium in Widnes, Cheshire, England. It is the home of Rugby League side Widnes Vikings of the Betfred Championship, and American football side Halt ...

, home of

Widnes Vikings The Widnes Vikings are an English rugby league club in Widnes, Cheshire, which competes in the Betfred Championship. The club plays home matches at the Halton Stadium. Founded as Widnes Football Club, they are one of the original twenty-two r ...

Rugby League Club, where they stayed for several years before again struggling financially and ground sharing with

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Iris ...

Haig Avenue Haig Avenue is a football stadium in Blowick, Southport, Merseyside, England, that holds 6,008 people (1,660 seated, 4,164 standing) Since its opening in 1905 it has been the home ground of Southport F.C. Everton Reserves also use the stadium f ...

and Prescot Cables at

Valerie Park IP Truck Parts Stadium, traditionally known as Hope Street, is a stadium in Prescot, Merseyside. It is located on Eaton Street in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley. It is home to Prescot Cables of the Northern Premier League. A.F.C. Liverp ...

, before finally folding at the end of the 2005–06 season. The ground itself, by now in a dilapidated and a dangerous condition, was sold to developers and is now a housing development, the Linnets Park housing estate

Note

A brief scribbled note on an old programme mentions the name "Pavillions" as being the home of Runcorn RFC. This error is repeated in several books and websites. This ground is not related to Runcorn RFC or Canal Street. It is in fact a recreation area on which sports are played and was used by Runcorn ARLFC, a junior team from the early 2000s, and who moved there from the start of the 2009-10 summer season (their 5th in the Summer Conference). It is on the Eastern end of Sandy Lane (between Western Point Expressway and Picow Farm Road), Runcorn. Prior to that Runcorn ARLFC had played at various grounds including at Moore, and moved to Pavilions from the fields to the rear of The Heath School, off Clifton Road, where they had played the previous season (2008–09). The club website became static during season 2009-10 and the club appeared to fold.

References

{{Reflist

External links

History of Runcorn FC
Runcorn Linnets
Canal Street stories are brought to book
Runcorn and Widnes Weekly News, 11 December 2008 Defunct rugby league venues in England Defunct sports venues in Cheshire Defunct football venues in England Runcorn