Clifton Grove was a football ground in

Rotherham Rotherham () is a large minster and market town in South Yorkshire, England. The town takes its name from the River Rother which then merges with the River Don. The River Don then flows through the town centre. It is the main settlement of ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It was the home ground of the original Rotherham Town club.

History

The ground was opened on 26 September 1891 for a

Midland League The Midland Football League is an English football league that was founded in 2014 by the merger of the former Midland Alliance and Midland Combination. The league has four divisions that sit at levels 9–12 of the football pyramid. History T ...

game between Rotherham and Grantham Rovers.Paul Smith & Shirley Smith (2005) ''The Ultimate Directory of English & Scottish Football League Grounds Second Edition 1888–2005'', Yore Publications, p38, It was located to the east of Rotherham town centre and consisted of a covered seated stand on the northern touchline, which had been moved from the club's previous Clifton Land cricket ground and an open seated stand behind the eastern goal. In 1893 the club was elected to

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in Association football around the wor ...

, and the first League match at Clifton Grove was played on 9 September 1893, with Rotherham defeating

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in t ...

in front of 3,000 spectators. This was also the highest League attendance recorded at the ground, and was equalled on 1 September 1894 for a 3–1 defeat by Burton Wanderers. In 1896 the club was voted out of the Football League and subsequently folded. The last League game at Clifton Grove was played on 16 March 1896 with just 300 watching a 2–2 draw against Lincoln City. After the club folded, the ground was subsequently used for housing.

References

{{reflist Defunct football venues in England Sports venues in Rotherham Sports venues completed in 1891 English Football League venues Defunct football venues in South Yorkshire