Eppleton Colliery Welfare Ground (often shortened to ''Eppleton CW'') is a football ground located in

Hetton-le-Hole Hetton-le-Hole is a town situated in the City of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England. It is in the historic county of Durham. A182 runs through the town, between Houghton-le-Spring and Easington Lane (the latter borders the County Durham Distri ...

in the

City of Sunderland The City of Sunderland () is a metropolitan borough with city status in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, North East England. It is named after its largest settlement, Sunderland, spanning a far larger area, including nearby towns i ...

Tyne and Wear Tyne and Wear () is a metropolitan county in North East England, situated around the mouths of the rivers Tyne and Wear. It was created in 1974, by the Local Government Act 1972, along with five metropolitan boroughs of Gateshead, Newcastl ...

. It was created as part of the miners' welfare in order to provide recreational facilities to the

coal miners People have worked as coal miners for centuries, but they became increasingly important during the Industrial revolution when coal was burnt on a large scale to fuel stationary and locomotive engines and heat buildings. Owing to coal's strategic ro ...

at the Eppleton Colliery. It featured facilities for both

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

and

Association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

. It became the home ground of Eppleton CWFC in 1929. The team folded in 2005. The ground was redeveloped in 1993 at a cost of £3m after Eppleton CWFC reached the

Northern League Division One The Northern League is a men's football league in north east England. Having been founded in 1889, it is the second-oldest football league in the world still in existence after the English Football League. It contains two divisions; Division O ...

. The main stand was rebuilt, incorporating a

cantilever A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is supported at only one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a canti ...

roof and seating for 250. In 2007, Sunderland Reserves moved to Eppleton CW after leaving

New Ferens Park Durham City Association Football Club is a football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is ...

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...

. It continues to be the home ground of Sunderland U23s, though academy rules mean they must play at least four games per year at the

Stadium of Light The Stadium of Light is an all-seater football stadium in Sunderland, England, and the eighth and current home to Sunderland A.F.C. With space for 49,000 spectators, the Stadium of Light is the ninth largest football stadium in England. ...

. It is also the home ground of Sunderland A.F.C. Ladies, who moved back to Eppleton CW in 2018 after spending one year at Mariners Park in

South Shields F.C. South Shields Football Club is a association football, football club based in South Shields, Tyne and Wear, England. The team competes in the Northern Premier League, the seventh tier of the English football league system. The third club of th ...

Eppleton CW is the home of

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

FA U18s teams, and is also the neutral venue for the final of the

Durham Challenge Cup The Durham County Challenge Cup (commonly known as the Durham Challenge Cup) is an annual football competition held between the clubs of the Durham County Football Association which was first played in 1884. It is the senior county cup for the ...

which has been contested since 1884. The final traditionally takes place every

Good Friday Good Friday is a Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary. It is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum. It is also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday (also Hol ...

. ''Hetton Burn'' runs alongside the West side of the ground. Behind the goal on the North side, is the Hetton Centre, a

community centre Community centres, community centers, or community halls are public locations where members of a community tend to gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may sometimes be open for the whole co ...

, evolved from the original miners' welfare building, operated by the Hetton Town Trust. The centre contains the

Bob Paisley Robert Paisley OBE (23 January 1919 – 14 February 1996) was an English professional football manager and player who played as a wing-half. He spent almost 50 years with Liverpool and is regarded, due to his achievements with the club, ...

Bar, named after the former

Liverpool F.C. Liverpool Football Club is a professional football club based in Liverpool, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Founded in 1892, the club joined the Football League the following year and has p ...

manager who was born in Hetton-le-Hole.

References

{{City of Sunderland Sunderland A.F.C. Football venues in England Sports venues in Tyne and Wear