Groves Field was a football ground in the

Ashbrooke Ashbrooke is a residential area of Sunderland, North East England directly south and south-west of the city centre. Ashbrooke developed through the Victorian era as Sunderland's first suburb. Originally occupied by large middle-class families ...

area of Sunderland,

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 third home of Sunderland A.F.C, hosting the club between 1882 and 1883, and was Sunderland's last home South of the River Wear. Sunderland played at least five games at Groves Field, two friendlies and three competitive games in the ''Northumberland and Durham Challenge Cup'', a precursor to 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 ...

, and the only opportunity for competitive football for teams in the North East at the time. The first game at Groves Field was on 7 October 1882 and was a friendly against North Eastern, a team based in Heaton in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

. The match was abandoned with Sunderland 2 - 1 ahead; North Eastern disputed both of Sunderland's goals and left the field in protest. The first competitive game was in January 1883, a 12 - 1 victory over Stanley Star, a team from

Stanley, County Durham Stanley is a former colliery town and civil parish in County Durham, North East England. Centred on a hilltop between Chester-le-Street and Consett, the town lies south west of Gateshead. Stanley was formerly divided into three distinct sett ...

. Sunderland AFC left Grove Field in the summer of 1883, moving to Horatio Street in

Roker Roker () is a tourist resort and affluent area of Sunderland, North East England, bounded on the south by the River Wear and Monkwearmouth, on the east by the North Sea, to the west by Fulwell and on the north by Seaburn. It is administere ...

. The site of Groves Field, and the surrounding land became Ashbrooke Sports Club, a multi-purpose sports ground. Sunderland

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 str ...

Club relocated to the site in 1887, and the site still remains the home of Sunderland C.C and Sunderland R.F.C. (

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 ...

References

Defunct football venues in England Home Grounds of Sunderland A.F.C. Sports venues in Tyne and Wear {{England-sports-venue-stub