Gay Meadow
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Gay Meadow was the home ground of
Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of English football. The club plays its home games at the New Meadow, having mo ...
football club in
Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...
,
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 ...
. Just outside the town centre, on the banks of the
River Severn , name_etymology = , image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG , image_size = 288 , image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle , map = RiverSevernMap.jpg , map_size = 288 , map_c ...
, it opened in 1910. The ground closed at the end of the 2006-07
Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
season and the club moved to a new stadium, provisionally titled The
New Meadow New Meadow, also known as Montgomery Waters Meadow for sponsorship purposes, is a stadium situated on the southern outskirts of Shrewsbury, Shropshire, between the districts of Meole Brace and Sutton Farm, and close to the A5 road (Great Britain) ...
, on the outskirts of the town. Local legend says that over 22,000 were inside the stadium for the league match against
Wrexham A.F.C Wrexham Association Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Wrecsam) is a Welsh professional association football club based in Wrexham, Wales. The team competes in the National League (division), National League, the fifth tier of the English foo ...
on 21 August 1950, although the official figure is given as 16,000. The official record attendance is 18,917, on 26 April 1961 against local rivals
Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...
. Because it had only one entrance/exit road, in the years following the
Taylor Report The Hillsborough Stadium Disaster Inquiry report is the report of an inquiry which was overseen by Lord Justice Taylor, into the causes of the Hillsborough disaster in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, on 15 April 1989, as a result of which, ...
the capacity of the ground was reduced from 16,000 to around 8,000.


Early history of Gay Meadow

Centuries before Shrewsbury Town occupied the site, Gay Meadow was known locally for the fairs, carnivals and circuses which took place there. The origin of the name is not entirely clear, although it is widely believed to related to its use for entertainment purposes. One suggestion by local historian J.L. Hobbs, is that it is of Norman influence and that the ground was a monastic park attached to
Shrewsbury Abbey The Abbey Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Shrewsbury (commonly known as Shrewsbury Abbey) is an ancient foundation in Shrewsbury, the county town of Shropshire, England. The Abbey was founded in 1083 as a Benedictine monastery by the Norm ...
. Other suggested origins are the Welsh word ''Cae'', a field, or Old English words ''galla'', barren wet land, or ''gat'', a goat. An alternative origin states that the land was originally owned by the Gay family, first represented by a 'Richard Gegh' (''sic'') of 'Monks Foriet' (later Abbey Foregate) recorded in 1349. In 1739, stuntman
Robert Cadman Robert Cadman or Robert Kidman (1711–2 February 1739) was an 18th-century steeplejack and ropeslider who between 1732 and 1739 performed feats of daring, ultimately by sliding or flying down a rope from St Mary's Church, Shrewsbury to the Gay ...
, a 'steeple-flyer', attempted to 'fly' across the River Severn using a rope attached to St Mary's Church at one side and a tree at Gay Meadow some two hundred feet below. Tragically for Cadman, the rope broke, and he plunged to his death.


First matches

In 1910, Shrewsbury Town were looking for a new ground to play at, having been told they could no longer use the Army-owned pitch at Copthorne Barracks. A consortium bought the site and leased it to the club. Despite objections from the local hospital, the Salop Infirmary, who feared crowd noise might disturb patients across the River Severn, the first official match took place on 20 August 1910, when a crowd of up to 1,000 watched a pre-season practice match between the 'Reds' and the 'Whites'. The first league game at Gay Meadow was between Shrewsbury Town and
Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...
Reserves, on 10 September 1910. Shrewsbury lost the match 2–1, with 'Shinton' scoring the first league goal for Wolves, and Billy Scarratt scoring Shrewsbury Town's first goal at the ground. Shrewsbury's first win at Gay Meadow occurred two weeks later against
Halesowen Halesowen ( ) is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, in the county of West Midlands, England. Historically an exclave of Shropshire and, from 1844, in Worcestershire, the town is around from Birmingham city centre, and from ...
.


Ground improvements

The ground did not see major improvements until the mid-1950s, when trees which lined the road to Gay Meadow (The Narrows) were felled to improve access. It was around this time that the club's supporters launched a floodlight committee in order to raise £12,000 for the installation of floodlights. On 25 November 1960, a crowd of 5,448 saw Shrewsbury Town beat
Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...
5–0 in a match to mark the installation of the lights. The previous Saturday, over 10,000 witnessed the turning on of the lights in the game against
QPR Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus R ...
which was a 3.15 kick off. The floodlights formed part of the Shrewsbury skyline for almost 47 years. 1965 saw new offices built at the club, with the Riverside terrace being built in the early 1970s. This terrace would gain legendary status amongst home fans in years to come. In the early 1980s, the club promotion to the old Second Division required further improvements. The old 600 seater Station Stand was demolished and a new 4,500 capacity centre stand built. Until the ground's demolition in 2007, this was the last major building work to take place at the ground. Minor changes in the 1990s included a new Executive Suite, a TV gantry in the main stand, the controversial demolition of the ground's wooden scoreboard, and, following the
Taylor Report The Hillsborough Stadium Disaster Inquiry report is the report of an inquiry which was overseen by Lord Justice Taylor, into the causes of the Hillsborough disaster in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, on 15 April 1989, as a result of which, ...
, the removal of perimeter fencing with the exception of the away Station end.


General overview

On the banks of the
River Severn , name_etymology = , image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG , image_size = 288 , image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle , map = RiverSevernMap.jpg , map_size = 288 , map_c ...
, the ground was surrounded by trees and parkland, with the town centre towering above the ground on the hilltop behind. A number of the town's landmarks, including
Shrewsbury Castle Shrewsbury Castle is a red sandstone castle in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. It stands on a hill in the neck of the meander of the River Severn on which the town originally developed. The castle, directly above Shrewsbury railway station, is a ...
and
Shrewsbury Abbey The Abbey Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Shrewsbury (commonly known as Shrewsbury Abbey) is an ancient foundation in Shrewsbury, the county town of Shropshire, England. The Abbey was founded in 1083 as a Benedictine monastery by the Norm ...
were visible from the ground. For many years, Shrewsbury
coracle A coracle is a small, rounded, lightweight boat of the sort traditionally used in Wales, and also in parts of the West Country and in Ireland, particularly the River Boyne, and in Scotland, particularly the River Spey. The word is also used of s ...
maker Fred Davies would sit in his coracle during
Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of English football. The club plays its home games at the New Meadow, having mo ...
home matches and retrieve stray footballs from the River Severn. Although Davies died long ago, his legend is still associated with the club. Due to the ground being rather small and cramped, between the river and a major railway junction, there was little scope for expansion or renovation. Access, via a small side street known as 'The Narrows', was poor and one of the main reasons the ground's capacity was reduced following the
Taylor Report The Hillsborough Stadium Disaster Inquiry report is the report of an inquiry which was overseen by Lord Justice Taylor, into the causes of the Hillsborough disaster in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, on 15 April 1989, as a result of which, ...
. Problems with evacuation and access for emergency services was one of the reasons cited by the club for moving to a new ground.


North

Station End - So-called due to its proximity to the town's railway station. A partially covered terrace, normally allocated to visiting fans, although it was also a home terrace until the 1970s. Its capacity, depending on the away allocation, ranged from 1,500 to 2,000. Unusually it kept the bottom half of its perimeter fencing right up until its final game, most other stadia in the country having removed theirs following the
Taylor Report The Hillsborough Stadium Disaster Inquiry report is the report of an inquiry which was overseen by Lord Justice Taylor, into the causes of the Hillsborough disaster in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, on 15 April 1989, as a result of which, ...
. It was also notable for housing the oldest working football
turnstile A turnstile (also called a turnpike, gateline, baffle gate, automated gate, turn gate in some regions) is a form of gate which allows one person to pass at a time. A turnstile can be configured to enforce one-way human traffic. In addition, a t ...
in the country, although this was only used on rare occasions. With the ground closed, the old turnstile sold for £3,050 at an auction staged at the ground on 17 June 2007, to a local Shrewsbury Town fan.


West

Riverside Terrace - So-called due to its position on the bank of the
River Severn , name_etymology = , image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG , image_size = 288 , image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle , map = RiverSevernMap.jpg , map_size = 288 , map_c ...
. The Riverside was a partially covered terrace running the length of the pitch, with a refreshments bar situated halfway along the terrace and roof mounted TV gantry (used only occasionally for high-profile matches). This part of the ground was where the most lively element of the home crowd were to congregate, with the most vocal of home chanting and support coming from supporters from 'The Riverside' with frequent exchanges with visiting fans often heard. Famously, stray footballs were often kicked over this stand into the Severn, to be retrieved by a man in a
coracle A coracle is a small, rounded, lightweight boat of the sort traditionally used in Wales, and also in parts of the West Country and in Ireland, particularly the River Boyne, and in Scotland, particularly the River Spey. The word is also used of s ...
named Fred Davies, (not to be confused with the manager of the same name).


South

Wakeman (or Tech) End - So-called due to the
Wakeman School The Wakeman School and Arts College (formerly Shrewsbury Technical High School) was a co-educational comprehensive school located in Shrewsbury, the county town of Shropshire, England. The school was the only state secondary school in the town ...
(formerly a
technical college An institute of technology (also referred to as: technological university, technical university, university of technology, technological educational institute, technical college, polytechnic university or just polytechnic) is an institution of te ...
) being directly behind it. It was an open terrace, with the windows of the school overlooking the pitch. This side of the ground along with the Riverside Terrace formed one large standing area for home fans, with movement unrestricted between the two. This often resulted in home fans congregating behind the goal on the Wakeman End when Shrewsbury Town were attacking in that direction - leaving the north part of the Riverside Terrace practically empty. The combined capacity of the Riverside and Wakeman Terraces was between 3,000 and 3,500 - depending on the size of the away following.


East

The east side of the ground was a covered, all-seater section. Limited seating for away fans was also available. The stand also boasted executive seating for VIPs, sponsors and guests, a TV gantry and press offices. The east side of the ground was also adjacent to the club's offices, function rooms and official player's/supporter's bar. Although consisting of a single stand generally referred to as the 'Main' stand, it was split into four enclosures, as follows: Wakeman Stand - So-called due to its proximity to the Wakeman School. A covered, all seater stand for 1,000 home supporters. Centre Stand - So-called due to forming the central part of the seated area. A covered, all seater stand for 1,000 home supporters. It also housed the directors' box. Family enclosure - This was a designated area for families consisting of 700 seats, with admission via designated 'family' tickets. Station Stand - A seated section for away fans, holding roughly 250 away fans


The move to New Meadow

Whilst Gay Meadow was well regarded by fans, and traditionalists within the English game, the ground was in a cramped location between the
River Severn , name_etymology = , image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG , image_size = 288 , image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle , map = RiverSevernMap.jpg , map_size = 288 , map_c ...
and a major railway junction. In addition, access to the ground was restricted to a narrow side street known locally as 'the Narrows. The poor access, and poor scope for evacuation in the case of emergency, meant that the capacity of the ground was cut to 8,000 by the early 1990s following stricter ground safety regulations that followed the
Bradford City stadium fire The Bradford City stadium fire occurred during a Football League Third Division match on Saturday, 11 May 1985 at the Valley Parade stadium in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, killing 56 spectators and injuring at least 265. The stadium was k ...
of 1985 and the
Taylor Report The Hillsborough Stadium Disaster Inquiry report is the report of an inquiry which was overseen by Lord Justice Taylor, into the causes of the Hillsborough disaster in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, on 15 April 1989, as a result of which, ...
which followed the
Hillsborough disaster The Hillsborough disaster was a fatal human crush during a football match at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, on 15 April 1989. It occurred during an FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest in the ...
of 1989. In addition, the ground's proximity to the river meant the ground often flooded in the autumn and winter months, leading to matches being postponed. Flooding also caused damage to offices and changing rooms. Shrewsbury had been considering relocation since 1986, when plans were drawn up for a new stadium to the north of the town and
Sainsbury's J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is the second largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, with a 14.6% share of UK supermarket sales. Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company wa ...
lined up to build a supermarket on the site of the old stadium. However, with Shrewsbury relegated from the old Second Division in 1989 and Sainsbury's developing elsewhere in the town, the plans were abandoned. In the 1990s, plans were made to redevelop Gay Meadow; however, with the poor access, capacity could rise to no more than 10,000. In 1999, recently elected chairman Roland Wycherley released plans for a new stadium, provisionally titled the
New Meadow New Meadow, also known as Montgomery Waters Meadow for sponsorship purposes, is a stadium situated on the southern outskirts of Shrewsbury, Shropshire, between the districts of Meole Brace and Sutton Farm, and close to the A5 road (Great Britain) ...
, a 10,000 all-seater stadium on the southern outskirts of the town between the
Meole Brace Meole Brace, sometimes known locally as simply Meole (pronounced like ''meal''), is a south-western suburb of Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The Rea Brook, a tributary of the River Severn, flows through the area. The brook was in the past kn ...
and
Sutton Farm Sutton Farm is a suburb on the south-east side of Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. History and topography Prior to becoming a possession of Shrewsbury Abbey, the manor of Sutton was recorded in the Domesday Book as belonging to Wenlock Priory. ...
districts. Amongst other things, opposition from residents delayed the planning and building process until 2006, with the ground not being completed until July 2007. The
New Meadow New Meadow, also known as Montgomery Waters Meadow for sponsorship purposes, is a stadium situated on the southern outskirts of Shrewsbury, Shropshire, between the districts of Meole Brace and Sutton Farm, and close to the A5 road (Great Britain) ...
has a 10,000 all-seated capacity, with the scope to expand to beyond 40,000. In addition, the ground has far better road links, more car parking, and, being well away from the river, is unlikely to suffer from flooding.


End of Gay Meadow

To fund the move, the Gay Meadow site was sold to property developers. The final season at Gay Meadow was 2006–07. Gay Meadow's final
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
tie was a goalless draw against
Hereford United Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'The ...
on 11 November 2006 in the first round (Shrewsbury lost the replay at
Edgar Street Edgar Street is a football stadium in Hereford and was the home of Hereford United Football Club from the club's formation in 1924 until December 2014, when the club was wound up. It is now the home of Hereford FC, a phoenix club formed to rep ...
). The last team to win a professional match at Gay Meadow were Shrewsbury's biggest rivals
Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...
, who won 1–0 at the second-to-last league game at the ground on 24 April 2007. The final League game played at Gay Meadow was against
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 ...
on 5 May 2007, a 2–2 draw, with Grimsby equalising in the final minute. To commemorate the day, a parade of former Shrewsbury Town greats was organised, with commemorative T-shirts being handed out to fans free of charge with donations for local charities instead. Defender
Kelvin Langmead Kelvin Steven Langmead (born 23 March 1985) is an English professional footballer who plays for Kettering Town. He began his career as a striker, but since September 2006 has been employed as a central defender, most notably for Shrewsbury Town ...
took the honour of being the final Shrewsbury Town goalscorer at the ground, although Grimsby's Nick Fenton scored the ground's final professional goal. The final senior competitive match held at Gay Meadow was against
Milton Keynes Dons Milton Keynes Dons Football Club (), usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. The ...
on 14 May 2007, the first leg of the League 2 Play-offs. The game finished 0-0. Before demolition, fans were given the opportunity to play on the pitch, in specially arranged friendly matches, and an auction was staged at the ground on 17 June 2007, where over 200 items were auctioned. In addition, 500 unsold seats were purchased by
League of Wales The Cymru Premier, known as the JD Cymru Premier for sponsorship reasons, is the national football league of Wales. It has both professional and semi-professional status clubs and is at the top of the Welsh football league system. Prior to 2 ...
side
Caernarfon Town Caernarfon Town Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl Droed Tref Caernarfon) is a semi-professional Welsh football club based in Caernarfon, Gwynedd. The club is nicknamed "the Canaries" because of its yellow and green strip, a nickname that dates from ...
, to be used in the redevelopment of a stand at their ground,
the Oval The Oval, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club since ...
. The final football match to be staged at Gay Meadow was the club's annual friendly fixture between Shrewsbury's 'Away Supporters' team and the Shrewsbury Town backroom staff on Friday 22 June. Alan Roberts, the club's police liaison officer, scored the only goal of the game, and thus the last goal at the ground. In September 2007 demolition of the stadium began, and by October 2007 the ground was reduced to rubble. The site was earmarked for residential building, with 150 flats scheduled to be built on the site. In 2009, building started on a number of luxury flats and it was completed in 2014. With the ground almost completely demolished, a charity
zip-wire A zip-line, zip line, zip-wire, flying fox, or death slide is a pulley suspended on a cable, usually made of stainless steel, mounted on a slope. It is designed to enable cargo or a person propelled by gravity to travel from the top to the bott ...
event was held on 14 October 2007. Over 100 townspeople 'flew' from the St. Mary's area of the town centre, over the River Severn to land on the Gay Meadow pitch, emulating Robert Cadman's heroic attempt in 1740. In addition, sections of the Gay Meadow turf were sold for a small fee for Severn Hospice, the organising charity. This was the final public event to ever take place at Gay Meadow before the re-development of the site.


References


External links

Photographs
BBC Panoramic view of Gay Meadow
{{Shrewsbury architecture Sports venues in Shropshire Defunct football venues in England Welsh Cup final venues Shrewsbury Town F.C. Buildings and structures in Shrewsbury Sport in Shrewsbury Sports venues completed in 1910 English Football League venues 1910 establishments in England Sports venues demolished in 2007 2007 disestablishments in England Demolished sports venues in the United Kingdom