Kepier Haughs is a haugh located to the north of

Kepier Hospital Kepier Hospital (properly the Hospital of St Giles of Kepier) was a medieval hospital at Kepier, Durham, England, Durham, England. Founding at Gilesgate The hospital was founded at Gilesgate, Durham, England, Durham, by Ranulf Flambard, Bishop ...

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 No ...

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 has been used as a rifle range and a sports field, as well as hosting a brick works. It was the home ground of Durham City

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 the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

club between 1920 and 1923.

History

The land originally belonged to the

, and on the dissolution of the monasteries, it was transferred to

William Paget William Paget may refer to: *William Paget, 1st Baron Paget (1506–1563), English statesman * William Paget, 4th Baron Paget de Beaudesert (1572–1629), English colonist *William Paget, 5th Baron Paget (1609–1678), English peer *William Paget, ...

and John Cockburn, who sold it to John Heath in 1555. The land subsequently changed hands a few times, with mining works being established in 1822 and 1872. The site housed a brick works, which remained in use until the 1880s; this was dismantled in the 1890s, leaving only the kiln. The space was then used as a rifle range, with firing posts every 100 yards from a concrete target (also extant). The latter 500 yards of the range were removed in 1920, when Durham City moved to the ground.Paul Smith & Shirley Smith (2005) ''The Ultimate Directory of English & Scottish Football League Grounds Second Edition 1888–2005'', Yore Publications, p72, The only spectator facility was a wooden seated stand. In 1921 Durham were elected to the Third Division North of

the 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 ...

, and the first Football League match played at the ground on 3 September 1921 saw Durham beat

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 Irish ...

2–0 in front of 3,800 spectators. On 3 December 1921 the ground's record attendance of 7,886 was set for an FA Cup match against

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...

. However, the ground's location some distance from the city centre made it unpopular with supporters, and in 1923 the club relocated to Holiday Park, taking with them the wooden stand. The last League game played at Kepier Haughs was on 5 May 1923 when Durham beat

Barrow Barrow may refer to: Places England * Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria ** Borough of Barrow-in-Furness, local authority encompassing the wider area ** Barrow and Furness (UK Parliament constituency) * Barrow, Cheshire * Barrow, Gloucestershire * Barro ...

4–1 in front of only 1,000 spectators, equalling the lowest recorded attendance at the ground. The remaining 400 yards of the rifle range survived into the 1930s. By 2019, only the concrete frame of the target remained. The site was purchased by the

North Eastern Electric Supply Company The North Eastern Electric Supply Company (commonly abbreviated to NESCo) was responsible for the supply of electricity to a large amount of North East England, prior to the nationalisation of the British electricity industry with the Electricity ...

in the 1940s, with a view to constructing a

power station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many p ...

on the site, and on nationalisation ownership was transferred to the

British Electricity Authority The British Electricity Authority (BEA) was established as the central British electricity authority in 1948 under the nationalisation of Great Britain's electricity supply industry enacted by the Electricity Act 1947. The BEA was responsible for ...

who disposed of it in the 1950s. The former football ground is now used as a school playing field; the final 400 yards is pasture land.

References

{{reflist Defunct football venues in England Durham City A.F.C. Buildings and structures in Durham, England Sports venues completed in 1920 English Football League venues Sports venues in County Durham