The Manor Ground located in Plumstead, south east

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

was a football

stadium A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...

. This arena was the home of football club Royal Arsenal, which was later named Woolwich Arsenal, and as so came to be known as Arsenal F.C.

History

Under their original name of Dial Square, the club's very first match in December 1886 was on a field in the

Isle of Dogs The Isle of Dogs is a large peninsula bounded on three sides by a large meander in the River Thames in East London, England, which includes the Cubitt Town, Millwall and Canary Wharf districts. The area was historically part of the Manor, Ha ...

, that's close to Glengall Road which is now known as Tiller Road. After such, during the remainder of the 1886–87 season, the club which was newly renamed Royal Arsenal played upon

Plumstead Common Plumstead Common is a common and urban park in Plumstead in the Royal Borough of Greenwich ( SE18), south-east London. It is part of the South East London Green Chain. Location and geology Plumstead Common is bound to the north by Old Mill Roa ...

. They moved in September 1887 to a field on Plumstead Marshes, which was renamed the Sportsman Ground after the Sportsman

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

nearby. They continued to play there for the next six months. In 1888, after flooding to the Sportsman Ground, the club moved to the adjoining Manor Field which was soon renamed Manor Ground. The pitch was notoriously muddy and upon its southern border lay the Ridgeway containing the

Southern Outfall Sewer The Southern Outfall Sewer is a major sewer taking sewage from the southern area of central London to Crossness in south-east London. Flows from three interceptory sewers combine at a pumping station in Deptford and then run under Greenwich ...

that ended at Crossness Pumping Station. There were no stands as such as the club used

wagon A wagon or waggon is a heavy four-wheeled vehicle pulled by draught animals or on occasion by humans, used for transporting goods, commodities, agricultural materials, supplies and sometimes people. Wagons are immediately distinguished from ...

s borrowed from nearby

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

bases to house spectators. The Royal Arsenal's first match there was against

Millwall Rovers Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east o ...

on 30 March 1888, a game won by a margin of 3 goals to nil. In 1890, Royal Arsenal decided to move to the

Invicta Ground The Invicta Ground was a football stadium in Plumstead, south-east London, that was the home of club Royal Arsenal, now known as Arsenal. History Named after '' Invicta'', the motto of the county of Kent, the ground was Arsenal's first proper ...

which was more suitable as it possessed a stand, terracing and changing rooms. Whilst there they changed their name to Woolwich Arsenal and became a

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and ski ...

club. The side went on to leave the Invicta after three years as its owner raised the ground's rent. Arsenal bought the Manor Ground with money raised from an issue of shares, thereafter erecting a single main stand and banks of terracing. The club moved back there prior to the start of the 1893–94 season, just in time for its debut within the Football League. The stadium had an average attendance of 6,000 for that season. Woolwich Arsenal continued to play their home matches at Manor Ground for the next twenty years. As such there were two instances where they had to stage one league fixture against

Burton Swifts Burton Swifts Football Club was a football club based in Burton upon Trent, England. Established in 1871, the club joined the Football League in 1892, remaining members until merging with Burton Wanderers to form Burton United in 1901. Hist ...

at New Brompton's

Priestfield Stadium Priestfield Stadium (popularly known simply as Priestfield and officially known from 2007 to 2010 as KRBS Priestfield Stadium and from 2011 as MEMS Priestfield Stadium for sponsorship purposes) is a football stadium in Gillingham, Kent. It has ...

and another versus

Leicester Fosse Leicester City Football Club is an English professional association football, football club based in Leicester in the East Midlands of England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football league system, Eng ...

at Lyttelton cricket ground,

Leyton Leyton () is a town in east London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It borders Walthamstow to the north, Leytonstone to the east, and Stratford to the south, with Clapton, Hackney Wick and Homerton, across the River L ...

. During 1895 the Manor Ground had been closed by the Football League for a period of five weeks after crowd trouble at a match against Burton Wanderers in January of that year. Spion Kop, Manor Ground

In 1904 a second stand was added of which is the earliest known terrace in the country to be nicknamed as the Spion Kop. With the club having achieved promotion to the First Division that year, due to the additional capacity attendances reached over 20,000 for some matches. However, the numbers of these crowds soon dipped, thanks in no small part to the Manor Ground's being relatively isolated and located within an industrial area with few local residents. After years of financial precarity, in 1910 Woolwich Arsenal faced bankruptcy, with the club managing an average crowd of only 11,000, compared to

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's average gate of 28,000. That year, London property magnate and

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

chairman Sir Henry Norris bought Arsenal out to rescue the club, and he proceeded to move the club all the way across London to the new

Arsenal Stadium Arsenal Stadium was a football stadium in Highbury, London, which was the home of Arsenal Football Club between 6 September 1913 and 7 May 2006. It was popularly known as "Highbury" due to its location and was given the affectionate nicknam ...

Highbury Highbury is a district in North London and part of the London Borough of Islington in Greater London that was owned by Ranulf brother of Ilger and included all the areas north and east of Canonbury and Holloway Roads. The manor house was sit ...

three years later. This came after an unfruitful attempt to merge clubs Fulham and Arsenal. Woolwich Arsenal played their last game at the Manor Ground on 26 April 1913 in a 1–1 draw against

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

. Afterwards the ground soon fell derelict, and was eventually demolished with the land redeveloped. The stadium's former site is roughly bound by Nathan Way, Griffin Manor Way, and Hadden Road; it became an industrial estate for several decades until demolition in 2016, and in 2021 was set for residential use. Arsenal's departure saw another local club,

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in ...

, turn professional in 1920 and thus take their place as the main club of the area.

References

External links

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Satellite photo of the stadium site on Google Maps

Historical map of the Borough of Woolwich, Revised: 1893 to 1894 Published: 1897
{{Arsenal F.C. Arsenal F.C. home grounds Defunct football venues in England Sports venues in London Sport in the Royal Borough of Greenwich 1888 establishments in England Sports venues completed in 1888