New Writtle Street Stadium was a
football and short lived
greyhound racing stadium located in
Chelmsford
Chelmsford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Southend-on-Sea and Colchester. It ...
,
Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...
, adjacent to the
Essex County Cricket Club ground.
Origins
The stadium was constructed on spare land on the north side of New Writtle Street c.1922.
Football
Chelmsford City
Chelmsford City Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Chelmsford, Essex, England. Currently members of they play at the Melbourne Stadium.
History Chelmsford
Chelmsford Football Club was established in 1878 by members of ...
moved into New Writtle Street in 1922.
[Steven Garner & David Selby (2001) ''Wheel 'em in: The Official History of Chelmsford City Football Club'' ]
The football club continued to play at the New Writtle Street ground, which the club purchased in 1939. During the early parts of World War II the ground was shared by
Southend United
Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of English football. Southend are known as ...
,
[Dave Twydell (2001) ''Denied F.C.: The Football League election struggles'' Yore Publications, pp60–61] before it became a
barrage balloon site in 1942.
[Mike Blakeman (2010) ''The Official History of the Eastern Counties Football League 1935–2010, Volume II'' ] The record attendance of 16,807 was set for a local derby with
Colchester United
Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1937, the club spent its earl ...
on 10 September 1949. Floodlights were installed in 1960 and several plans were made to increase facilities at the ground, including installing a swimming pool and building office blocks or a hotel, but none came to fruition.
[ The club's first floodlit game was against Wisbech Town on 21 September 1960, with the official opening coming in a friendly against ]Norwich City
Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...
on 3 October 1960.[
In 1997, the site was sold to developers and the club had to move out of Chelmsford. A housing estate now occupies the site.
]
Greyhound racing
On 23 September 1927, the London and Provincial Greyhound Racing Company bought land in Chelmsford to build a track, but stiff opposition resulted and the planned construction failed to materialise. However, on the 20 May 1932 the Mid-Essex Greyhound Racing Club raced for the first time at the stadium on New Writtle Street, home to Chelmsford Football Club and next door to the County Cricket Ground.
One year later, director AH Bradbury-Pratt began regular racing on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday evenings over 440 and 550 yards. The racing continued irregularly during the years 1935 to 1937 before finishing. A second spell of racing was submitted for planning by promoter Flight-Lieut CR Thomas in March 1946, finally starting in 1949 but once again the racing only lasted a few years. On both occasions the racing was independent (not affiliated to the sports governing body the National Greyhound Racing Club The National Greyhound Racing Club was an organisation that governed Greyhound racing in the United Kingdom.
History
The National Greyhound Racing Club (NGRC) was formed in 1928 and this body would be responsible for regulation, licensing and the ...
).
References
{{Chelmsford City F.C.
Defunct football venues in England
Sport in Chelmsford
Defunct sports venues in Essex
Sports venues demolished in 1997
Demolished sports venues in the United Kingdom
Defunct greyhound racing venues in the United Kingdom
Buildings and structures in Chelmsford (city)
Chelmsford City F.C.
Football venues in Essex