The Chuckery was a

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 striki ...

and

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 ...

ground in the

Chuckery Chuckery is a small suburb of Walsall located a mile from the town centre. Name The name "Chuckery" is believed to originate from the common medieval word to describe a poultry farming area. Demographics Chuckery has a diverse ethnic mix, wit ...

area of

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 ...

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 home ground of the Walsall Swifts and Walsall Town football clubs until they merged in 1888, after which it was used by the new

Walsall Town Swifts Walsall Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Walsall, West Midlands, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club's nickname, "The Saddlers", reflects ...

club.

History

The Chuckery was located to the east of Walsall town centre, and had several different pitches which were used by Walsall Swifts and Walsall Town. When the two clubs merged in 1888, they continued playing at the Chuckery on the Town pitch. The Town pitch was chosen as it was located closer to the cricket pavilion, the only facility at the ground.Paul Smith & Shirley Smith (2005) ''The Ultimate Directory of English & Scottish Football League Grounds Second Edition 1888–2005'', Yore Publications, p35, In 1892 Walsall Town Swifts were elected to

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 League match at the ground was played on 3 September 1892, with Walsall losing 2–1 to Darwen in front of 4,000 spectators, also the highest League crowd recorded at the ground. Following complaints from local residents, the club left the ground to move to

West Bromwich Road West Bromwich Road was a sports ground in Walsall, England. It was the home ground of Walsall F.C. between 1893 and 1895, and again from 1900 until 1901. History Following complaints from local residents, Walsall left the Chuckery ground at the ...

at the end of the 1892–93 season.Fellows Park
Football Grounds Guide However, the first two matches of the 1893–94 season were played at

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 ...

in Wednesbury as the new ground was not yet ready. The final League match at the Chuckery was played on 15 April 1893, with 2,000 spectators seeing a 1–1 draw with Sheffield United. The site was later used to build housing.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chuckery Defunct football venues in England Defunct cricket grounds in England Defunct sports venues in the West Midlands (county) Walsall F.C. Cricket grounds in the West Midlands (county) Football venues in the West Midlands (county) Football Alliance venues