The Mount was a

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 ...

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 ...

Catford Catford is a district in south east London, England, and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Lewisham. It is southwest of Lewisham itself, mostly in the Rushey Green (ward), Rushey Green and Catford South Ward (electoral subdiv ...

, located in the south west corner of

Mountsfield Park Mountsfield Park is a public park in Catford, near to Hither Green within the London Borough of Lewisham. It opened in 1905 and has been greatly enlarged. The nearest railway stations are Hither Green, Catford and Catford Bridge. History of th ...

where football was played as early as the mid 19th century.

Catford Southend F.C. Catford Southend Football Club was an English association football, football club from Lewisham, London. Founded around the turn of the 20th century as an offshoot from a previous side, Catford Rovers, they played in various local leagues until jo ...

(founded c1900) eventually developed the land into a proper stadium with terracing. The Mount was unusual as it was elevated above the surrounding area and thus that may be a possibility for its name. The Mount was the polar opposite to The Valley, which was a sunken ground that was originally a chalk pit. The Mount was a more modest stadium, holding roughly 50,000 compared to The Valley's 75,000, and had an appearance like a

fort A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

owing to concrete pylons having to be raised to support the terraces which were erected on sloping ground (down hill). Charlton Athletic F.C. decided to move to The Mount for the 1923–24 season as they failed to fill The Valley with supporters. The Addicks also changed their kit colour to dark and light blue (the same as Catford Southend) sparking rumours of a merger. The move to The Mount and the construction works to improve the terracing were almost entirely funded by Harry Isaacs, owner of The Dartmouth Hotel public house in Laleham Road adjacent to the park, who was a passionate racing and football fan and son of Sam Isaacs, founder of the UK's first table service Fish & Chip Restaurant chain. The 1923–24 season was one of the wettest on record and being far from their fan base in Charlton it meant that attendances were very poor throughout the season. Added to this, the concrete pylons supporting the stands began to slide into the mud taking a bankrupt Harry Isaacs with them, and The Addicks back to The Valley the next season. Catford Southend remained a modest local team who eventually fell into obscurity. The stadium proved too big for them and so they also decamped. The Mount thus became vacant and fell into disrepair and, by the 1950s, had been completely demolished. The land still remains as a grassed area within Mountsfield Park.

References

Defunct football venues in England Charlton Athletic F.C. Catford English Football League venues {{London-sport-stub