The Lea Bridge Stadium 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 ...

and speedway stadium on

Lea Bridge Road Lea Bridge Road is a major through route in east London, across the Lea Valley from Clapton to Whipps Cross in Leyton. It forms part of the A104 road. Places served on the road are the Lea Valley Park, Lea Bridge railway station and the B ...

in the

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 ...

area of

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

. It was the home ground of

Clapton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a professio ...

between 1930 and 1937.

History

The stadium was originally a speedway venue, but also started hosting football matches in 1930 when Clapton Orient moved to the site, having been forced to leave their Millfields Road ground due to financial problems.Paul Smith & Shirley Smith (2005) ''The Ultimate Directory of English & Scottish Football League Grounds Second Edition 1888–2005'', Yore Publications, p83, At the time that Orient moved to the ground, spectator facilities included a covered stand on the southern side of the ground and embankments around the remainder. The first League match played at the ground was a 3–1 win against Newport County on 3 September 1930 with 5,505 in attendance.Smith & Smith, p75 A few weeks into the season, the Football League authorities notified the club that the gap between the edge of the pitch and the speedway track fence was too narrow, and that no more matches could be played at the ground until this was rectified. Whilst the works were carried out, Orient played two matches at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

; a 3–0 win over

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings wh ...

on 22 November (with an attendance of 10,300) and a 3–1 win against

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 ...

on 6 December (2,500). Further improvements were later made to the ground, including a covered stand on the northern touchline and concrete terracing on the west, north and eastern sides of the stadium. The works increased the capacity to around 20,000, and Orient's record League crowd of 20,400 was set on 13 March 1937 when

Millwall 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, eas ...

were beaten 1–0. Site of former Lea Bridge Stadium - 24 Rigg Approach Walthamstow London E10 7QN

In 1937 Clapton Orient moved to Osborne Road (later renamed

Brisbane Road Brisbane Road, originally known as Osborne Road, is a football stadium in Brisbane Road, Leyton, East London, England. It has been the home ground of Leyton Orient since 1937, before which it was the home of amateur football team Leyton F.C., ...

). The stadium continued to be used for speedway for one more season,Norman Jacobs (2001) ''Speedway in London'', The History Press and then lay derelict until being finally demolished in the 1970s. The site later became an industrial estate.

References

{{Leyton Orient F.C. Defunct football venues in England Leyton Orient F.C. Defunct sports venues in London Defunct speedway venues in England English Football League venues

History

See also

References