Charles Booth 1889 map - detail showing Lillie Bridge

The Lillie Bridge Grounds was a sports ground on the Fulham side of

West Brompton West Brompton is an area of south-west London, that straddles the boundary between the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham and Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. The centuries-old boundary was traced by Counter's Creek, now lost ...

, London. It opened in 1866, coinciding with the opening of West Brompton station. It was named after the local landowner, Sir John Scott Lillie (1790–1868) and the Lillie bridge over the West London Line, that links

Old Brompton Road Old Brompton Road is a major street in the South Kensington district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London. It starts from South Kensington Underground station and runs south-west, through a mainly residential area, until i ...

with Lillie Road. The grounds were adjacent to the railway on the south side of Lillie Road. Although geographically near to present day Stamford Bridge, there was never direct access, there being the 13 acre now defunct Western Hospital site between the two. The ground was the scene in its day of many sports including athletics, boxing, cricket, cycling and football, and hosted the

FA Cup Final The FA Cup Final, commonly referred to in England as just the Cup Final, is the last match in the Football Association Challenge Cup. It has regularly been one of the most attended domestic football events in the world, with an official atten ...

in 1873. It closed in 1888 following a riot reported in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...

''.

History

The London Athletic Club, founded in 1866, moved to the Grounds in 1869 where it stayed until 1876, prior to its transfer to Stamford Bridge. Meanwhile, the venue began hosting other sports including:

bicycle racing Cycle sport is competitive physical activity using bicycles. There are several categories of bicycle racing including road bicycle racing, cyclo-cross, mountain bike racing, track cycling, BMX, and cycle speedway. Non-racing cycling ...

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 ...

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 st ...

and

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat s ...

. There were also

hot air balloon festival Hot air balloon festivals are held annually in many places throughout the year, allowing hot air balloons operators to gather- as well as for the general public- to participate in various activities. They can include races; evening "night glows" ...

s and

county fairs An agricultural show is a public event exhibiting the equipment, animals, sports and recreation associated with agriculture and animal husbandry. The largest comprise a livestock show (a judged event or display in which breeding stock is exhibi ...

. It fell into disuse after a riot on 18 September 1888 following the cancellation of an athletics meeting at which 6,000 to 7,000 people had paid to watch and placed their bets. The ensuing riot destroyed the track and

grandstand A grandstand is a normally permanent structure for seating spectators. This includes both auto racing and horse racing. The grandstand is in essence like a single section of a stadium, but differs from a stadium in that it does not wrap al ...

, leading to closure the following year. This coincided with the development on the north side of Lillie Bridge, of John Robinson Whitley's 1887 Earl's Court Exhibition Grounds. This was transformed in 1937 into the internationally famous venue, which hosted the indoor Volleyball competition of the

2012 Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

before itself being consigned to demolition.

Athletics

Lillie Bridge was the home of the Amateur Athletic Club whose moving spirit was the

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

athlete,

John Graham Chambers John Graham Chambers (12 February 1843 – 4 March 1883) was a Welsh sportsman. He rowed for Cambridge, founded inter-varsity sports, became English Champion walker, coached four winning Boat-Race crews, devised the Queensberry Rules, staged the ...

and who helped to organise the Amateur Championships before they were held under the auspices of the Amateur Athletic Association. From 1867 to 1887, the annual athletics

Varsity match A varsity match is a fixture (especially of a sporting event or team) between two university teams, particularly Oxford and Cambridge. The Scottish Varsity rugby match between the University of St Andrews and the University of Edinburgh at Murrayf ...

between

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

and Cambridge Universities were held here before moving to

Queen's Club The Queen's Club is a private sporting club in West Kensington, London, England. The club hosts the annual Queen's Club Championships men's grass court lawn tennis tournament (currently known as the "cinch Championships" for sponsorship r ...

on the ground's closure. Many

World Record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

s were set at ''Lillie Bridge'', including for example, 6' 2.5" in the

high jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

in 1876 by

Marshall Brooks Marshall Brooks (30 May 1855-5 January 1944) was a nineteenth-century sportsman who was the British Amateur High Jump champion in 1874 and 1876, world record holder for the High Jump on three occasions, as well as a rugby union international wh ...

in front of a crowd of 12,000.

Boxing

The person to codify the Marquess of Queensberry Rules was

. The ground held the first ever

amateur boxing Amateur boxing is a variant of boxing practiced at the collegiate level, at the Olympic Games, Pan American Games and Commonwealth Games, as well as many associations. Amateur boxing bouts are short in duration, comprising three rounds of three ...

matches in 1867, cups being supplied by the Marquess of Queensberry.

Football

The Wanderers, after winning the first

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football compet ...

final in 1872, were allowed to defend the cup in the second final of 1873 with choice of venue. Not having a ground of their own, they chose Lillie Bridge and

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

were defeated 2–0. The attendance was over 1,000 higher than the previous final. Results of FA Cup Finals at ''Lillie Bridge''

Cricket

Middlesex County Cricket Club Middlesex County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Middlesex which has effectively been subsumed within the ceremonial ...

moved to Lillie Bridge in 1869.

WG Grace William Gilbert Grace (18 July 1848 – 23 October 1915) was an English amateur cricketer who was important in the development of the sport and is widely considered one of its greatest players. He played first-class cricket for a record-equal ...

scored several centuries here before the MCCC left in 1872 to find better quality turf at

Lord's Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England ...

. The club nearly folded at this time, a vote for continuing being won 7–6.

The grounds today

The LNWR opened its Brompton and Fulham Goods and Coal Station on the site in 1892. This was closed in the 1960s and the site was used for many years as a car park serving the

Earls Court Exhibition Centre Earls Court Exhibition Centre was a major international exhibition and events venue just west of central London. At its peak it is said to have generated a £2 billion turnover for the economy. It replaced exhibition and entertainment grounds, ...

. From 2012–2017 the site was being redeveloped as part of the Lillie Square housing scheme.

References

External links

Lillie Bridge
TheFA.com
British Library image 1 of posters for events at Lillie Bridge

British Library image 2 of posters for events at Lillie Bridge

Baily's Magazine of Sports & Pastimes (February 1870) – see page 191 for description of "The new grounds of the Amateur Athletic Club"
{{Authority control History of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham Former buildings and structures in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham Defunct athletics (track and field) venues in England Defunct cricket grounds in England Defunct football venues in England Defunct boxing venues FA Cup Final venues Cricket in Middlesex Cricket grounds in London Sport in Hammersmith and Fulham Sports venues completed in 1867 Defunct sports venues in London 1867 establishments in England Fulham