Merchiston Park () was a football ground in

Bainsford Bainsford is a small village within the Falkirk council area of Scotland. The village is situated in the Forth Valley, north of the town of Falkirk. It is positioned between the River Carron and the Forth and Clyde Canal to the north and sout ...

, near Falkirk, which was the home of

East Stirlingshire F.C. East Stirlingshire Football Club is a Scotland, Scottish association football club based in the town of Falkirk. The club was founded in 1881 and competes in the , in the fifth tier of the Scottish football league system. The club's origins ca ...

between and 1920. It was near Main Street, just north of the

Forth and Clyde Canal The Forth and Clyde Canal is a canal opened in 1790, crossing central Scotland; it provided a route for the seagoing vessels of the day between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde at the narrowest part of the Scottish Lowlands. This allowe ...

at Bainsford Bridge.

History

Early years

was formed in 1880 when a group of friends from a cricket team called ''Bainsford Blue Bonnets'' formed a football team under the name ''Britannia''.Club History - 1880-1900
,

Retrieved 25 January 2013. At the end of the club's first year of existence it found a home at Randyford Park in the east of Falkirk. At the time, the ground's previous tenant was a cricket team called ''East Stirlingshire Cricket Club'' and in 1881, Britannia also adopted the East Stirlingshire name, which stands to this day. By 1882, East Stirlingshire is recorded as having played home games at Merchiston Park in

. The ground was located just west of Main Street and north of the

at Bainsford Bridge. One of the first matches at the ground under the East Stirlingshire name was against neighbours

Falkirk F.C. Falkirk Football Club is a Scottish professional association football club based in the town of Falkirk. The club was founded in 1876 and competes in Scottish League One, the third tier of Scottish football, as a member of the Scottish Prof ...

and ended in a 4–0 defeat for the home side.Falkirk FC Matches 1882-83
''oocities.org''. Retrieved 25 January 2013. The club was admitted to the second tier of the Scottish Football League in 1900 and played its first ever league game at Merchiston Park in August of the same year. The match was against Airdrieonians, in front of a crowd of 2,500 people, and ended in a 3–2 defeat.Club History - 1900-1940
,

Retrieved 25 January 2013.Results for East Stirlingshire for 1900-01
''londonhearts.com''. Retrieved 25 January 2013. In 1908, the whole ground was moved a few hundred metres south to make way for a new railway line, the Bainsford Branch, which bypassed Falkirk Grahamston railway station to the north.Grangemouth Railway (Forth and Clyde Canal Company)
''railbrit.co.uk''. 11 March 2012. Retrieved 25 January 2013. The line no longer exists and now forms the route of the A9 Falkirk Ring Road.

Move to Firs Park

The ground was closed completely in 1920 when the adjacent Burnbank Iron Foundry acquired the Merchiston Park grounds for expansion.Easton, T. (1907)
Museum & Archives Collection
Falkirk Community Trust. Retrieved 25 January 2013. The club then moved south of the canal to Firs Street in Falkirk, where Firs Park was located. It remained the club's home for 87 years, until 2008, when it was vacated due to the prohibitive cost of expanding the venue.Shire explain Firs Park Departure

BBC Sport BBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC, providing national sports coverage for BBC television, radio and online. The BBC holds the television and radio UK broadcasting rights to several sports, broadcasting the sport live or alongside flag ...

. 30 April 2008. Retrieved 25 January 2013. East Stirlingshire now plays its home games at

Ochilview Park Ochilview Park is a football stadium in Stenhousemuir in the Falkirk council area of Scotland. It is the home ground of Scottish League Two club Stenhousemuir, and is also currently shared by Scottish Championship club Queen's Park and Eas ...

, the home of neighbours Stenhousemuir F.C. in a

groundshare A groundshare, also known as a shared stadium or shared arena, is the principle of sharing a stadium between two local sports teams. This is usually done for the purpose of reducing the costs of either construction of two separate facilities and r ...

agreement. In 2012, East Stirlingshire opened a club shop in Bainsford, near to the former location of Merchiston Park, with the aim of recognising the club's historical roots.Shire go back to the future
Falkirk Herald. 1 June 2012. Retrieved 25 January 2013.

References

{{Football venues in Scotland Defunct football venues in Scotland East Stirlingshire F.C. Sports venues in Falkirk (council area) Scottish Football League venues Sports venues completed in 1882