Inside the 'rich history' of the War Memorial Athletic Ground ahead of 150th anniversary of Stourbridge FC
Stourbridge FC have played at the historic War Memorial Athletic Ground since 1888 and hope to celebrate the 150th year of the club there next season.
The famous war memorial archway, forms the entrance to the ground, and was designed by the Stourbridge Borough surveyor Geoffrey Ince at a cost of £200 and unveiled in December 1928.
In 1842, cricket began to be hosted alongside football as Stourbridge Cricket Club was formed and would attract thousands of spectators to Worcestershire County games which were hosted there from 1905-1962, with a further one staged in 1981.
The quirky nature of the ground, featuring a three sided football ground, and a pavilion and seating in front for the cricket team has always attracted admirers and visitors and it has never lost its character in this day and age of functional stadiums.
In 1974 a record crowd of 5,726 saw Stourbridge play the first leg of the Welsh Cup final against Cardiff City which they would lose 1-0, the same as in the return game at Ninian Park.
When Stourbridge were relegated from the Southern League after a 29 year stay to the Midland Alliance in 2000, crowds were down to 150 and there was little indication of ground problems that would follow.
Manager Joe Jackson led the Glassboys to back-to-back title wins, but the fact the ground was three sided meant at the time, Stourbridge couldn't go up.
That was rectified under Gary Hackett who led them back to the Southern League for the 2006-07 season and he would stay at the helm for 16 years, where his sides became renowned for long FA Cup runs.
The famous War Memorial Ground saw capacity crowds of 2,500 packing in for televised games against the likes of Northampton and Plymouth Argyle where the part time players would mix with the professionals and pundits like Chris Waddle and John Barnes would grace the TV gantry and enjoy a post match pint in the bar.
In recent years, Stourbridge have had a number of issues with the large covered enclosure behind the far goal which has been closed off a number of times.
This season, the covered enclosure by the side of the main stand has also been closed off in the second part of the season because of fears over subsidence.
Meetings have been held in recent weeks with council officials and building experts to assess the extent of the risk in keeping the stands open and it seems, unless something dramatic happens, it will be a different kind of ground people visit next season.
Comment Guidelines
Iconic Media encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.