Drill Field
Full name | The Drill Field |
---|---|
Location | Northwich, Cheshire, England |
Coordinates | 53°15′29.82″N 2°30′38.69″W / 53.2582833°N 2.5107472°W |
Owner | Northwich Victoria F.C. |
Operator | Northwich Victoria |
Capacity | 6,000 |
Construction | |
Opened | 1875 |
Closed | 3 May 2002 |
Demolished | 2002; redeveloped for housing |
Tenants | |
Northwich Victoria F.C. (1875-2002) |
The Drill Field was a
Early history
The Drill Hall Field,[2] later simply the Drill Field, became the home of Northwich Victoria Football Club in 1875, who until that point had played at Stumper's Field, a short distance away next to the Hayhurst Bridge. The land for the Drill Field was, at first, used free of cost, and then leased from its original owners. The site was located on a field next to the Drill Hall in Leftwich, from which the ground took its name. The hall was built in 1867 and belonged to the 3rd Battalion, Cheshire Rifle Volunteers.[3]
Originally a piece of fenced-off land, a grandstand was constructed in the 1890s housing 600 spectators. During that period, from 1892 to 1894, the ground hosted League football for the only time in its long history, as Northwich Victoria became founder members of the Football League Second Division.
In 1912 a covered stand was constructed, which would later be moved to face the grandstand and became known as the Dane Bank Stand, due to its location beside the banks of the River Dane.[4]
In the early days of the Drill Field, there were no changing rooms or bathrooms, such facilities then were provided by local landlords.
In 1914, Northwich Victoria purchased the ground for £1,000 from Colonel Sir Thomas Marshall. 3 benefactors helped the club to pay this sum, they were
Final decade
In the summer of 1996, a plan to rebuild the Dane Bank Stand was announced in order to help the ground to meet Conference standards. The Sports Ground Initiative, a charity which provided money to Conference clubs to improve their grounds, donated £250,000 to the new stand, more than half of the total £450,000 cost of the stand. The stand was officially opened by former
Less than a month later on 12 February, the Drill Field hosted an England Under 16s match against Israel, featuring future Premier League players such as Wes Brown, Paul Robinson, Paul Konchesky and Yossi Benayoun.[7]
On 1 July 1999, the England Under 16s returned to the Drill Field for a match against France with future Premier League players such as Jermaine Pennant, Michael Chopra and Jérémie Aliadière making appearances.[8]
Demolition
The final game played at the Drill Field was a Mid Cheshire Senior Cup match against
Colwyn Bay FC
References
- ^ "Time Called on the Drill Field". BBC News. 19 October 2000. Retrieved 29 March 2010.
- ^ Northwich Guardian, Saturday 25 December 1875 - FOOTBALL. 25 December 1875.
- ^ "NVFC Club History (1874-2008)". Northwich Victoria F.C. Archived from the original on 23 January 2012. Retrieved 29 March 2010.
- ^ "Ground of the week: Drill Field". BBC London. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
- ^ "The Drill Field". pp. 9–11. Retrieved 14 September 2010.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Drillfielder Matchday Programme- Northwich Vics vs. Manchester United. 27 January 1998.
- ^ Drillfielder Matchday Programme- England v. Israel. 12 February 1998.
- ^ Drillfielder Matchday Programme- England v. France. 1 July 1999.
- ^ "FC United of Manchester - Blog Week Three on Site". fc-utd.co.uk. Retrieved 1 June 2015.