Hyde Road Stadium

[Lovebitesandeveryfing]

No remnants of the stadium remain at the site - not even a Blue plaque commemorating the spot. However, one piece of the ground survived into the 21st century! Part of the roof at Halifax Town's Shay Stadium, was the original roof at Hyde Road ( picture below from 2006 - the piece of roofing at the far left)
I don't know if that stand / roof has been replaced since.
View attachment 73141

The Skircoat West Stand, apparently. Whoever's written the Wiki article doesn't seem to be aware of where part of that roof came from. It's interesting, isn't it, to learn that stadia could be cannibalised like that. I'm sort of surprised that it was worth their while shipping that roofing across the Pennines. I suppose it was free, or sold for a pittance to make it worth their while.
Big leap in my mind from there to this, but I've always mused about where the very fine stonemasonry and roofing from the hundreds of ecclesiastical buildings ended up after the 1536-9 Dissolution of the Monasteries. Much of it must have been looted and gone into farmhouses, some of which are probably still standing.

 

[AliBobbyJ]

Big leap in my mind from there to this, but I've always mused about where the very fine stonemasonry and roofing from the hundreds of ecclesiastical buildings ended up after the 1536-9 Dissolution of the Monasteries. Much of it must have been looted and gone into farmhouses, some of which are probably still standing.

Only on Bluemoon could a thread go from Halifax Town F.C. to 'Enery VIII!
Re. stealing stones for farmhouses see also the many missing bits of Hadrian's Wall.

 

[Didsbury Dave]

My grandad was born in Ardwick in 1899 & started going to watch city when he was aged 7, used to tell me about how a lot of the young lads used to stand in "kids corner"?
He used to tell me a lot of stories about watching city, going to the first game at Maine Road, The record crowd V Stoke, Max Woosnam etc but sadly I was really to young to take it all in, just wish I could go back & talk to him again,
I think a lot of the recruits for the first world war enlisted at the "City Gates" or "Hyde Road Hotel" as it would have been at the time.

So you have a family lineage going right back to the club’s origin. That’s cool mate.

 

[WestGorton]

My Grandad stood on Hyde Road before the first world war. Walked from Longsight. He forged his papers and joined the Navy at 15 and fought in The Battle of Jutland

 

[Gary James]

Yes! (From a fellow geek!)

The Aces started out at the dog track in 1926 before moving to the speedway stadium in 1928, therefore returning to the greyhound track in 87.

Also - prior to the greyhound track opening in 1926, that site was one of the sites City looked at to relocate to, opting for Maine Road instead.

The site of the speedway stadium had been an athletics ground (opening in 1886) and a game between Ardwick and Newton Heath took place there in 1889. It was a benefit game.for the families of 23 miners killed in a mining disaster at the nearby Hyde Road collery.
The game was an evening game played using floodlights!

What became the dog track was also a site looked at by City. In fact I’m convinced that was the preference for years.

 

[Lovebitesandeveryfing]

My Grandad stood on Hyde Road before the first world war. Walked from Longsight. He forged his papers and joined the Navy at 15 and fought in The Battle of Jutland

Wonder whether he got to see Billy with his toothpick.

 

[J.G.Blue.]

So you have a family lineage going right back to the club’s origin. That’s cool mate.

Yes I often think our family must have been watching city more or less since they started as I am sure my great grandad would be a blue from snippets of family conversations I can remember many years ago,
As I say my Grandad started going to Hyde road around 1907 & stopped going to Maine Road in the early 70s, My Dad started going to Maine Road in the mid 1940s & more or less stopped going in the late 1980s & me & my Brother started going in the late 1960s & we havnt stopped going yet,
I dont have any kids but my brothers son is a blue but sadly hardly ever comes with us (& his son is a blue as well!)
I think thats one of the reasons when Dickhead fans of other clubs say we have no history I just laugh at them & walk away shaking my head :-)

 

[ColinBellsjockstrap]

I grew up in Gorton near the ground in the 1960's, the ornamental gates with MCFC on them could be seen quite clearly on top of them when walking or driving past on Hyde Road.

 

[WestGorton]

Wonder whether he got to see Billy with his toothpick.

He saw everything from say 1908 ish. His best friend was Tommy Johnson as they worked together at Mathers.

 

[Bluesince1979]

So you have a family lineage going right back to the club’s origin. That’s cool mate.

I do too. Arthur. Born in leek in 1878. My great great grandad.
Moved to ancoats in 1898for work and chose city as his team.
He lived til he was 96 and I have a photo of him with me on his knee as a new born.

I cant describe how proud it made me to learn my city lineage goes back to only 4 years after the club was founded

It started with arthur, to his son albert, skipped a generation to my dad, to me and now my 7 year old son

Thanks arthur