Henry Norris was managing Woolwich Arsenal having gained control of the club in 1910. With the team relegated to the 2nd division in 1912, Norris decided the team should move to a stadium in the north of London. Until then, Woolwich Arsenal were playing their home matches at Plumstead Manor ground in south east London.
The Location for Highbury Stadium is Chosen
St Johns College of Diviinity was approached and Norris negotiated a deal whereby the recreation fields were leased for a 21 year term. St. John's College of Divinity stood behind what was to become known as the Clock End of the stadium, the fee for the lease was £20,000
On 26 April 1913 Arsenal played their last game at the Plumstead Manor ground. The intention was to start the new season at their new stadium.
The Construction of Highbury Stadium
The stadium was designed by Archibald Leitch who had a proven track record for designing stadia. Woolwich Arenal's new home was constructed over the summer; the design was simple and straightforward. A stand on the eastern side of the stadium with the 3 other sides constructed of banked terraces. The stand took 3 years to complete with Henry Norris paying the builders in installments as the money was raised from gate money at a cost of £125,000
Although the stadium was not complete it opened as planned at the beginning of the season. The first game was played on 6 September 1913 against Leicester fosse. The result was a 2-1 win to Woolwich Arsenal. Highbury as the stadium was to be known was the venue for the 1st international England match in 1920
A Change in Name to Arsenal and Outright Ownership of Highbury
Woolwich Arsenal changed their name to Arsenal and in 1925 the lease was bought outright by the football club in 1925 for £64,000
As the number of spectators grew, the stadium underwent a number of redevelopments. the west stand was designed by Claude Waterloo Ferrier and William Binnie and opened in 1932 at the cost of £45,000. On November 5th the local underground station had its name changed from Gillespie Road to Arsenal. To date Arsenal football club is the only team to have a station named after it.
The east stand was opened in 1936 costing 130,000. The cost was so high that the club needed gates of 40,000 to make ends meet. This was followed by the addition of a roof on the north bank terrace while the south terrace had a clock fitted and became known as the Clock End
Like so many buildings, the stadium didn't escape the bombing raids of the 2ww. The north bank terrace was hit and had to be rebuilt but the roof was only added in 1956. Floodlights were added in 1951 and under soil heating in 1964
Following the Taylor report into the Hillsborough disaster when 96 Liverpool fans died during the match against Nottingham Forest, Arsenal undertook to comply with the regulations whereby football stadia became all-seater venues.
The north bank was demolished and an all-seater terrace reopened in 1993. This gave the stadium a capacity of 38,500 of which 12,500 were in the north bank, 11,000 west stand, 9,000 east stand and 6,000 at the Clock End.
Record Attendance at Highbury
However prior to the all-seater stadium being built, Arsenal regularly hosted crowds in excess of 600000. The highest attendance at Highbury, which still stands to date, is March 9th 19356 when 73,295 fans filled the stadium to see Arsenal play Sunderland resulting in a 0-0 draw.
Highbury hosted 12 international matches between 1920-61 and 12 FA semi final games as a neutral ground between 1929-07
During the 2ww the stadium was used as an ARP station and, as previously mentioned, the north terrace was destroyed a bomb. Until the ground was reopened in 1946 Arsenal played their home games at White Hart Lane, ground of their arch rivals, Tottenham Hotspur.
Highbury eventually proved too small as a stadium for a club with Arsenal's following. The choice was to expand the existing stadium or rebuild. The east stand was a listed building and the ground surrounded by housing so expansion would have been very expensive. The decision to build a new state of the art venue was taken and Arsenal commissioned the construction of the stadium in Ashburton Grove, now known as the Emirates Stadium. Arsenal played their last game at Highbury on May 7th 2006 against Wigan winning 4-2
Sources:
- Arsenal.com
- Arse.web.com
 |
