Muntz Street
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Muntz Street | |
|---|---|
| Celery Trenches | |
| Location | Small Heath, Birmingham |
| Opened | 11 September 1877 |
| Closed | 22 December 1906 |
| Demolished | 1907 |
| Owner | Gessey family |
| Former names | Coventry Road |
| Tenants | Birmingham City F.C. |
| Capacity | 10,000 – 30,000 |
Muntz Street is the popular name of the ground at which Birmingham City F.C. (under its former names of Small Heath Alliance, Small Heath and Birmingham) played its home games between 1877 and 1906. Originally known as Coventry Road, the name Muntz Street is a more recent adoption.
Small Heath Alliance played their first home games on waste ground in Arthur Street, in the Bordesley Green district of Birmingham, very near the site of St Andrew's. In 1876 they made a temporary move to a fenced-off field in Ladypool Road, Sparkbrook, with a capacity estimated at 3,000, where admission could be charged. A year later they moved again, to a field in Muntz Street, Small Heath, just off the main road to Coventry.[1] Contemporary reports refer to the ground as Coventry Road;[2] it became known as Muntz Street presumably to distinguish it from St Andrew's which was also built very close to the Coventry Road.[3]
The ground was rented from the family of Small Heath player Sam Gessey for an initial £5 a year, had a capacity of about 10,000, and at the time was on the very edge of the built-up area.[3] It had few facilities. There were four sides of open terracing, a changing hut and a small covered stand on one side. Over the years the terracing was enlarged to raise the capacity to around 30,000, and in 1897 the club bought Aston Villa's old grandstand, redundant once they moved from their Wellington Road ground, for £90 and transported it piece by piece to erect as a terrace cover behind the goal at the Muntz Street end.[4]
The first game was played at Muntz Street on 11 September 1877, a 5–0 win over Saltley College, with gate receipts of 6s 8d. This was the start of a run of 22 games unbeaten at the new ground.[4] The pitch was notoriously bumpy, referred to locally as the "celery trenches";[5] the first meeting between Small Heath and Aston Villa in 1879 resulted in a 1–0 home win and the Villa players describing the pitch as "only suitable for pot-holing".[6] In 1883 Wednesbury Old Athletic paid Small Heath £5 to switch the venue of a Walsall Cup tie away from Muntz Street; the club took the money, won the match and went on to win the competition, their first ever silverware.[1] Nine years later, The Wednesday offered £200 to do the same in a second-round FA Cup tie; the money was accepted, but without the success.[7] Despite the apparent poor quality of pitch and facilities, Muntz Street was used for several representative games between the Birmingham Association XI and teams representing Scotland and London.[4]
By 1905 the rent on the ground was up to £300 a year, the lease was nearing expiry, the landlord was reluctant to renew the lease or to allow extensions to be made to the ground, which was now surrounded with tightly-packed housing.[3][8] The league match with Aston Villa attracted a crowd estimated at well over 30,000, though thousands climbed over walls or forced entrances to gain admission.[8] It became clear that Muntz Street could not cope. Club director Harry Morris identified a site half a mile (1 km) nearer the city centre where a new ground could be built, on wet, sloping land where a disused brickworks stood, near the railway and St Andrew's church. Within twelve months of the lease being signed, the new ground, which became known as St Andrew's, was ready.[8] The last game at Muntz Street was played on 22 December 1906, Birmingham beat Bury 3–1 in the First Division in front of a crowd of 10,000. The last goal was scored by Arthur Mounteney.[4] Within months the land was cleared and used for housing.
[edit] Average attendances
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Football Alliance
Division Two
Division One
Division Two
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Division Two
Division One
Division Two
Division One
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- For the 1906-07 season, only games played before the 25 December 1906 have been included. The home games after this date were played at St Andrews.
[edit] References
- Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books. ISBN 1-85983-010-2.
- Matthews, Tony (October 2000). The Encyclopedia of Birmingham City Football Club 1875-2000. Cradley Heath: Britespot. ISBN 0-9539288-0-2.
- Lewis, Peter (ed.) (2000). Keeping right on since 1875. The Official History of Birmingham City Football Club. Lytham: Arrow. ISBN 1-900722-12-7.
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ a b Matthews, Complete Record, p. 8.
- ^ "The Association Challenge Cup. Small Heath Alliance v Davenham." (via Times Digital Archive 1785-1985 (subscription required)), The Times, 1886-01-18, p. 7. Retrieved on 2007-09-20. "The number of clubs left in the competition for the National Cup is rapidly becoming smaller, and as a natural consequence the interest taken in the matches increases. It was not surprising, therefore, that between 5,000 and 6,000 spectators were present on Saturday at the ground of the Small Heath Alliance in the Coventry-road, Birmingham, to witness their tie in the fifth round with Davenham. A keenly contested game was won by the Small Heath Alliance by two goals to one."
- ^ a b c Beauchampé, Steve (2006-12-16). 100 years of St. Andrews - Part One. The Stirrer. Retrieved on 2007-11-02.
- ^ a b c d Matthews, Encyclopedia, 'Muntz Street', p. 160.
- ^ Marsden, Bob (March 1987). A.B.C. of Small Heath and Bordesley Green Past and Present. Small Heath Local History Society.
- ^ Matthews, Encyclopedia, 'Aston Villa', p. 17.
- ^ Matthews, Complete Record, p. 9.
- ^ a b c Matthews, Complete Record, pp. 57-59.
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Birmingham City F.C.
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