The Nest (football ground)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This page is on the former stadium of Norwich City F.C.. For the ex-Crystal Palace F.C. stadium of same name see Croydon Common Athletic Ground.

The Nest was the former home ground of Norwich City F.C., used for 27 years between 1908 and 1935.

The first competitive match at the stadium was a 0-0 draw with Portsmouth on September 12 1908, with the final match being a 2-2 draw with Swansea on May 4 1935. The record attendance for a match at The Nest was 25,037 for an FA Cup fifth-round tie against Sheffield Wednesday on February 16 1935^[1].

Before The Nest, the team played at a ground in Newmarket Road. Today, the club plays at Carrow Road.

The ground was a disused quarry in Rosary Road, Norwich similar in appearance to Charlton Athletic's The Valley. Following the adoption of the club's nickname of The Canaries, the ground was appropriately named. Its most noticeable feature was a large concrete wall at one end of the ground, which supported a cliff on which supporters would watch the matches.

Thousands of tons of earth had to be shifted before a pitch could be laid and stands erected and there then followed the painstaking process of dismantling the old Newmarket Road structures and moving them painstakingly by horse and cart to their new home on the other side of the City.

Chairman John Pyke, the man behind the switch, kicked off the first game at City's new home on September 1 1908 as City beat Fulham 2-1 in a friendly in front of a crowd of around 3,000. An FA Cup tie against Reading later in the year had to be switched to a neutral venue when City's opponents complained that the Nest pitch wasn't big enough – but the club soon settled into their new home and it wasn't long before five figure crowds were packing into the compact little ground.

The Nest was gradually improved over the years, with the playing surface re-laid and extra terracing added, and by the time the Canaries were elected to the Football League in 1920 crowds of between 12,000 and 14,000 were common place.

Further developments in the 1930s, including an extension to the 'chicken run' opposite the Main Stand, saw the capacity rise still further and, on February 16 1935 25,037 supporters crammed into the ground to watch City lose 1-0 to Sheffield Wednesday in the fifth round of the FA Cup.

By then, the Nest's days were well and truly numbered. Concern over the facilities had already been expressed by Norwich directors and the matter came to a head just a month after the big cup tie when the Football Association wrote to the club saying they were not satisfied the ground was suitable to house large crowds.

With the Canaries having been recently promoted to Division Two it was quickly decided that the time was right to move on and City kicked off the new season at a plush new stadium, the original Carrow Road having been constructed in just 82 days.

The Nest stood derelict for many years after being declared surplus to requirements before the site was redeveloped after the war. It is now occupied by Bertram Books’ factory and offices. A small section of the concrete wall is all that remains of The Nest.

Norwich City Football Club

v • d • e

Club: The Club | History

Records: Records | Hall of Fame | Players of the Year

Managers: Managers

Players: Players | Captains

Grounds: Carrow Road | The Nest

Other: East Anglian Derby | Pride of Anglia | On The Ball, City

Norwich City F.C. Seasons: 2007–08, 2008–09