The Nest - Former Home Of Crystal Palace FC

Two football league clubs have played in the past at grounds known as The Nest. One of these clubs is Norwich City, the other Crystal Palace. The latter relocated to their version after the demise of their bitter local rivals, Croydon Common.

This extract from the excellent site, Coydon Common Football Club , provides further historical details:

"The club [Croydon Common] subleased The Nest from the London Brighton and South Coast Railway in 1908 and it was home for the rest of its existence. The ground had been built some years earlier on the site of Selhurst Wood, the remaining part of which is still visible on the map. The lease was signed on 15 September 1908; the parties being The Croydon Common Football and Athletic Company Limited, The London Brighton and South Coast Railway Company and the Ecclesiastical Commissioners for England. The reason for three parties to this lease was that the Church Commissioners actually owned the land, the Railway had leased it from them and thus the club was subleasing it from the Railway. The lease was signed on behalf of the club by John William Bartlett (secretary), and John Stephen Fuller and Richard James Whiting (directors).
The lease stipulated that the ground could only be used for soccer or athletics or for "the holding of Flower Shows and School treats". As the ground was owned by the Church, the lease also prohibited its use for any purposes on Good Friday and Christmas Day and so the club played only away fixtures on these particular days. The ground was quite basic, having only earth banks around the major part of its circumference. These banks were topped by bushes known to the supporters as "The Jungle". When the club took over The Nest there was a small stand with seats on the northern side of the ground, but this burned down shortly afterwards. A new stand, significantly longer than the previous one, was erected to replace it. A cinder athletics track ran around the pitch.

Following the demise of Croydon Common, the Railway leased the ground to Crystal Palace F.C. and the club played there from 1918 until the newly built Selhurst Park was ready in 1924. When the Southern League's Division One became in effect the Football League's Third Division South in 1920, Crystal Palace had achieved what Croydon Common had failed to do - bring Football League matches to The Nest. After leaving the ground in 1924, Crystal Palace sublet it to a local side named Tramways F.C. The site is now occupied by Railtrack's Selhurst Depot. The whole site was completely levelled prior to building, so no trace of The Nest remains".

1913 Ordnance Survey map of location of ground - here The Nest is ground C on the map and is called the "Croydon Common Athletic Ground": Map

Crystal Palace's ground history, including details of their short incumbency at The Nest: Ground history

The site of the ground is now occupied by railway buildings, as photographed by Paul Talling. The Nest is referred to about a third of the way down the page (but stop off on the way and look at the sites of other extinct London soccer venues): Derelict London - Long Lost Grounds

A postcard of Croydon Common v Norwich, at The Nest in 1909

 

 

A further slection of photos of The Nest on the Cystal Palace FC BBS site: Photos