The Beautiful History is a site which does not seem to be have been updated since 2010 but which nevertheless provides a wealth of information about the history of club crests, colours and nicknames. The young Dutch compiler, Han, has certainly researched his subject in great depth.
Paul Talling's Derelict London site has a wealth of pictures of old London sports grounds including those of present football clubs. Here is what the site has to say about Arsenal's Manor Ground:
"The site of the 3rd Ground (The Manor Ground)1887 - 1890 and 1893-1913"
"In 1888, after the Sportsman Ground had flooded, the club moved to the adjoining Manor Field (as it was originally known), which was soon renamed Manor Ground. The pitch was notoriously muddy and on its southern side ran a large open sewer. There were no stands as such; the club used wagons borrowed from nearby Army bases to house spectators. The club's first match there was against Millwall Rovers, in 1888; it finished 3-0 to Arsenal.
After a move to the Invicta Ground for 3 years, Arsenal returned to the Manor Ground and bought it with money raised from a share issue, erected a single main stand and banks of terracing, and moved back there before the start of the 1893-94 season, in time for the club's Football League debut. The stadium averaged a gate of 6,000 that season.
In 1904 a second stand was added (this was the first terrace in the country to be nicknamed Spion Kop,although many other clubs, such as Liverpool, also built "Kop" stands that were better known). With the club having achieved promotion to the First Division that year, with the additional capacity attendances reached over 20,000 for some matches.
However, in 1910 Woolwich Arsenal faced bankruptcy, with an average crowd dwindling to 11,000. London property magnate and Fulham chairman Sir Henry Norris bought Arsenal out, rescuing the club, and proceeded to move them all the way across London to the new Arsenal Stadium in Highbury three years later, after an attempt to merge Fulham and Arsenal failed.
Woolwich Arsenal played their last match at the Manor Ground (against Middlesbrough in front of 3,000 people) in 1913. After they left, the ground soon fell derelict, and was eventually demolished and the land redeveloped. Today it is home to a run down industrial estate which itself is due to be redeveloped next year."
An intriguing history of Barcelona's stadia since the club's founding in 1899 by +Chris Clements. Includes an account of how the Swiss national, Hans Kamper (Joan Gamper) formed the club and then later saved it from an early extinction.
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.
"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
The first F.A. Charity Shield match was contested in 1908 and was played by Manchester United and Queens Park Rangers. Held at Stamford Bridge, the match resulted in a 1-1 draw. A replay (unique in the history of the trophy) four months later at the same venue was won 4-0 by United.
Born out of the Sheriff of London Charity Shield, introduced in 1898-99 to be contested by teams of professionals versus amateurs, the new Charity Shield was originally intended to provide a showpiece encounter at the end of the season betwen the Football League champions and the champions of the Southern League.
From 2002 the competition has been known as the F.A. Community Shield.
To date the most successful teams in the competition are: Manchester United (15 outright wins, 4 shared), Liverpool (10 outright wins, 5 shared), Arsenal (11 outright wins, 1 shared).
