Lower Mead

Lower Mead
Location	Harrow, England
Coordinates	51°35′09″N0°20′02″W / 51.58584°N 0.33400°W
Surface	Grass
Opened	1922
Closed	Summer 1991
Tenants
	Wealdstone F.C. (1922–1991)

Last updated November 21, 2024

Lower Mead was a football stadium in Harrow, North West London. It was the home ground of Wealdstone Football Club for nearly 70 years from 1922 until 1991, after which it was demolished.

Construction of the stadium was completed in time for the start of the 1922/23 season, the club having previously played at a number of local grounds. Located on Station Road, Harrow, at the northern end of Harrow town centre and just south of the district of Wealdstone, the stadium was situated behind a row of shops and a cinema (known today as the Safari Cinema), and was flanked along its northern perimeter by residential flats built in High Mead in the mid-1930s.

The record crowd attendance at Lower Mead was 13,504 on 5th March 1949 for a FA Amateur Cup 4th Round Replay versus Leytonstone F.C.

The stadium consisted of a small main stand to the south, purchased in 1928 from Summerstown F.C.'s ground in Earlsfield, which contained the players' and officials' dressing rooms and was the only seated part of the stadium, and which straddled the half-way line, with uncovered terracing to either side of it. To the west was a covered terracing known as the Elmslie End, named in honour of a club official. Uncovered terracing ran the entire length of the pitch on the north side, created just after the second world war when the land behind it was sold for housing. To the east was a narrow covered terrace known as the Cinema End. The clubhouse and supporters' bar stood immediately adjacent to the stadium on the southern side. There were minimal car or coach parking facilities.^[1]

Following financial mismanagement by the then owner of the club, at the end of the 1990/91 season Wealdstone were forced to sell the freehold of Lower Mead to Tesco in order to stay in existence. The company handling the sale of Lower Mead then went into liquidation and, after protracted legal proceedings, the club eventually received only a very small percentage of the sum that Tesco had paid for the site. This left the club not only homeless but also struggling financially for many years, necessitating various groundshare agreements; initially with Watford F.C., followed by Yeading F.C., Edgware Town F.C. and then finally Northwood F.C. before the club finally obtained a permanent home ground of their own in 2008 called Grosvenor Vale, in Ruislip, only 3 miles away from Lower Mead.

Demolition of Lower Mead stadium began in June 1991 and a large Tesco supermarket was built on the site, which operates to this day. A decorative weather vane on the roof of the store depicts a footballing scene, as a memorial of the site's previous use.^[1]

To commemorate what would have been the centenary of the ground, in 2021 a booklet has been produced by Wealdstone FC supporters which records the growth and development of Lower Mead during its use. It is available from the WFCSC Megastore online.

Related Research Articles

Wealdstone is a district located in the centre of the London Borough of Harrow, England. It is located just north of Harrow town centre and is south of Harrow Weald, west of Belmont and Kenton, and east of Headstone. The area accommodates most of Harrow's industrial and business designated land. Wealdstone was the location of the Kodak Harrow factory; it closed in 2016. Wealdstone is centred on the High Street, and much traffic is bypassed from here by the George Gange Way flyover built in 1996. Its western boundary is formed by Harrow View, across which Headstone Manor lies, whereas on the east is Byron Park and the Belmont Trail. Harrow & Wealdstone station and the council offices are located at its southern end.

Harrow is a large town in Greater London, England, and serves as the principal settlement of the London Borough of Harrow. Lying about 9.5 miles (15.3 km) north-west of Charing Cross and 5.4 miles (8.7 km) south of Watford, the entire town including its localities had a population of 149,246 at the 2011 census, whereas the wider borough had a population of 250,149.

Edgeley Park is a football stadium in Edgeley, Stockport, England. Built for Stockport RFC, a rugby league club, in 1891, by 1903 the rugby club was defunct and Stockport County Football Club moved in. Sale Sharks Rugby Union Club also played at the ground between 2003 and 2012.

Fratton Park is a football ground in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, and is the home of Portsmouth Football Club. Fratton Park's location on Portsea Island is unique in English professional football, as it is the only professional English football ground not located on the mainland of Great Britain. Fratton Park has been the only home football ground in Portsmouth F.C.'s entire history.

Wealdstone Football Club is an English semi-professional football club based in Ruislip, London Borough of Hillingdon, and affiliated to the Middlesex County Football Association. They currently play in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. Their traditional colours are royal blue and white, and they are nicknamed "The Stones" or "The Royals".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harrow Borough F.C.</span> Association football club in London, England

Harrow Borough Football Club is an English football club based in Harrow, London. They were founded in 1933 and compete in the Isthmian League South Central Division. Harrow Borough's home ground is Earlsmead Stadium, which has a capacity of 3,070. Harrow Borough moved into Earlsmead Stadium in 1934 and have kept it as their home stadium since then. Harrow Borough's colour is red, which is the colour of their home kit. Their crest depicts the coat of arms of the London Borough of Harrow.

Stark's Park is a football stadium in Kirkcaldy, Scotland. It is the home ground of Raith Rovers, who have played there since 1891. The ground has an all-seated capacity of 8,867.

Underhill Stadium was a stadium in Chipping Barnet, London, that was the home of Barnet Football Club between 1907 and 2013. The club's under-19 team played fixtures there; it was also the training ground of the London Broncos rugby league club, and hosted Arsenal reserve games until 2012. At the time of its closure, the stadium had a capacity of 6,023; it was demolished in 2018, and is now the site of the Ark Pioneer Academy, which opened in 2019. The stadium was famous for its slope from the North to South end.

Huish Park is a football stadium located in Yeovil, Somerset, England. The stadium has been home to Yeovil Town F.C. since its completion in 1990, following their relocation from Huish. Huish Park has a capacity of 9,565 with terraces behind each of the goals.

Priestfield Stadium is a football stadium in Gillingham, Kent. It has been the home of Gillingham Football Club since the club's formation in 1893, and was also the temporary home of Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club for two seasons during the 1990s. The stadium has also hosted women's and youth international football matches and a London Broncos rugby league match.

Vicarage Road is a stadium in Watford, England, and is the home stadium of Championship club Watford. An all-seater stadium, its current capacity is 22,220.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cappielow</span> Football stadium in Greenock, Scotland

Cappielow, also known as Cappielow Park supported by Dalrada Technology UK for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Greenock, Inverclyde, Scotland. It is the home ground of Scottish Professional Football League club Greenock Morton, who have played there since 1879. It has a capacity of 11,589, including 5,741 seats. The ground was formerly also shared by Clydebank between 1999 and 2002. Cappielow has staged one full international match, Scotland against Wales in 1902.

Edgware & Kingsbury Football Club is a football club from Edgware, London Borough of Barnet, England. Originally established in 1939, the club was dissolved at the end of the 2007–08 season but reformed in 2014. They are currently members of the Combined Counties League Premier Division North and play at Silver Jubilee Park in Kingsbury, about three miles from the club's original ground, the White Lion in Edgware.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Athletic Ground (Scarborough)</span> Football stadium in North Yorkshire, England

The Athletic Ground, latterly known as the McCain Stadium, was a football stadium located on Seamer Road in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England. It was the home of Scarborough F.C., a defunct football club who last played in the English Conference North before they were dissolved on 20 June 2007 with debts of £2.5 million.

Edgar Street is a football stadium in Hereford and was the home of Hereford United Football Club from the club's formation in 1924 until December 2014, when the club was wound up. It is now the home of Hereford FC, a phoenix club formed to replace the former club. It is the largest football stadium in the county of Herefordshire and is located on the edge of Hereford city centre, adjacent to the former cattle market. The name of the stadium directly derives from the name of the street where it is located, which is also the A49.

Rogers Family Stadium is a football stadium in Harrow, north-west London, England. It is the home ground of Harrow Borough F.C. The stadium has a capacity of 3,070 people, which includes 350 seats and standing under cover for 1,000 people. The record attendance is 3000 for an FA Cup match against local rivals Wealdstone FC in 1946.

Christie Park was the home of Morecambe FC, located on the corner of Christie Avenue and Lancaster Road in Morecambe, Lancashire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crabble Athletic Ground</span> Football stadium in River, Kent, England

The Crabble Athletic Ground, also known as simply Crabble, or The Crabble is a football stadium located in the northern Dover suburb of River, Kent. It was the home of the various incarnations of Dover F.C. from 1931 until the club folded in 1983. Since then it has been the home of Dover Athletic F.C., and it was also the temporary home of Margate F.C. between 2002 and 2004, when the club's Hartsdown Park stadium was being redeveloped. The stadium has two seated stands and two covered terraces and holds a total of 5,745 fans, although in the past, crowds larger than that figure could be accommodated. It also has a clubhouse, which the club completely redeveloped in 2008.

The Hive London is a football centre near Edgware, London, offering football pitches for hire, conference and banqueting facilities, an on-site gym, cafe, bar and more. It was built on the former site of the municipal Prince Edward Playing Fields in Canons Park in the London Borough of Harrow. The stadium is home to National League football club Barnet, London Bees of the FA Women's Championship and formerly Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Women of the FA WSL from 2019–2022.

Grosvenor Vale is a football ground in Ruislip, West London, England. It is the home ground of Wealdstone F.C. and Watford FC Women. The current capacity of the ground is 4,085.

References

1 2 "Ground of the week: Lower Mead". www.bbc.co.uk.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[auto-1] 1 2 "Ground of the week: Lower Mead". www.bbc.co.uk.

[1]