Horsley Hill

Horsley Hill

Location	South Shields, England
Coordinates
Record attendance	24,348
Surface	Grass
Tenants
South Shields F.C. (1908–1930) South Shields RLFC (1902–1904) South Shields RUFC

Horsley Hill was a football and rugby league ground and greyhound racing track in South Shields. It is also a ward of the South Tyneside MBC whose population at the 2011 census was 9,064.

History

South Shields RLFC were established in 1902 and played at Horsley Hill during the 1902–03 and 1903–04 seasons. They were voted out of the league at the end of the 1903–04 season.

The ground was then used by a rugby union club, with South Shields F.C. moving to the site from their Stanhope Road ground in 1908. At the time the only spectator facility was a pavilion behind the eastern goal line, but by 1916 two stands had been built; an uncovered seated stand on the northern touchline and a covered main stand with a paddock in front on the southern touchline.

In 1919 South Shields F.C. were elected to the Second Division of the Football League. Horsley Hill underwent further development, with new terracing built, covered areas being installed behind the eastern goal and on the northern touchline, whilst the main stand was also extended. The first Football League match was played at the ground on 6 September 1919, with 18,000 watching a 2–0 win over Fulham. A record attendance of 24,348 was set for an FA Cup fifth round match against Swansea Town on 19 February 1927.

In 1928 the club was relegated to the Third Division North. By then attendances had dropped sharply, with just 1,239 watching a match against Rotherham United on 1 February 1930. At the end of the 1929–30 season the football club moved to Redheugh Park in Gateshead, becoming Gateshead F.C.. The club's last match at Horsley Hill was played on 3 May 1930, with 1,752 spectators watching a 2–2 draw with Accrington Stanley.

In 1933 Horsley Hill began to be used for greyhound racing. A third South Shields F.C. emerged in 1936, also playing initially at Horsley Hill.

After the stadium closed to Greyhound Racing in 1966, a Jet petrol station was built on the car park at the junction of Horsley Hill Road and Westcott Avenue. After demolition, the area was redeveloped for housing.