collapse collapse

Please donate to help towards the costs of keeping this site going. Thank You.

Recent Topics

Gordon Cowans by CT Villan
[Today at 02:12:50 AM]


Other Games - 2023/24 by Brazilian Villain
[Today at 01:07:18 AM]


Chris Heck - President of Business Operations by VillaTim
[March 28, 2024, 11:45:01 PM]


COLD BLOW LANE ... 1967 to 1975 ... Did anyone (dare to) visit the Den? by dcdavecollett
[March 28, 2024, 11:02:33 PM]


Youri Tielemans (confirmed) by Somniloquism
[March 28, 2024, 10:54:34 PM]


FFP by AV82EC
[March 28, 2024, 10:36:39 PM]


All aboard the shuttle bus. by Demitri_C
[March 28, 2024, 10:29:02 PM]


GUESS THE CROWD R22: ASTON VILLA v Wolves, Saturday 30th March! 🥧 by ironmaidenmania
[March 28, 2024, 08:43:00 PM]

Recent Posts

Re: Gordon Cowans by CT Villan
[Today at 02:12:50 AM]


Re: Gordon Cowans by JD
[Today at 01:37:32 AM]


Re: Other Games - 2023/24 by Brazilian Villain
[Today at 01:07:18 AM]


Re: Gordon Cowans by Percy McCarthy
[Today at 01:05:25 AM]


Re: Gordon Cowans by The Left Side
[Today at 12:52:12 AM]


Re: Gordon Cowans by tomd2103
[Today at 12:47:19 AM]


Re: Other Games - 2023/24 by edgysatsuma89
[Today at 12:33:09 AM]


Re: Other Games - 2023/24 by KevinGage
[Today at 12:22:56 AM]

Follow us on...

Author Topic: Villa Park & other old Villa pictures  (Read 29190 times)

Offline Andy_Lochhead_in_the_air

  • Member
  • Posts: 10729
  • Location: Upton Park....No, Olympic Stadium....No, Aston Park...Yes that's it,Turf Moor.
Re: Villa Park & other old Villa pictures
« Reply #90 on: July 03, 2020, 05:23:51 PM »
Quote
In the early years of the 17th Century Sir Thomas Holte, a wealthy landowner, built a large stately home set atop of a sandstone ridge, two miles north of Birmingham Town. In the old dialect it was called Eastun (East Town, later Aston) Hall. It overlooked a shallow valley of open fields and woods complete with Old River Tame (as it's called on the 1888 map) meandering slowly northwards. In 1837 the Grand Junction Railway engineered a railway line loosely following the line of the river which lead from Birmingham to the North West. Witton railway station was thoughtfully provided next to the Hall. Sadly, at about this time, Aston Hall had deteriorated to the point that a windfall was needed to carry out substantial repairs. Finance for this was achieved by selling off a 31 acre parcel of land, (The Aston Lower Grounds) roughly triangular in shape, to a Bank. The land comprised the Hall’s vegetable and herb gardens, orchards and a large artificial fish pond.

The bank eventually leased the land to an entrepreneur, one H G Quilter. He was a bit of a visionary for his ideas were years ahead of their time. With this parcel of land he created perhaps the world’s first theme park, a hundred years before Disney, Alton Towers, etc. In 1875 he built a roller skating rink 300 feet long by 80 feet wide with a smooth asphalt floor. Alongside this, in 1879 he built a huge aquarium, 400 feet long and 60 to 80 feet wide with tanks containing fish, seals, octopus and other exotic species from around the world. The tanks required 300,000 gallons of water to be filled. On the first floor of this attraction an Art Gallery was provided. Many other attractions were built. At the southern shore of the pond a polar bear house was established and presumably appropriately populated. Around the grounds more attractions were built including a bandstand, tearooms, a rifle range, a bowling green and more menageries housing a wide range of exotic animals. At its peak the venue attracted over 280,000 visitors a year. Admittance to the grounds cost 3d and to the Aquarium 6d. The famous Victorian cricketer Dr W G Grace to play several test matches on the sports ground against an Australian eleven. FA cup semi finals were played here, and here the world’s first cycling record was set – some hero (Mr M Albin) rode around the track accruing 13 miles 600 yards in one hour on a penny farthing! Athletics also featured regularly on the red cindered track surrounding the sports field.
November 1887 witnessed arguably the pinnacle of the Lower Ground's events. Over 200 red Indians (mostly of the Sioux tribe), Mexicans, Cowboys and Rodeo Riders performed a series of Wild West shows lead by William “Buffalo Bill” Cody and Annie “Get your Gun” Oakley. Buffalo, prairie elk, horses and steer featured together with the real “Deadwood” stagecoach (shipped from the USA complete with bullet holes) performing circuits and rides around the racing track surrounding the sports field. Annie Oakley performed a sharpshooting routine and two Indians got arrested for drunkenness in one of the local pubs.

Following the death of Mr Quilter in 1893 fortunes changed. Railways made travelling cheaper and people were much attracted to sea-side venues which could provide similar attractions in a more exiting and exotic setting. Quilter’s death ensured that no one took up the challenges presented by the new century and its time was over.

In 1874 a new sports club had been founded by the Villa Cross Wesleyan Chapel Cricket Club in Birmingham whose members yearned for some sporting activity in the winter. The first sporting event played by the new club was a rugby match against Aston Brook St Mary's Rugby Club, followed the next week by a football match. It was decided that football was the way forward. The team prospered and took on the lease of grounds at Wellington Road, Perry Barr. The club's management instigated the football league and of course the renamed Aston Villa was a founding member. By the end of the century they had won three FA cup finals and 5 league finals. This success enabled the club to buy its own ground and as the site of Mr Quilters enterprise was available it was purchased outright in 1897, the year the club won both the FA Cup and the League.

For reasons not clear Aston Villa declined to use the existing sports ground and chose instead to set out their new pitch on top of the recently drained and filled lake where it has remained ever since. The old Aquarium Building was for may years Villa's offices, gym and snooker room until its demise in the 1980’s.



https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/forum/index.php?threads/aston-lower-grounds.15945/page-2

Online Brazilian Villain

  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 33398
  • GM : 09.03.2025
Re: Villa Park & other old Villa pictures
« Reply #91 on: July 04, 2020, 03:24:44 PM »
Looking at the Witton Lane Stand picture from 1993 I can't believe how small and, dare I say, tinpot it looked. How come it took so long to expand/redevelop it? Was it simply a case of Doug being cheap?

Online dcdavecollett

  • Member
  • Posts: 2908
Re: Villa Park & other old Villa pictures
« Reply #92 on: July 04, 2020, 11:23:37 PM »
This is an explanation for many things in this period...

Offline Andy_Lochhead_in_the_air

  • Member
  • Posts: 10729
  • Location: Upton Park....No, Olympic Stadium....No, Aston Park...Yes that's it,Turf Moor.
Re: Villa Park & other old Villa pictures
« Reply #93 on: July 05, 2020, 07:38:12 PM »
Looking at the Witton Lane Stand picture from 1993 I can't believe how small and, dare I say, tinpot it looked. How come it took so long to expand/redevelop it? Was it simply a case of Doug being cheap?

I know who Doug Ellis was but who was Witton Lane ?

Online Brazilian Villain

  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 33398
  • GM : 09.03.2025
Re: Villa Park & other old Villa pictures
« Reply #94 on: July 05, 2020, 08:16:09 PM »
Looking at the Witton Lane Stand picture from 1993 I can't believe how small and, dare I say, tinpot it looked. How come it took so long to expand/redevelop it? Was it simply a case of Doug being cheap?

I know who Doug Ellis was but who was Witton Lane ?

Definitely not one of my ancestors!

Offline AsTallAsLions

  • Member
  • Posts: 8521
  • Location: Everywhere
Re: Villa Park & other old Villa pictures
« Reply #95 on: August 18, 2020, 06:41:50 PM »
Moved.
« Last Edit: August 19, 2020, 09:46:12 AM by AsTallAsLions »

Offline in exile

  • Member
  • Posts: 2854
  • Age: 62
  • Location: Tamworth
  • GM : 22.07.2022
Re: Villa Park & other old Villa pictures
« Reply #96 on: August 28, 2020, 11:20:47 AM »
Some wonderful memories - thank you to all who have posted.

Offline PeterWithesShin

  • Member
  • Posts: 67456
  • GM : 17.03.2015
Re: Villa Park & other old Villa pictures
« Reply #97 on: October 30, 2020, 08:57:10 PM »

Offline Andy_Lochhead_in_the_air

  • Member
  • Posts: 10729
  • Location: Upton Park....No, Olympic Stadium....No, Aston Park...Yes that's it,Turf Moor.
Re: Villa Park & other old Villa pictures
« Reply #98 on: October 30, 2020, 09:26:02 PM »
Beautiful picture above.
Checking, the floodlights came in 1958 and the Holte roof in 1962.
Are we able to pin the date down more ?

Offline Pat McMahon

  • Member
  • Posts: 6756
  • Location: Shanghai - Blarney Stone for Villa games
Re: Villa Park & other old Villa pictures
« Reply #99 on: October 30, 2020, 09:56:19 PM »
That is a brilliant photo.

The Holte doesn’t feel right without a roof but in that picture the trees and Aston Hall in the rain create an atmospheric backdrop.

Weirdly the Witton Lane stand looks better than the fairly crap stand that replaced it for the 1966 World Cup.

Offline PeterWithesShin

  • Member
  • Posts: 67456
  • GM : 17.03.2015
Re: Villa Park & other old Villa pictures
« Reply #100 on: October 30, 2020, 10:00:36 PM »
Someone reckons it's 25th August 1958 v Portsmouth, first floodlit game at VP.

Offline Andy_Lochhead_in_the_air

  • Member
  • Posts: 10729
  • Location: Upton Park....No, Olympic Stadium....No, Aston Park...Yes that's it,Turf Moor.
Re: Villa Park & other old Villa pictures
« Reply #101 on: October 30, 2020, 10:41:58 PM »
According to wikipedia (sourcing Simon Inglis) our first floodlit game was in a friendly against Hearts 19/11/58.




Offline West Derby Villan

  • Member
  • Posts: 13600
  • Location: Turn left junction 21A
  • GM : 09.05.2022
Re: Villa Park & other old Villa pictures
« Reply #102 on: October 30, 2020, 10:44:45 PM »
Fantastic atmospheric picture, just wonderful, thanks

Offline PeterWithesShin

  • Member
  • Posts: 67456
  • GM : 17.03.2015
Re: Villa Park & other old Villa pictures
« Reply #103 on: October 30, 2020, 10:50:15 PM »
This is before that friendly and was a floodlight game afaik


Offline papa lazarou

  • Member
  • Posts: 1367
  • GM : 06.11.2020
Re: Villa Park & other old Villa pictures
« Reply #104 on: February 18, 2021, 02:07:23 PM »
I've been scanning some photos to file and came across these that I took from when the old Trinity was being demolished and one a bit later as the new one was being built.









 


SimplePortal 2.3.6 © 2008-2014, SimplePortal