Hinckley United Football Club
Members of the Southern League (Midland Division)
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THE "LANE" - A PROUD HISTORYAt the end of the Second World War, in mid June 1945 with competitive football getting ready to start up again, Hinckley United (as the club was then known) found themselves without a ground. The Holywell was no longer available for the club, the brewery owners being no longer anxious for the ground to be tied to sporting activities. After much searching the Middlefield Lane site was eventually secured in August 1946. It cost the club �500 and some years previous was utilised as a dog racing track - the enclosure having an area of five acres. In the following month, on Tuesday 3rd September 1946 the club's name was changed to Hinckley Athletic and football resumed, the club playing in junior football for the 1946-47 season in the Nuneaton Combination and the South Leicestershire League before resuming their Birmingham Combination membership in the following season. The first ever game played by Hinckley Athletic on the ground was on Saturday 14th September 1946 when Athletic were beaten 3-4 by Croft in a South Leicestershire League Division One match, the game eventually being declared void as Croft did not complete the season.A cinder track was laid to provide dry standing accomodation and also to serve as a running track for training and athletic fixtures. A temporary dressing room was constructed from wood from the old Holywell stand but the pitch was a rough enclosure full of lants and a bulldozer was to be employed at the seasonss end to flatten the play ing area. The Supporters Club set up a tea stall, a substantial Spion Kop was constructed and towards the top goal a stand, which was not as long as the one on the Holywell but stronger and more weatherproof, was erected. The approches to the ground were not made up and spectators had to approach the ground walking through the thick mud of Middlefield Lane. In early 1947 several tons of ashes were obtained to make a path along Middlefield Lane to the ground. Once the season was over the pitch was ploughed up, levelled and re- seeded (that cost �51) and rubble was collected to provide raised terracing. Concrete posts were sunk into the ground ready for wire cable to surround the playing area. In August 1947 there was now dressing room accomodation for the two teams and an embankment was built along one side but both timber and cash were required before a stand could be added twelve months later and new gates to the ground were erected and the canteen adopted for use by the match officials and a Stand Appeal was set up. Boxing Day 1949 saw a massive 5,410 spectators cram into the ground for a Birmingham Combination match against local rivals Nuneaton Borough, this is the biggest crowd ever to watch a football match in Hinckley. In 1950 the go-ahead for the stand was received and the appeal had raised over �750. That stand remains to this day but the wooden slats were replaced in 1993 with individual tip up seats bought from Leicester City when their main stand was demolished. In 1955 plans were announced for the building of a new clubhouse. 1957 saw the opening of new dressing rooms - the building has been improved with the passage of time and now offers seperate spacious dressing rooms with full shower and toilet facilities for both teams and the match officials together with a manager's office, secretary's office and a canteen. Also the residents of Middlefield Lane approached the Council regarding the making up of the Lane which was eventually done, much to the relief of everyone at the Football Club, no more ploughing through thick mud to reach the ground. Meanwhile the Supporters Club were improving the approaches to the ground. With the election of the club into the Southern League in 1959, concrete slabs were laid behind the Middlefield Lane goal to provide terracing, the ground at this time also offering covered standing accomodation, popularly known as "The Chicken Shed" on the opposite side to the seated stand. There were entrances to the ground on either side behind the Middlefield Lane goal together with one behind the Richmond Park goal. After leaving the Southern League, the club struggled to survive for a decade and little happened in the way of ground improvements until 1977 when the present Clubhouse was erected behind the Middlefield Lane goal to replace the smaller one which had stood to the left of the present ground entrance. Two years later and floodlights arrived at Middlefield Lane and were officially opened on Monday 1st October 1979 with a special game against Leicester City which attracted a healthy crowd of 1,554, a lone goal winning the day for the Football League club. High wiinds in November 1985 demolished "The Chicken Shed" and the club immediately set to work. Within ten weeks, in January 1986 approximately two thirds of that side of the ground had concrete stepped terracing laid together with a smart new cover to provide dry standing accomodation for 1,000 spectators. That stand is known as the Ron Holtham Stand" in memory- of our former director and tireless worker for the club's cause. "The Chicken Shed'. is fondly remembered by Athletic supporters where, when the ball landed on top, you could always guarantee being showered by rust! Next on the agenda was the installation of a magnificent set of new floodlights, costing well over �20,000 and up to G M Vauxhall Conference standard. They were officially opened on 14th October 1991 with a visit from Coventry City. Three of the pylons were purchased from West Bromwich Albion when they left their former training ground, the fourth pylon being made to match the other three exactly. The ground cam now be spotted quite easily wiith the four pylons dominating the local skyline and the glow from the floodlights being clearly visible for miles around. Work continued in 1993 to enclose the ground with concrete panel fencing, a directors room was built offering better facilities for entertaining opposing clubs and other guests in full view of the pitch between the dressing rooms and the stand, turnstiles have been installed at the ground entrance and like the seats in the stand were purchased on the demolition of Leicester City's old main stand. On entering the ground, to the left is a hut for the selling the day's matchday magazine and other souvenirs, meanwhile to the right is a treatment room for the benefit of the players and physiotherapist. In preparation to stage the Semi- Finals of the European Championship for Players with Learning Disabilities, the summer of 1996 saw railings erected at the Richmond Park end to completely enclose the ground. Also further concrete terracing waas laid and the posts and railings surrounding the pitch were completely replaced. Since the merger with Hinckley Town further improvements have been effected, including a new directors' room and main stand roof. Main / News / Results / Fixtures / Players / History / Heroes / Fantalk |
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