Saltergate (Recreation Ground)

Saltergate, officially the Recreation Ground, was the historic home of Chesterfield Football Club, and was in use from 1871 until the club's relocation in July 2010, a 139-year history that made it one of the oldest football grounds in England at the time of its closure. From the 1920s onward the name Saltergate became predominant in popular references to the ground. Tightly surrounded by housing, the football stadium was located near Chesterfield's town centre on the thoroughfare of the same name. The ground underwent only limited additional development after a new main stand was opened in 1936. Although plans to develop the site were explored, the club's fans ultimately voted in favour of pursuing a new ground in a 2003 ballot, with the site confirmed by a 2006 poll. The final Chesterfield fixture at Saltergate, a Football League Two game against Bournemouth, was held on 8 May 2010. From the 2010-11 season, the team switched to the new b2net Stadium, now the SMH Group Stadium, located in the Whittington Moor area of the town. In January 2012, the football club sold the Saltergate site to Barratt Homes. Its demolition to make way for a new housing development began in April and was completed in July 2012. Today the road located in front of the site is still named Saltergate. In 1871, Chesterfield Football Club became a distinct entity from the Chesterfield Cricket Club, from which it was formed in the previous decade. Together, they took up the tenancy at the New Recreation Ground, Saltergate, located just 100 yards West of their previous home, and the ground was used for both sports for more than two decades. The site hosted its first game of football on 4 November 1871, with Rotherham providing the opposition in a 14-a-side match under Sheffield Rules. 11-a-side football was first played a few weeks later against the Sheffield F.A. team. A wooden pavilion was developed on the eastern side of the ground later in the 1870s but otherwise it remained simply an open field in this era. League football came to Saltergate in 1899 with Chesterfield Town's election to play in Division Two of the Football League. The club's step up necessitated remedial work on a pitch that sloped markedly from north to south, most notably the removal of a hill in the north west corner, the spoil from which was dumped at the Saltergate end. The inter-war years represented Saltergate's main period of development. When Chesterfield F.C. became founder members of the new Third Division North in 1921, the ground saw a new spurt of improvements. In 1931, at a time of growing ambition for the club, terracing was cut into the cinder banking of the Kop and further earth removal from the Cross Street to Saltergate end was undertaken to level the pitch. In a successful push for promotion to the Second Division in 1931-32, 20,092 fans crammed into the ground to see the home team overtake Lincoln City for the top spot. In 1936, the club borrowed around 14,000 pounds to fund the erection of a new brick and steel main stand by Scottish architect Archibald Leitch.

Saltergate, officially the Recreation Ground, was the historic home of Chesterfield Football Club, and was in use from 1871 until the club's relocation in July 2010, a 139-year history that made it one of the oldest football grounds in England at the time of its closure. From the 1920s onward the name Saltergate became predominant in popular references to the ground. Tightly surrounded by housing, the football stadium was located near Chesterfield's town centre on the thoroughfare of the same name. The ground underwent only limited additional development after a new main stand was opened in 1936. Although plans to develop the site were explored, the club's fans ultimately voted in favour of pursuing a new ground in a 2003 ballot, with the site confirmed by a 2006 poll. The final Chesterfield fixture at Saltergate, a Football League Two game against Bournemouth, was held on 8 May 2010. From the 2010-11 season, the team switched to the new b2net Stadium, now the SMH Group Stadium, located in the Whittington Moor area of the town. In January 2012, the football club sold the Saltergate site to Barratt Homes. Its demolition to make way for a new housing development began in April and was completed in July 2012. Today the road located in front of the site is still named Saltergate. In 1871, Chesterfield Football Club became a distinct entity from the Chesterfield Cricket Club, from which it was formed in the previous decade. Together, they took up the tenancy at the New Recreation Ground, Saltergate, located just 100 yards West of their previous home, and the ground was used for both sports for more than two decades. The site hosted its first game of football on 4 November 1871, with Rotherham providing the opposition in a 14-a-side match under Sheffield Rules. 11-a-side football was first played a few weeks later against the Sheffield F.A. team. A wooden pavilion was developed on the eastern side of the ground later in the 1870s but otherwise it remained simply an open field in this era. League football came to Saltergate in 1899 with Chesterfield Town's election to play in Division Two of the Football League. The club's step up necessitated remedial work on a pitch that sloped markedly from north to south, most notably the removal of a hill in the north west corner, the spoil from which was dumped at the Saltergate end. The inter-war years represented Saltergate's main period of development. When Chesterfield F.C. became founder members of the new Third Division North in 1921, the ground saw a new spurt of improvements. In 1931, at a time of growing ambition for the club, terracing was cut into the cinder banking of the Kop and further earth removal from the Cross Street to Saltergate end was undertaken to level the pitch. In a successful push for promotion to the Second Division in 1931-32, 20,092 fans crammed into the ground to see the home team overtake Lincoln City for the top spot. In 1936, the club borrowed around 14,000 pounds to fund the erection of a new brick and steel main stand by Scottish architect Archibald Leitch.