 W.S. Armstrong, Auctioneers.: An Auction Catalogue of Property in Gallowgate and Strawberry Lane, Newcastle, immediately adjacent to the present Newcastle United St. James' Park Football Ground., Auction to be held on the 4th July 1888.Football was first played officially at St. James' Park, Newcastle,in 1880 when Newcastle Rangers in September of that year took over an enclosed ground close to Leazes Terrace. The pitch was immediately referred to as St. James Park. In 1886, Newcastle West End football club took over the lease at St. James' Park. The following few years saw Newcastle West End and Newcastle East End clubs vie for supremacy with East End emerging and essentially becoming the Magpies. The site shown on the enclosed 1888 auction plan of property close to the ground still exists as a commercial site and can easily be traced on any modern map. The South-east corner of the present St. James' Park is where the words "Castle Leazes" is shown on the 1888 auction plan. In short, this auction sale and consequent change of site ownership and redevelopment took place at the exact time that major changes were taking place in the development of what was to become the home of Newcastle United. The auction catalogue shows the names of all the tenants on the site at the time. Some of these families are undoubtably the earliest football supporters in Newcastle and the North East. If your surname is one of the following your great great grandparents could have regularly stood behind the goal at the Gallowgate End. Atkinson; Bell; Carver; Dawson; Handysides; Hedley; Houseman; Johnson; Kay; Lindsay; McGurk; McMaster; Nixon; Robson; Slater; Smart; Thompson; Trundle; Vineberg; Weightman. This 122-year old auction sale catalogue and attached plan may well be the earliest formal document still in private hands with links to the establishment of football at St. James' Park. Don't miss it if you're a collector of Newcastle United memorabilia - you're unlikely to ever see its like again. (Price includes postage UK) (Book ref. as-1899) £ 85.00 The payment methods accepted by the seller, Unique or Rare, are shown in the right-hand column. |
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