Stamford Bridge is one of the oldest football stadiums in England and has been home to the blues since Chelsea Football Club was founded in 1905.
The Bridge opened on April 28, 1877 as a sports arena. For the first 27 years of its existence it was used almost exclusively for the London Athletic Club's traditionally popular Victorian tracking of athletics meetings.
Ownership of the modest stadium changed hands in 1904 when Mr. Henry Ausgustus (Gus) Mears and his brother, Mr. JT Mears, received the charters, having previously acquired additional land (formerly a large nursery) with the aim of bringing a newer, popular sport, football, to west London.
The new arena they have commissioned on the 12.5 hectare site was designed (like many others across the country) by renowned Scottish football stadium architect Archibald Leitch. The 120-yard long grandstand on the east side, including the gable and roof, could seat 5,000 spectators.
The other sides formed a huge, open shell using thousands of tonnes of excavated material from the Piccadilly Line building, thus supporting the high terrace for standing supporters.
The capacity was originally planned for 100,000 and was the second largest in the country behind a decaying Crystal Palace stadium in south London - then the venue for the FA Cup final.
Originally, the stadium was offered to nearby Fulham FC to play there. They turned down the chance and instead a new team, Chelsea Football Club, was formed in March 1905 and moved to the new Stamford Bridge stadium a few months later for the start of the season.
It quickly became a success, with 60,000 spectators in its first year, promotion to Football League Division One and three FA Cup finals played there between 1920 and 1922.
Aerial view of Stamford Bridge Chelsea Football Club Stadium - London 1922
Where did the name Stamford Bridge come from?
The name of Stamford Bridge is significant in English history as it was the site of a successful battle against the Vikings in Yorkshire in 1066, just prior to defeat by the Normans at the Battle of Hastings.
However, the naming of Chelsea Football Club's stadium is more about local landmarks than conquests from abroad.
On 18th-century maps showing the Fulham Road and King's Road area, there is a creek called "Stanford Creek" that runs along the route of the present-day railway line behind the East Stand. It flowed down into the Thames.
Where the creek crosses Fulham Road it is marked 'Little Chelsea Bridge', originally named Sanford Bridge (from Sand Ford), while a bridge over the creek on King's Road was called Stanbridge (from Stone Bridge). It appears that these two bridge names and that of the Stanford Creek river together evolved into the name Stanford Bridge, which was later changed in turn to Stamford Bridge to become the adopted name of the nearby stadium.
The stadium initially consisted of a grandstand and a gigantic oval-shaped standing terrace covering the other three sides of the stadium. Around 100,000 people were able to get inside Stamford Bridge Stadium at that time.
In the 1930s the stadium was expanded and the so-called Shed End, another large standing terrace, was built behind the goal. The north stand was expanded with seats. At the time, Chelsea's home game against Arsenal FC had the largest attendance with 82,905 fans.
A large crowd packed Stamford Bridge ground for the London Derby between Chelsea and Arsenal in October 1937
The Shed End
After its construction, the stadium remained largely unchanged until the 1930s. Then the southern terrace was partially covered - the strange structure of the canopy later led to the nickname "Shed End".
Ironically, for a name that would become famous in football, the asymmetrical canopy was built for another sport. It covers about a fifth of the terrace area and was designed by original Stamford Bridge architect Archibald Leitch. It was commissioned by the Greyhound Racing Association, which held dog races on the track surrounding the field for many decades. They wanted cover for the bookmakers and their bettors.
Some 30 years after the construction of The Shed Stand, a letter from Dan Cliff Webb published in the Chelsea Matchday program called for the Fulham Road stand to be renamed The Shed. There the Chelsea fans should meet at the home games to support their team loudly and singing. His pleas bore fruit and the grandstand at the south end still bears the name Shed End today.
An addition the north end was added to Stamford Bridge in 1939, and it was also architecturally unusual. There was an urgent need for more covered seating in addition to the original East Stand so a new building was commissioned and started in 1939, with Archibald Leitch again involved in the design process.
Expansion of the East Stand was disrupted by the outbreak of World War II, but when the stand opened in 1945 fans now had the option of upper tier seating in addition to the standing terrace.
Some who sat there even reported that it shook when trains passed on the tracks just behind it, but it survived 30 years until it was demolished with the opening of a huge new East Stand. The North Terrace, now fully re-opened, remained in use until 1993 when conversion to an all-seater Stamford Bridge began.
The Stamford Bridge in 1993
West and Eaststand
In a decade, and nearly one of Chelsea's most successful periods, Stamford Bridge acquired new stands on either side of the pitch.
During 1965 it was agreed that a West Stand would be designed and built, ultimately a fairly modest affair seating just over 6,000 on a conversion of the old, huge terrace on this side of the stadium. There was a roof, although supported by pillars at a time when other grounds were building cantilevered stands, and a terraced area remained along the front, which was later also used by devotees to sit on what became known as 'benches'.
At the back were six rudimentary hospitality boxes, making the Bridge the second stadium in the country after Old Trafford to offer such facilities. With the arrival of floodlights in 1957, big, glamorous European nights also entered the stadium in West London.
With the West Stand and then team a success and the original East Stand more than 60 years old and doomed, then Chelsea directors ambitiously turned their minds to a complete refurbishment of Stamford Bridge into a stunning 60,000 covered, all-seater Arena, starting with the east side.
Scenes outside Stamford Bridge Stadium half an hour before the game between Chelsea FC and Tottenham Hotspur - FA Cup Fifth Round London 20th February 1965
The new project came at an awkward time and was marred by poor decisions, including the appointment of architects with no stadium design experience. The effects of falling visitor numbers were also not taken into account. The British economy was in a slump in the early 1970s, leading to a construction strike and many delays in the construction of the new grandstand. Combined with a drop in results on the pitch that brought the club to its knees, this led to the sale of star players, relegation and near bankruptcy.
When the grandstand opened in 1974, the East Stand's eye-catching design was not to everyone's liking and it towered well above the rest of the stadium, but it brought fans closer to the field than ever by covering the old dog track and providing excellent visibility oft he pitch. Over time, recovery on and off the pitch came and the stands blended well with the rebuilt stadium, where it remains today as the oldest part.
Save the Bridge
After being virtually bankrupt and stuck in Division Two in the early 1980s, Chelsea Football Club was bought by businessman Ken Bates, ending the long Mears dynasty. However, as part of the change of ownership, the stadium became the property of a separate company and former club directors sold shares in it to property developers.
Chelsea had an initial right to continue playing at the Bridge but have had to fight to remain there in the long run. There was always the specter that the stadium would be converted into a supermarket and housing complex and that the team and fans would have to share another stadium with unpopular Fulham FC and Queens Park Rangers.
A bitter, expensive and close to 10-year battle ensued that halted all further development and spawned a "Save the Bridge" campaign to raise money for legal expenses.
A housing market collapse came to Chelsea's rescue and, with an ironic twist, it was the developers who were forced into bankruptcy. In 1992 Chelsea Football Club bought back the stadium.
English League Division One game at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea FC 1 vs Arsenal FC 0. Arsenal's Peter Simpson in a tackle for the ball with Tommy Baldwin of Chelsea - 20 January 1973
It was a close at times, but Stamford Bridge had survived and in 1993 the process began to transform a run-down ground with far views from the pitch into one of the most impressive stadiums in the country, with Bates also introducing the Chelsea Pitch Owners scheme to protect the club from such a threat in the future.
Completion of the arena
The conversion of Stamford Bridge to today's stadium was pushed forward with the redesign of the North Stand area. All-seater stadiums were now the premise of English football's top divisions, and the old semi-circular stand, which only accommodated supporters, was demolished.
At the end of November 1994, a new two-story stand for home fans was opened. Two years later it was renamed the Matthew Harding Stand in memory of the Chelsea vice-chairman who died in a helicopter accident and whose financial loan helped build the stadium. A wraparound link to the west side was later added and the stand remains home to the most vocal Chelsea fans.
Next in line for renovation was the Shed End. The old Home Terrace was last used on the final day of the 1993–94 league season, to be replaced by temporary seating for a number of years before work began on a Shed End seated stand. At the same time, an adjacent four-star hotel, apartments and an underground car park were built.
The final part of the new Stamford Bridge story had yet another hurdle to overcome. The lower tier of the new West Stand was built on schedule, but then problems with the local council over planning permission resulted in a two-year delay before the rest of the stand could be built.
Finally this last 'battle' was won and work began for the remaining part of the stadium, the huge 13,500-seater grandstand with many boxes, function rooms and suites for year-round use. The start of the 2001–02 season finally marked the completion of Stamford Bridge, which had begun in 1973 with the start of the East Stand.
The Stamford Bridge today
The current capacity is around 40,000 and the ground has changed from a huge oval shape to one with all four sides close to the pitch. There is almost no part of the current stadium that has not changed markedly in recent years, with only the huge old 'shed wall' remaining from the early stadium. It can be seen outside of the current site opposite the megastore and ticket office.
The Old Shed Wall - a remnant of the old Shed stand - opposite the Chelsea Megastore and Ticket Office
In addition to all the work on the stadium itself, much of the remaining 12.5 hectare site has undergone construction, including two four-star hotels, restaurants, conference and banquet facilities, an underground car park, a gym, a music venue and more business Center all added.
Stamford Bridge has remained Chelsea FC's home, but it has also come a long, long way.
Über Jörn Lutter
Jörn ist Eigentümer von DIE FUSSBALLREISE. Er gründete 2008 das Unternehmen welches heute unter JL Travel e.K. firmiert.