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Old 16th January 2020, 20.19:10   #676-0 (permalink)
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Default Re: The sad case of a founding members and player of Wrexham Football Club (Massive history thread!)

With the thread now 68 pages long, I feel that it would now be more convenient to add an updated summary of the major structures that have been built on The Racecourse since it was first established.

The Turf Hotel is comprised of two individual buildings, which were each built at different times. The Turf Tavern (the lower section of The Turf Hotel) was built at some point between 1793 and 1819, and The Grandstand (the taller section with a balcony; where the bar area is today) was built sometime prior to 1833. Both of these buildings were later joined together to form the current Turf Hotel.

In the early days of racing at Y Cae Ras, temporary wooden stands were built at either side of The Turf Tavern and dismantled at the end of the race meetings each year. The earliest evidence for this comes from a newspaper report of the 1811 races, in which one of the stands collapsed and a spectator suffered a broken leg.

1854. The first permanent stand was a stone- built structure with wooden plank seating, built on the Mold Road side of the course. The stand was separated from the Turf Tavern by a gate that provided access onto the course. The Turf Tavern was also adapted with offices for race officials and changing rooms for jockeys, which were later used as changing rooms for footballers.

After the birth of Wrexham AFC in 1864, simple open air seating was gradually re-introduced to the side of the pitch on the Northern (Yale side) of the ground. The seating consisted of continuous lines of wooden planks that ran parallel along the entire length of the pitch, and which were elevated in steps that were 7 rows high.

1869. The Mold Road Stand was repaired and upgraded

1890. The Mold Road stand was renovated and extended with a new stand that had an additional gate installed at the Plas Coch the end of this stand.

1913. Major revamp of the stadium prior to the Wales v Scotland International match on 3rd March. The Mold Road stand was extended again and additional seating was provided on the flat ground between the Mold Road stand and the touchline. The height of the banks behind each goal were also increased, particularly at the Crispin Lane end, and some concrete terracing was laid at each end.
The Turf Tavern was renovated and the separate, taller section of the premises, known as The Grandstand was also renovated, internally and externally. These two buildings, which were originally separated by an alleyway, 3 metres wide, had previously been joined together at first floor level by means of lintels which spanned the alley and provided another gated entrance into the ground, but in 1913, the alleyway was bricked up, bringing the two buildings together and forming a lounge area inside of the tavern.


1921. The first covered structure for up to 2,500 standing spectators was erected at the Plas Coch end of the pitch at a cost of £100, which was paid for by the Shareholders Association. At the same time, the height of The Mold Road stand was raised to provide more seating and the height of the terraced embankment at the Crispin Lane end of the ground was again increased.

1924. (May). First stand erected on the Northern (Yale side) of the pitch at a cost of £360 which was paid by the Shareholders Association. The Association formally handed control of the stand to the football club before the last home game of the 1923/24 season, against Durham City on May 3rd.1924.


1924. (September) The Plas Coch Stand was destroyed by a storm, which ripped the roof from its fixings and damaged the foundations. This was the second time that this had happened to the stand behind the Plas Coch goal.

1925. The Plas Coch structure was replaced with a new stand with a curved roof, which was painted with stripes.

1928. Concrete terracing laid to the paddock area in front of the Mold Road stand.

1929. A new covered stand (100 yards long and 25 feet deep) replaced the curved-roof structure at the Plas Coch end of the ground. Built at a cost of £750, which was provided by the Supporters Association, the stand incorporated ladder beams with diagonal cross members, which ran the full length along the front of the stand beneath the roof. The stand was officially opened by the President of the Welsh FA prior to the international game against Ireland on 2nd February.

1930. The ladder-beam design was also used for a new stand which replaced the earlier structure on the northern (Yale side) of the pitch. This stand was opened with an official ceremony, prior to the international match against England on 22nd November.

1931. (September) The angled/wing stand was constructed on Mold Road, filling the gap between the Mold Road and Plas Coch stands and providing covered accommodation for 1000 supporters. Construction work started in July and was completed in time for the opening game of the season against Chester on September 2nd. The £700 construction costs were paid by The Supporters Association

1931. (October) The length of the new stand on the northern (Yale Stand) side of the pitch was extended and its depth was increased down to the touchline, while retaining the ladder-beam design to match the Plas Coch end of the ground.
With accommodation for up to 7,000 supporters, the stand on the northern side of the pitch was now 70 yards long and 42 feet deep, and had been built at a total cost of around £900 (£368 of which was paid by the Supporters Association).
The stand was officially opened prior to the Wales v Scotland international match on 31st October 1931. The height of the ‘Spion Kop’ terracing at the Crispin Lane end of the ground had also been raised again to increase capacity for this match.

1937. Both the Yale Stand and The Plas Coch Stands were each extended to merge into a single structure, while new terracing was also laid to both ends of the ground in time for the FA Cup tie against Manchester City on 16th January.


1948. A conversion of the area under the Mold Road stand provided new changing rooms for players, while a new entrance was erected at the northern (Yale side) of the ground. The work to the dressing rooms had been started in April 1947 and completed in time for the international match against Ireland on March 10th 1948.

1952. Old terracing removed and new raised concrete terracing laid on the Crispin Lane end of ground to form the kop.

1957. Ground improvements included a new entrance and turnstiles next to The Turf Hotel, with a new stand in the enclosure providing 250 tip-up seats for season ticket holders. A new concrete boundary wall was also built around the pitch to replace railings and additional terracing was constructed on the kop to increase the ground capacity to 40,000.

1959. New floodlights switched on for the home tie against Swindon on 30th September.

1962. A new 700-seater stand, which was comprised of a reclaimed balcony from The Majestic Cinema in Wrexham, was erected on the kop and opened for the start of the 1962/63 season. First known as ‘The Busfield Stand’ due to an advertising hoarding on the front of the structure, the stand later became known as ‘The Pigeon Loft’. The stand was bought and erected at a cost of £4,000, which was paid by the Supporters Association.

1972. A New £80,000 stand was opened on the Yale side of the ground, which was comprised of an upper tier of seated accommodation and lower terraces for standing spectators close to the pitch. The base of the stand also provided office space for club officials, changing rooms and the hospitality rooms, which are now known as the Centenary Club.

1978. Another two-tired stand costing around £200,000 was opened at the Plas Coch end of ground, replacing the earlier ‘tech end’. Like the Yale Stand, the new stand was comprised of an upper tier for seated supporters and a lower section of terraces.

1999. The Mold Road Stand and the old changing rooms of The Turf Tavern were demolished to make way for the current 3,500-seater Mold Road Stand.

Last edited by eastsussexred; 16th January 2020 at 20.32:20..
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Old 17th January 2020, 09.25:12   #677-0 (permalink)
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Default Re: The sad case of a founding members and player of Wrexham Football Club (Massive history thread!)

My favourite ever thread on RP , thank you to esr for the incredible amount of research and knowledge you’ve found. I’ve said before that this ought to be recognised in some way by the club.
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Old 17th January 2020, 09.48:37   #678-0 (permalink)
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Default Re: The sad case of a founding members and player of Wrexham Football Club (Massive history thread!)

Interesting to note that the renovation work in 1957 raised the capacity to 40,000.
All reference books (eg rothmans, annuals etc) always gave capacity as 36,000 prior to health and safety.
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Old 17th January 2020, 13.10:58   #679-0 (permalink)
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Default Re: The sad case of a founding members and player of Wrexham Football Club (Massive history thread!)

Quote:
Originally Posted by WasanActonlad View Post
Interesting to note that the renovation work in 1957 raised the capacity to 40,000.
All reference books (eg rothmans, annuals etc) always gave capacity as 36,000 prior to health and safety.
Its just one of numerous errors that have been recorded about the The Racecourse (and the town and club of Wrexham) in the history books and elsewhere, WAL; hence, this thread.
The introduction of internet searches has made the research much easier than it was when the history books were written, when the research itself was often based on the earlier research of the authors of earlier history books.

When Wrexham played Manchester United on 26 January 1957, the attendance for the game was 34,445, and the size of the attendance was determined by the capacity of the ground at that time, which included the capacity of the kop, as it was, after new terracing had been laid, back in 1952.
But after the 1952 ground improvements, the club had embarked on a five year plan to raise the capacity of The Racecourse to 45000.
At the end of the 1956/57 season, and just months after the game against Manchester United, Wrexham FC started phase 4 of the five year plan, which would increase the ground capacity to 40000 for the start of the 1957/58 season. The improvements included the works that I have stated in my summary, such as the additional seats and the new turnstile area next to The Turf Hotel, but also included additional work to the kop.
When Wrexham played United, the terraces on the kop did not extend to the touchline on the Yale side of the ground, but were stopped short, not much beyond the 18 yard box. And so, additional concrete terracing was laid on the derelict area beyond this boundary; which, along with other improvements,therefore increased ground capacity to 40,000 for the following season.
The attached newspaper photo hasn’t been seen in recent times, but it clearly shows the work that was ongoing to this side of the kop in June 1957. The newspaper report, also attached, gives the capacity for the 1958 season at around 40000, with an intended capacity of 45000 at the end of the 5 year period.

Hopefully, in time, the entire recorded history of The Racecourse will be re-evaluated by the powers that be, and amended accordingly.
Attached Images
File Type: jpg 1957 Construction work on the kop.jpg (140.5 KB, 26 views)
File Type: jpg 40000 capacity for 1958.jpg (106.7 KB, 23 views)
File Type: jpg Planned 45000 capacity 1957.jpg (93.0 KB, 24 views)

Last edited by eastsussexred; 17th January 2020 at 13.24:56..
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Old 17th January 2020, 13.29:31   #680-0 (permalink)
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Default Re: The sad case of a founding members and player of Wrexham Football Club (Massive history thread!)

Would be interesting to note the ascending record attendances at the racecourse that reached the record of 36000 +* v man utd in 1957..
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Old 17th January 2020, 13.59:05   #681-0 (permalink)
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Default Re: The sad case of a founding members and player of Wrexham Football Club (Massive history thread!)

Excellent thread. Thanks
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Old 17th January 2020, 14.10:10   #682-0 (permalink)
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Default Re: The sad case of a founding members and player of Wrexham Football Club (Massive history thread!)

Quote:
Originally Posted by WasanActonlad View Post
Would be interesting to note the ascending record attendances at the racecourse that reached the record of 36000 +* v man utd in 1957..
As you will know, attendances and capacity are two very different things WAL. Unfortunately, our maximum attendances did not return until our glory days in the 1970's, by which time, health and safety standards had changed and our ground capacity decreased accordingly.

Last edited by eastsussexred; 17th January 2020 at 14.11:35..
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Old 17th January 2020, 20.38:43   #683-0 (permalink)
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Default Re: The sad case of a founding members and player of Wrexham Football Club (Massive history thread!)

Another fact that has been forgotten about The Racecourse, is that it also served as a stadium for international Hockey matches at the end of the 19th Century and into the 20th Century.
The Welsh Hockey Association was founded in 1896 with the Welsh Womens Hockey Association founded the following year. The Wrexham Hockey Club are believed to have had a pitch on other areas of The Racecourse from around 1919, but International Hockey was played on the football pitch (as attached)
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Old 17th January 2020, 20.56:49   #684-0 (permalink)
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Default Re: The sad case of a founding members and player of Wrexham Football Club (Massive history thread!)

Quote:
Originally Posted by eastsussexred View Post
Another fact that has been forgotten about The Racecourse, is that it also served as a stadium for international Hockey matches at the end of the 19th Century and into the 20th Century.
The Welsh Hockey Association was founded in 1896 with the Welsh Womens Hockey Association founded the following year. The Wrexham Hockey Club are believed to have had a pitch on other areas of The Racecourse from around 1919, but International Hockey was played on the football pitch (as attached)
Not claiming a bias but a very South Wales line up in the 1909 game against Scotland.
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