Every Monday I’m posting a section from my book ‘The Emergence of Footballing Cultures: Manchester 1840-1919’. It tells the story of the origins of men’s football in Manchester and discusses the birth of both City and United plus the clubs that predated them such as Hulme Athenaeum, Manchester AFC, Birch etc. Today’s section is the fourth chapter of the book (a 11,000 word section). This focuses on the footballing communities that developed during the mid to late 1800s.
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Years before Manchester City created the Maine Road stadium and housing filled all sides of the street a field on the road was used for football and other sporting activity. The area was quite rural in the 1860s and 1870s but gradually housing and industry swamped the area. Maine Road itself was originally called Dog Kennel Lane and it used to continue past its current end point with a bend in the road changing its direction south towards the area of Hough End (see below for map etc.).
I’ve talked about Dog Kennel Lane a lot over the years and include its story and why the name of the street changed in Farewell To Maine Road and elsewhere on this site. Here’s an early mention of Dog Kennel Lane in relation to football. Manchester Association were the city’s prominent team in the mid 1870s and early 1880s. They promoted the game extensively and subscribers can read their story here:
I explain a lot more about them in The Emergence of Footballing Cultures: Manchester 1840-1919.
The brief newspaper cutting from 1882 mentions their Dog Kennel Lane ground. On the following I show where Maine Road was later built but the Manchester ground was probably further up the road/lane towards what became Great Western Street.
An early 20th century interpretation of an older map, showing modern streets (dotted) with the original roads.Manchester Association at Dog Kennel Lane, 1882
If you’d like to read more on the history of Maine Road, take a look at Farewell To Maine Road, which can be downloaded from this page:
If you enjoy all the free material on my website and would like to support my research and keep this website going (but don’t want to subscribe) then why not make a one-time donation (or buy me a coffee). All support for my research is valued and welcome. It allows me to keep some free material available for all. Thanks.
Day 61 of my posts counting down to the centenary of Maine Road’s opening game continues from yesterday and reveals how, years before Manchester City moved to Maine Road, significant football matches were played on fields next to the road.
Yesterday I talked about Dog Kennel Lane, well today here’s a mention of Dog Kennel Lane in relation to football. Manchester Association were the city’s prominent team in the mid 1870s and early 1880s. They promoted the game extensively and subscribers can read their story here:
I explain a lot more about them in The Emergence of Footballing Cultures: Manchester 1840-1919.
The brief newspaper cutting from 1882 mentions their Dog Kennel Lane ground. On the following I show where Maine Road was later built but the Manchester ground was probably further up the road/lane towards what became Great Western Street.
An early 20th century interpretation of an older map, showing modern streets (dotted) with the original roads.Manchester Association at Dog Kennel Lane, 1882
If you’d like to read more on the history of Maine Road, take a look at Farewell To Maine Road, which can be downloaded from this page:
If you enjoy all the free material on my website and would like to support my research and keep this website going (but don’t want to subscribe) then why not make a one-time donation (or buy me a coffee). All support for my research is valued and welcome. It allows me to keep some free material available for all. Thanks.
