Category Archives: Ardwick AFC

Ardwick Association Football Club

The other week I posted this card from John Baines (he used to produce these cards in Bradford, West Yorkshire) featuring Ardwick AFC’s captain Davie Weir. It made me realise that perhaps I should post more on the Ardwick years of City and so here’s a small piece on the birth of Ardwick in 1887. That year was to prove perhaps the most important year of the decade as far as the club was concerned. Gorton AFC’s leaders decided in which direction the Club should go after spending a couple of seasons playing at the Bull’s Head in Reddish Lane, on the very edge of Gorton.  This was really as far away from the Club’s Clowes Street origins as the side could go while remaining in Gorton. The Club’s identity was in danger of disappearing.  

Association Football was becoming more popular in the area and sides, such as Newton Heath, were beginning to progress, winning trophies such as the Manchester Cup.  Professionalism was beginning to develop and Gorton had to decide on whether their future was to be as a good local side, such as a modern day pub team, or as a professional outfit.

The decision was taken to become a progressive and professional outfit.  The committee also wanted Gorton to return to their Clowes Street roots.  They recognised that this was not entirely possible – Clowes Street remained one of Manchester’s most densely populated areas – but they did manage to find an area of wasteland not too far away.  Legend tells us that Club Captain Kenneth McKenzie lived in Bennett Street, Ardwick, and every lunchtime he would take a short cut from Bennett’s Timber Yard, off Hyde Road, through the L&NWR railway arches, and across the wasteland to Bennett St.  He believed that with a little effort this land could become Gorton’s home.

After a great deal of effort and negotiation with the railway company which owned the land the pitch was ready for its first match by the end of August 1887.  In addition, steps were taken to relaunch the Club.  The name of Ardwick AFC was chosen as the new ground was just within the boundaries of Ardwick and not Gorton, although it has to be stressed that this ground was closer to Clowes Street than any other Gorton venue used by the Club after its first season.

The nearby Hyde Road Hotel became Ardwick’s headquarters.  Stones from this building, demolished in 2002, formed part of the Club’s Memorial Garden at the City Of Manchester Stadium when it was opened.

Gradually Ardwick increased their support and it’s fair to say that by the summer of 1888 Ardwick were Manchester’s most popular club, or at least on a par with Newton Heath.  In 1889 Ardwick built a grandstand capable of holding 1,000 spectators, and for the sum of £5 15s the club’s first pay box – turnstile was not an appropriate name – was erected.  

From that point on the side grew at a rapid rate and managed to recruit several good quality and well known players.  Perhaps the best known at the time was Davie Weir (seen on the card at the top of this page) who joined Ardwick in May 1890.  Often described as individualistic, Weir was an England international when he arrived at Hyde Road after playing in the 6-1 victory over Ireland in March 1889 and a 3-2 defeat by Scotland the following April.  Against Scotland he was credited with scoring England’s second goal, although there remains some dispute as to who got the final touch.

At City Weir played as a forward, but he had previously been known for fulfilling a variety of roles most notably centre-half.  Football was still developing of course, but the key point concerning Weir’s pre-Ardwick days is that he was known as a great goalscorer whatever position he played at Bolton.  He’d only missed one match during Bolton’s first two seasons of League football, and had netted a 21 goals in 43 League games.  During 1889-90 season he scored an incredible 10 goals in only 4 FA Cup ties.  Clearly for Weir – a player only in his late twenties – to leave League side Bolton to join a side that had yet to compete in any formal league says a great deal about the ambition of Ardwick.

At Hyde Road Weir was immediately popular and he netted two hat-tricks in his first four games.  He also scored the first Ardwick goal in the FA Cup, and was a key member of the side that competed in the Alliance League in 1891-2.  His career also saw him feature in the Club’s first season in the Football League where he became Ardwick’s top goalscorer, despite returning to Bolton midway through the season in January 1893.

In later life he became the Glossop manager in 1909 and remained with the Division Two side until April 1911 when he was approached by Stuttgart to become their coach.  He passed away in November 1933 at the age of 70.

Manchester 1840-1919 (Part One)

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 introduction to the book. There is material in every section of the book that should interest fans of Manchester football, no matter which team you support, or academic researchers/historians.

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Starting Monday: Manchester 1840-1919

Every Monday starting on 3 August 2025 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. There is material in every section of the book that should interest fans of Manchester football, no matter which team you support, or academic researchers/historians.

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Ardwick Wins Card

Here’s a nice card from John Baines (he used to produce these cards in Bradford, West Yorkshire) featuring Ardwick AFC’s captain Davie Weir. Presumably this is from 1892-1894 when the team was in the Football League. Weir was the club’s top scorer in 1892-93.

Starting Tomorrow: The Origins Of Manchester City

Already this website tells the story of Manchester City with seasonal articles on every season from 1890-91 (Ardwick) through to 2009-10 and throughout February I’ll be adding the history of the Club prior to 1890. Starting with material from the 1850s and the establishment of an organisation that was to play a major part in the establishment of the Club, I’ll be telling via a series of articles the story of key individuals/origins/moments that contributed to the establishment of a football club. The series starts tomorrow with the first feature on the 1850s. Watch this space!

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St Mark’s, West Gorton, Gorton, Manchester City and Key Early Figures

It’s now almost 40 years since I first started detailed research into the history of Manchester City and its origins, and it’s an area that is still fascinating. I still keep being asked about the origins of Manchester City, particularly the period prior to 1894 and I love the fact so many are interested in the steps that led to the establishment of what has become a major, global footballing power. I’ve posted much about those early years on this site but I know it’s often in a scattered style making it difficult to find, so here for those interested, are links to past articles on key figures and moments in the St Mark’s, West Gorton, Gorton AFC, Ardwick & associated clubs’ history. Tomorrow from noon for 24 hours I’ll be giving free access to a video I did a while back on the origins (details of the video lower down this page).

Firstly, the earliest known game (note: not necessarily the first game!):

St Mark’s First

The club’s earliest known captain Walter Sumner. Here’s an article I posted in February 2023:

True Blues: William Sumner, the Earliest Captain

A couple of founding fathers:

True Blues – William Beastow and James Moores

Walter Chew, a man occasionally described as ‘The Father of Manchester City’ (though he himself tells a different story and in a 1920s interview told his eye witness story of who the actual founder was):

True Blues – Walter Chew

Ardwick’s death:

The 1890s: 1893-1894 Ardwick’s Last

The visionary who contributed so much to shape the newly created Manchester City in 1894:

True Blues – Joshua Parlby

The City launch:

The 1890s: 1894-1895 Parlby’s City

A man every Blue should know about, Lawrence Furniss. A player with Gorton, Ardwick secretary-manager, MCFC director, chairman responsible for move to Maine Road, Life President when City won the title in 1937. He saw it all and was involved from the 1880s through to 1940s when he died:

True Blues – Lawrence Furniss

The facts not the fiction…. There are so many myths, assumptions, exaggerations etc. doing the rounds so hopefully this piece I wrote a few years back helps to explain:

The Origins of Manchester City: Facts Not Fiction

If you’re interested in the wider Manchester story:

Manchester’s Football Origins

Information on the St Mark’s community leaders:

True Blues – St Mark’s Community Leaders

An example of an early match:

Broadbottom 3 Manchester City 0…

On 1 February 2023 I performed an online talk on the latest research into the origins of City, focusing on the period prior to 1887 when the club was based in the West Gorton and Gorton areas. Tomorrow from noon I’ll post this for all to see for free for 24 hours, but if you can’t wait or miss it then it is already available here for subscribers to the site:

History Talk Video: The Origins of MCFC

There are still many gaps in our knowledge even though material has been rediscovered in recent years. There are some things we won’t know but over the coming weeks I’ll post more on the early years. Some will be available to all, some to subscribers but I’m sure there’ll be lots out there to enjoy.

In the meantime why not search the website or use the tags to see articles on the period prior to 1894. Every season of the 1890s for example has a detailed article written about it while individual games, players and related stories are also included within the thousands of posts on this site. Here’s a link to the 1890-91 season for example:

The 1890s: 1890-1891 The Brewery Men

There are even features on attendances during that decade such as:

The 1890s: 1896-97 Attendances

And this one, which included stories of floodlit games:

The 1890s: 1889-1890 Illuminated Ardwick

Arthur Connell

The origins of Manchester City, like many other clubs, have been misunderstood or incorrectly reported over the years and there are many areas of ongoing research that will fill the gaps over the coming years. It takes time and effort to research at the level needed. When I first started researching there were some stories that had been passed down for years that have since been challenged and corrected but there are many other areas to reflect on. There are, of course, many other areas where further research is still needed.

For years I’ve worked with a variety of people on the origins of City (one of the key elements of my PhD research was on the origins of men’s and women’s football in Manchester and my research into this continues). In the 2010s MCFC set up a research group called Project Blue which I willingly helped and explained the myths that exist and what we still don’t know. The following slide was part of a lengthy presentation I performed on 14 December 2011 on that where I explained how we got where we were at the time and those who had worked together on uncovering the club’s early history.

One of my slides presented to the history research group Project Blue on research into Manchester City’s origins on 14 December 2011

I was always grateful to Dennis Chapman, John Maddocks and Ray Goble who welcomed me into their ‘club’ of research and others, such as Dave Masey who, like me, was a member of the Association of Football Statisticians. Dave continues to help my research. Thanks to these guys and others when I was starting out I have tried to ensure I help and support others researching. The more we research and share, the greater our collective knowledge.

There is still much to be done and sadly lots we will never know.

Whatever research is uncovered over the coming years one thing is clear and that is the history and origins of Manchester City are wrapped up in community initiatives and a desire by some to use football as a positive, community building enterprise. People like William Sumner, Walter & William Chew, Lawrence Furniss and Joshua Parlby should always be remembered for their part in the formative years of football in our city.

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Death of Walter Chew

On this day (31 August) in 1948 the death was announced of Walter Chew, a man associated with the first known season of St Mark’s (though there are serious doubts on whether the 16 year old played in the earliest known game based on his own comments). St Mark’s is vital in the development of Manchester City. Chew was a key figure in the club’s formative years but there are some myths out there about him and that time. His obituary above is from August 1948 which says he was 84 at the time of his death. You can find out more about Chew and the latest research below:

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Ardwick v Everton under Floodlights in 1890

It wasn’t the first game under floodlights for Ardwick (Manchester City’s predecessors) but it was a significant occasion when on Monday 10 March 1890 the club played Everton under lights at Hyde Road. This match report describes the game. Notice that not much is said about the lights themselves. That’s because it wasn’t the first occasion the club had played under lights in Manchester and those reading the report would be expected to know what Well’s patent lights were due to the features that had been written previously.

People often talk of the 1950s as being the birth of floodlit football but, of course, like many things in football’s history there had been firsts decades earlier.

On 14 October in 1953 the first game under floodlights at Maine Road took place, Manchester City 6 Hearts 3.  Here’s an article about that period and City’s first formal floodlighting system, including a photo from the actual game and another report.

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Cricket at Manchester City FC

There have been games of cricket played by Manchester City over the years and there have been occasions when other sports, such as rugby and tennis, have been played at City’s grounds but it may surprise some to know that cricket has also been played at the club’s venues. Back on 24 July 1891 a Manchester newspaper listed this cricket fixture to be played at Hyde Road (at the time the ground of Ardwick AFC – City’s predecessor). It won’t have been the only cricket match there and the site had been known to stage bare knuckle boxing bouts years before the football ground was built there.

The First Manchester Cup Final

2025 marks the 140th anniversary of the first final of the Manchester Cup (later known as the Manchester Senior cup). The Manchester Cup was the first competition either Manchester United (as Newton Heath) or Manchester City (as Ardwick) won and was a hugely significant competition at the time of their first victories. In many ways it was more important locally than the FA Cup. The final was held on 25 April 1885 and you can read a match report of the game here and then my own words on the final:

The first season of the Manchester Cup proved to be very exciting with games involving Hurst and Newton Heath grabbing much attention in the local newspapers.  In fact the two sides competed in the first Manchester Cup final.  This was played at Manchester FC’s Whalley Range ground and had an attendance of approximately 3,500.  The Ashton club won 3-0 and at the end of the match all the Hurst players were lifted shoulder high by their fans and there was tremendous excitement on the pitch.  It was perhaps the first time a Manchester side had experienced success that actually meant something.  Hurst could rightly claim to be the best in the area, and after the game finished the President of the Manchester FA, Mr. Colbert, presented the cup to J. Ingham, Hurst’s Captain.  The Reporter newspaper then described the fantastic parade that took place all the way back to Ashton:  ‘All the way from Whalley Range the victors kept cheering and the band playing, the cup being held up in front of one of the carriages in which the journey to Ashton was made.  On arriving in town their cheers were redoubled and they received a great ovation in the streets.

‘The victors crowded into the Pitt & Nelson, and Mr. Joseph Fletcher, holding in his hand the cup which was filled with liquor, and addressing the captain of the club, said he had great pleasure in presenting to Mr. Ingham the cup on behalf of the Hurst Cricket & football Club.’

Joseph Fetcher was the landlord of the Pitt & Nelson and according to the Reporter he made a speech saying that he: ‘had lately been in Blackburn and he could assure them that the fame of the Hurst club was well known in that district and he was certain that the next season they would be called upon to play with teams from that district, the Mother of the Game.’

This was undoubtedly the finest moment for any of the Manchester clubs at this stage in history, and Hurst were worthy recipients of the praise.  Hurst had done more than most to encourage the game to develop and, as well as entering the FA Cup, they also tried to arrange fixtures with teams beyond the Manchester boundaries.  In March 1885 they had welcomed Welsh side Rhyl to Hurst and the Ashton side won 8-1 before 3,000 fans, then on Good Friday they played their return match and, according to reports from the period over 750 fans travelled from Ashton for the game which Hurst won 4-0.  Considering the nature of travel, working conditions, and the state of the game at the time this was a major achievement.

You can find out more about the origins of football in Manchester in my book Manchester A Football History. The book is long out of print but PDFs of the entire 2010 edition is available to subscribers to this site.

This is the Introduction for the 2010 edition of the book Manchester A Football History (Gary James, published by James Ward). As with everything else on this site copyright laws apply. The book is published here for the personal use of subscribers to this site. For any other use please email the publishers at info@manchesterfootball.org

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