Holker Street
Encyclopedia
Holker Street, also known as the Furness Building Society Stadium for sponsorship purposes, is a sports stadium
located in Barrow-in-Furness
, Cumbria
, England
. Currently and originally used as a football ground, it has also previously been used for speedways
races. In addition, the ground also previously had some leisure centre
facilities, including four squash courts which have now been demolished. Its current owners and tenants for the vast majority of its history are Barrow AFC
, who have played at the ground since 1909. Despite having a present capacity of 5,000, some 16,874 people crammed the stadium in January 1954 when Barrow AFC played Swansea Town
in the FA Cup
third round.
, who had used the land as a rubbish tip. It had been converted into a football pitch by Hindpool Athletic football club, though no stands had been built and the pitch had little grass
; indeed, pieces of refuse which had been left on the site remained an obstacle for many years after the ground had been developed. Barrow AFC
, who had been founded in 1901 and had spent eight seasons playing at a variety of grounds in Barrow, moved in and took a five year rent from Furness Railway in 1909. The first game played by Barrow at the ground was in the Lancashire Combination
league match against Eccles Borough. The game finished in a 5–2 victory for Barrow.
The first structure built at the ground was a wooden all-seater stand in 1912. By 1921, when Barrow were elected into the new Third Division (North) of the Football League, Holker Street had been developed into an "excellent ground" with fully covered terracing
surrounding the three remaining sides, changing rooms and turnstiles. The first match at this level was against Stockport County, with an attendance of 9,750.
. Attendances dropped to an average of between five and six thousand through the 1950s and 1960s, though the last (to date) attendance of over 10 000 occurred in 1968 when 16,650 was the sell-out attendance for Barrow's FA Cup match against Leicester City
.
Floodlights had been erected around the ground in 1963, but the next major changes to occur were in 1972. With Barrow relegated from the Football League Third Division
into the Fourth Division
, the club was struggling financially and the decision was made to create a speedway
track around the edge of the football pitch, resurrecting a sport that had briefly been hosted at Holker Street in 1930. Construction involved the demolishing of the 'Steelworks End' of the ground, and the removal of the front rows of the other terraces. Matches had to be played with grass on top of boards which covered the speedway track, resulting in complaints from other teams. Such problems were influential in the decision of the Football League clubs' to votes against Barrow when the team had to seek re-election to the league following a bottom four finish in the Fourth Division at the end of the 1971–1972 season, and Barrow were demoted to the Northern Premier League
. As it was, the speedway team 'Barrow Bombers
' who operated from Holker Street did so only for two years from 1972 till 1974, when the track was removed due to its unpopularity amongst other football clubs.
and was opened in 1998.
Shortly following this, however, Holker Street became a key part of Barrow's financial problems. During the writing of gangster
Curtis Warren's autobiography, Warren claimed to a journalist that he owned Holker Street. The claim lead the police to investigate Vaughan's activities, suspecting him of money laundering
for Warren. Vaughan was later cleared of all charges, but withdrew his financial backing from Barrow during the course of the investigation. This sent Barrow into administration, during which conflicts over the ownership of Holker Street were central. Vaughan had bought Holker Street from Barrow AFC, transferring ownership to his company Northern Improvements. Vaughan paid Barrow £110 000 directly for the ground, claiming that the full value of £410 000 was made up by the £300 000 investment that he had made into the club whilst chairman. Following a long legal battle, lasting from 1998 through till 2002 the transaction was eventually deemed improper and the newly formed Barrow AFC ownership were able to regain ownership of the ground.
Stadium
A modern stadium is a place or venue for outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.)Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event...
located in Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness is an industrial town and seaport which forms about half the territory of the wider Borough of Barrow-in-Furness in the county of Cumbria, England. It lies north of Liverpool, northwest of Manchester and southwest from the county town of Carlisle...
, Cumbria
Cumbria
Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Currently and originally used as a football ground, it has also previously been used for speedways
Motorcycle speedway
Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. Speedway motorcycles use only one gear and have no brakes and racing takes place on a flat oval track usually...
races. In addition, the ground also previously had some leisure centre
Leisure centre
A leisure centre in the UK and Canada is a purpose built building or site, usually owned and operated by the city, borough council or municipal district council, where people go to keep fit or relax through using the facilities.- Typical Facilities :...
facilities, including four squash courts which have now been demolished. Its current owners and tenants for the vast majority of its history are Barrow AFC
Barrow A.F.C.
Barrow A.F.C. are an English football club founded in 1901 based in the town of Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria. Following promotion at the end of the 2007–08 season, they currently play in the Conference National. The club spent over fifty years in the Football League between 1921 and 1972, and have...
, who have played at the ground since 1909. Despite having a present capacity of 5,000, some 16,874 people crammed the stadium in January 1954 when Barrow AFC played Swansea Town
Swansea City A.F.C.
Swansea City Association Football Club are a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales. One of the most successful clubs in Welsh football, it has won 10 Welsh Cups and led the English Football League First Division in December 1981, before finishing the season in 6th position...
in the FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
third round.
Early Years
The current site of Holker Street was previously land owned by the Furness RailwayFurness Railway
The Furness Railway was a railway company operating in the Furness area of Lancashire in North West England.-History:The company was established on May 23, 1844 when the Furness Railway Act was passed by Parliament...
, who had used the land as a rubbish tip. It had been converted into a football pitch by Hindpool Athletic football club, though no stands had been built and the pitch had little grass
Grass
Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...
; indeed, pieces of refuse which had been left on the site remained an obstacle for many years after the ground had been developed. Barrow AFC
Barrow A.F.C.
Barrow A.F.C. are an English football club founded in 1901 based in the town of Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria. Following promotion at the end of the 2007–08 season, they currently play in the Conference National. The club spent over fifty years in the Football League between 1921 and 1972, and have...
, who had been founded in 1901 and had spent eight seasons playing at a variety of grounds in Barrow, moved in and took a five year rent from Furness Railway in 1909. The first game played by Barrow at the ground was in the Lancashire Combination
Lancashire Combination
The Lancashire Combination was a football league founded in the North West of England in 1891–92. It absorbed the Lancashire League in 1903. In 1968 the Combination lost five of its clubs to the newly formed Northern Premier League...
league match against Eccles Borough. The game finished in a 5–2 victory for Barrow.
The first structure built at the ground was a wooden all-seater stand in 1912. By 1921, when Barrow were elected into the new Third Division (North) of the Football League, Holker Street had been developed into an "excellent ground" with fully covered terracing
Terrace (building)
A terrace is an outdoor, occupiable extension of a building above ground level. Although its physical characteristics may vary to a great degree, a terrace will generally be larger than a balcony and will have an "open-top" facing the sky...
surrounding the three remaining sides, changing rooms and turnstiles. The first match at this level was against Stockport County, with an attendance of 9,750.
Football League Period
Holker Street remained a good quality ground during the 1930s, with further upgrades following the Second World War seeing the wooden stand replaced by terracing. Post-war attendances were the highest in the ground's history, with at least one match a year attracting over 10,000 fans in the first ten seasons after the resumption of the football league in 1946. The highest attendance at Holker Street was recorded in 1954 when 16,874 fans saw Barrow draw 2–2 with Swansea City in the third round of the FA CupFA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
. Attendances dropped to an average of between five and six thousand through the 1950s and 1960s, though the last (to date) attendance of over 10 000 occurred in 1968 when 16,650 was the sell-out attendance for Barrow's FA Cup match against Leicester City
Leicester City F.C.
Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester...
.
Floodlights had been erected around the ground in 1963, but the next major changes to occur were in 1972. With Barrow relegated from the Football League Third Division
Football League Third Division
The Football League Third Division was the 3 tier of English Football from 1920 until 1992 when after the formation of the Football Association Premier League saw the league renamed The Football League Division Two...
into the Fourth Division
Football League Fourth Division
The Fourth Division of The Football League was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season...
, the club was struggling financially and the decision was made to create a speedway
Motorcycle speedway
Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. Speedway motorcycles use only one gear and have no brakes and racing takes place on a flat oval track usually...
track around the edge of the football pitch, resurrecting a sport that had briefly been hosted at Holker Street in 1930. Construction involved the demolishing of the 'Steelworks End' of the ground, and the removal of the front rows of the other terraces. Matches had to be played with grass on top of boards which covered the speedway track, resulting in complaints from other teams. Such problems were influential in the decision of the Football League clubs' to votes against Barrow when the team had to seek re-election to the league following a bottom four finish in the Fourth Division at the end of the 1971–1972 season, and Barrow were demoted to the Northern Premier League
Northern Premier League
The Northern Premier League, is one of the regional English football leagues which sits directly below the Football Conference featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs. Geographically, the league covers all of Northern England, and the northern areas of the Midlands. Originally just one...
. As it was, the speedway team 'Barrow Bombers
Barrow Bombers
The Barrow Bombers were a Speedway team promoted in Barrow-in-Furness. Speedway had been promoted at a number of venues. In 1930 a number of meetings were held at Holker Street, the home of Barrow A.F.C. the towns football club. Racing moved to Little Park, Roose in 1931 but crowd levels were...
' who operated from Holker Street did so only for two years from 1972 till 1974, when the track was removed due to its unpopularity amongst other football clubs.
Non-League Era
Following demotion and the speedway era, Holker Street had become rather dilapidated. The remaining stands were demolished due to Health and Safety concerns, though a cover was retained for the 'Popular Side' and terracing was pushed closer to the pitch following the removal of the speedway track. The CrossBar leisure club and bar was subsequently built at the former Steelworks End as part of a job creation scheme; this remains a dominant feature of the ground and is now the match day hospitality suite, as well as a conference centre. The other major development since the 1970s has been the construction of an all seater 'Main Stand' Wilkie Road side of the ground. This was built during the period when the club was owned by Stephen VaughanStephen Vaughan
Stephen James Vaughan is a BBBofC licensed boxing promoter and ex English football midfielder who played for Premier League club Liverpool.-Boxing Promotions :Stephen Vaughan Jr. is the youngest licensed boxing promoter in the UK...
and was opened in 1998.
Shortly following this, however, Holker Street became a key part of Barrow's financial problems. During the writing of gangster
Gangster
A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Some gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from mob and the suffix -ster....
Curtis Warren's autobiography, Warren claimed to a journalist that he owned Holker Street. The claim lead the police to investigate Vaughan's activities, suspecting him of money laundering
Money laundering
Money laundering is the process of disguising illegal sources of money so that it looks like it came from legal sources. The methods by which money may be laundered are varied and can range in sophistication. Many regulatory and governmental authorities quote estimates each year for the amount...
for Warren. Vaughan was later cleared of all charges, but withdrew his financial backing from Barrow during the course of the investigation. This sent Barrow into administration, during which conflicts over the ownership of Holker Street were central. Vaughan had bought Holker Street from Barrow AFC, transferring ownership to his company Northern Improvements. Vaughan paid Barrow £110 000 directly for the ground, claiming that the full value of £410 000 was made up by the £300 000 investment that he had made into the club whilst chairman. Following a long legal battle, lasting from 1998 through till 2002 the transaction was eventually deemed improper and the newly formed Barrow AFC ownership were able to regain ownership of the ground.