Olive Grove was Sheffield Wednesday F.C.'s first permanent football ground, home to the club for just over a decade at the end of the 19th Century. It was located near Queens Road in the centre of Sheffield. Sheffield Wednesday Football Club (often abbreviated as SWFC), nicknamed The Owls, is one of the oldest football clubs in the England; this season they play in the Football League. ... This is a list of decades which have articles with more information about them. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... Sheffield is a major city and metropolitan borough in South Yorkshire, in the north of England. ...

History

Leaflet advertising the opening match at Olive Grove between 'The Wednesday' and Blackburn Rovers.

Download high resolution version (640x977, 45 KB)Leaflet advertising a Blackburn Rovers match on the 12th September, 1887 against The Wednesday. Creator: LET Date: Location: Grid Ref: Document Type: Print (Other) Description: Leaflet advertising a Blackburn Rovers match on the 12th September, 1887 against The Wednesday. Classification No: W136Blackburn Rovers... Download high resolution version (640x977, 45 KB)Leaflet advertising a Blackburn Rovers match on the 12th September, 1887 against The Wednesday. Creator: LET Date: Location: Grid Ref: Document Type: Print (Other) Description: Leaflet advertising a Blackburn Rovers match on the 12th September, 1887 against The Wednesday. Classification No: W136Blackburn Rovers... Sheffield Wednesday Football Club (often abbreviated as SWFC), nicknamed The Owls, is one of the oldest football clubs in the England; this season they play in the Football League. ... Blackburn Rovers Football Club are an English Premier League football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. ...

The Need for a Stadium

Prior to the opening of the ground, Wednesday had used several other sites including Sheaf House and Bramall Lane, before newly-formed rivals Sheffield United took up permanent residence there. It was decided that the club should have its own stadium to avoid paying a percentage of gate receipts to the owners of the grounds used. Having their own stadium would also make it easier for Wednesday to accommodate their ever growing fan base. Bramall Lane Stadium is the home of Sheffield United Football Club in Sheffield, England. ... Sheffield United Football Club are a professional English football club based in the City of Sheffield, South Yorkshire. ...

Construction

Olive Grove was situated near Bramall Lane; just south of the city centre next to the railway tracks on Queens Road, on land leased from the Duke of Norfolk. However, it was in no fit state to host football matches and over £5,000 had to be spent developing the site. Even then, the ground still lacked basic facilities; early on the players even had to get changed at a local pub before matches! Sheffield is a major city and metropolitan borough in South Yorkshire, in the north of England. ... The Most Noble Henry Fitzalan-Howard, 15th Duke of Norfolk (27 December 1847–11 February 1917) was an English nobleman and philanthropist. ...

The Beginning

The first match to be played at the completed stadium was against Blackburn Rovers on 12 September 1887, resulting in a 4-4 draw, with Wednesday coming back from 4-1 behind. Whilst at Olive Grove, Wednesday entered league football for the first time in 1889 by playing in the new Football Alliance. They won 15 out of their 22 matches to clinch the title in the first season, before finally being granted admission to the Football League in 1892. The first game at Olive Grove at his level was Wednesday’s 5-2 win over Accrington Stanley. However, the club experienced a poor season and narrowly avoided relegation from the First Division. Blackburn Rovers Football Club are an English Premier League football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. ... Portal:Currentevents September 12 is the 255th day of the year (256th in leap years). ... 1887 (MDCCCLXXXVII) is a common year starting on Saturday (click on link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. ... 1889 (MDCCCLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... The Football Alliance was an association football league in England from 1889 to 1892. ... The Football League is an organisation representing 72 professional football clubs in England and Wales, and runs the oldest professional football league competition in the world. ... 1892 (MDCCCXCII) was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Accrington Stanley are a non-league football club from Accrington in Lancashire, in the north-west of England. ... From 1889 until 1992, this was the highest division overall of organized football in England. ...

The End

Despite steady improvement on the pitch over the following years, the days would soon be numbered for Olive Grove. Plans were made to expand the railway track beside the ground, and as a result, Wednesday's lease would not be renewed. To make matters worse, the final season at Olive Grove was a disaster; the team lost more than half of their 34 matches and were relegated from the top tier of English football for the first time. Things looked very bad for the club.

A New Beginning

In the spring of 1899 shares in Wednesday were issued to raise capital for a brand new stadium. Two sites were proposed for the development - Carbrook, in the North East of the city, and Owlerton, then a rural area to the North West. Despite the fans favouring the Carbrook site, the club committee chose the latter, and work soon began on Owlerton Stadium, later to be renamed Hillsborough, now one of the most famous football stadia in the country. Look up spring in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... 1899 (MDCCCXCIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Darnall ward—which includes the districts of Attercliffe, Carbrook, Darnall, Tinsley, and parts of Handsworth—is one of the 28 electoral wards in City of Sheffield, England. ... Hillsborough ward is one of the 28 electoral wards in City of Sheffield, England. ... Hillsborough Stadium is the home of Sheffield Wednesday Football Club in Sheffield, England. ...

Records

Due to poor record keeping, it is difficult to give an accurate figure for the record attendance at Olive Grove. For many games the attendance was simply listed as "Good" or "Poor" and when figures were recorded these were only estimates. However, an attendance of 20,000 was recorded at the FA Cup 3rd round match against West Brom on 14 February 1891 and this was probably a record for the stadium. Note: for the full results of all FA Cup finals, see FA Cup Final The FA Cup - this is the fourth trophy, in use since 1992, and identical in design to the third trophy introduced in 1911. ... West Bromwich Albion Football Club is an English football club that was formed in 1878 by workers from Salters Spring Works in West Bromwich (then in Staffordshire, now part of the West Midlands). ... February 14 is the 45th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1891 (MDCCCXCI) was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...