Johnny Haynes Stand

Where’s London’s oldest…football stadium?

by exploringlondon

Craven Cottage, home of Fulham FC on the bank of the River Thames in west London, is the city’s oldest football stadium.

Craven Cottage (with the Grade II-listed Johnny Haynes Stand on the left in 2021. PICTURE: Nick/Flickr (licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)/Image cropped

The site has been home to the club since 1896, having previously been based at a range of grounds. It took two years to prepare the ground for play including constructing a changing room building.

The first match was played at the ground on 10th October, 1896 (Fulham beat Minerva 4-0 in the Middlesex Senior Cup).

Initially the ground was surrounded with terracing only – this changed in 1903 when the first stand was built on the north side of the ground. Providing seating for 1,200 spectators, it was affectionately known as the ‘Rabbit Hutch’.

The stand didn’t last long. Just 18 months later, it was condemned as dangerous by municipal officials and had to be pulled down.

In January, 1905, it was reported that the club had gained a 99-year lease on the ground. Work on a new stand, 5,000-seat, started just four months later to be designed by Archibald Leitch with steelwork provided by Clyde Structural Iron Company. Known as the Stevenage Road Stand (with a brick facade on the road), it opened on 2nd September that year.

The Cottage Pavilion in 2018. PICTURE: Nick/Flickr (licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)/Image cropped

Leitch also designed the Cottage Pavillion, located at the south-east corner of the ground, which was used for change rooms and by the club’s administration.

In 1907, the club hosted the first full international match when, in March, 1907, England and Wales drew 1-1.

While the club regularly saw crowds of up to 40,000 in the lead-up to World War II, a record was set in 1938 at a game between Fulham and Millwall when the crowd numbered just shy of 50,000.

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These days there are four stands: the Grade II-listed Johnny Haynes Stand on the east side of the ground (it was renamed in 2005 in honour of the club legend who also has a statue at the ground); the Riverside Stand on the west side (redeveloped in recent years); the Hammersmith End stand (located to the north of the ground, traditionally its home end); and, the Putney End stand (located at the south end).

The Cottage Pavilion, the balcony of which is from where player’s families have traditionally watched games, remains in the south-east corner.