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The ground was opened in 1877 as the Royal Hotel
Recreation Ground, and was used for athletics, cricket, cycle racing and football. An oval ground, it had a stand around 100 feet long on the western side and banking around the remainder of the pitch. To open the ground, Crewe Alexandra cricket club
189:; the related Crewe Alexandra Athletic Club was founded in 1867) hosted an athletics festival, which raised ÂŁ75 and subsequently became a prominent meeting in the Northern athletics calendar. In August 1877, the cricket club formed a football division.
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The
Alexandra Recreation Ground closed in 1898 to provide land for the expansion of the neighbouring railway station. It is now the site of the Rail House office building, a car park and part of the modern
266:, and subsequently played at several different grounds (including Edleston Road and Old Sheds Field) until returning to the area to play at the original football ground east of Gresty Road in 1897.
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7â0 win on the day also being Crewe's record home defeat at the ground. However, it was not Crewe's last home league match of the season, which was played at the
Vicarage in the nearby town of
286:, a new cricket ground, encircled by a cycling and athletics track, was provided in a new stadium to the north, off Earle Street, in 1898. The new venue was also later used for
376:"1877 â A Football Club is formed in Crewe, as a separate organisation from the successful Crewe Cricket Club. They take the name 'Alexandra' after Princess Alexandra": from
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Detail of 1888 OS map showing
Alexandra Recreation Ground in Crewe, with the first football ground to the southeast
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215:, with the attendance of 7,000 probably being the ground record. On 16 April 1887 the ground was used for the
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In 1891, the Crewe
Alexandra football club split away from the cricket club, becoming founder members of the
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in 1892; the first
Football League match played at the ground was on 10 September 1892 when Crewe defeated
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294:. Crewe Alexandra moved to its modern-day location, immediately adjacent to Gresty Road, in 1906.
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The
Ultimate Directory of English & Scottish Football League Grounds Second Edition 1888â2005
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1â0 in front of 2,000 spectators. The last match at the ground was played on 28 March 1896, with
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Redfern, Allan (1983) "Crewe: Leisure in a railway town" in Walton, John K., and Walvin, James,
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185:(established in September 1866 by employees of Crewe locomotive works, and named after
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In July 1878, the ground hosted a cricket match between a team from Crewe and an
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227:. An attendance of 1,500 witnessed Chirk win 2â1. On 4 February 1888 the ground
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420:, Manchester University Press, Manchester, pp.117-136. ISBN 0-7190-0912-X.
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The
Industrial Middle Class and the Development of Sport in a Railway Town
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Football Talk: The language and folklore of the world's greatest game
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262:. Crewe were voted out of the Football League at the end of the
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stadium. With support from prominent local railway engineer
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1911 Ordnance Survey map showing
Alexandra Football Ground
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1997 Football League Second
Division play-off final
596:1993 Football League Third Division play-off final
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152:. Opened in 1877, it was the home ground of
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606:2012 Football League Two play-off final
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356:Paul Smith & Shirley Smith (2005)
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637:Norman Rowlinson (chairman 1964â1988)
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331:. Manchester Metropolitan University
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16:Multi-sport venue in Crewe, England
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893:Defunct cricket grounds in England
873:Defunct football venues in England
616:2024 EFL League Two play-off final
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888:Defunct sports venues in Cheshire
883:Buildings and structures in Crewe
611:2013 Football League Trophy final
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233:1887â88 British Home Championship
156:for 19 years, and also hosted an
642:John Bowler (chairman 1988â2021)
203:the ground was the venue of the
908:Sports venues completed in 1877
248:Football League Second Division
918:1877 establishments in England
898:English Football League venues
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515:Crewe Alexandra Football Club
418:Leisure in Britain, 1780-1939
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144:, was a multi-sport venue in
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903:Cricket grounds in Cheshire
575:Alexandra Recreation Ground
399:, Chrysalis Books, London (
378:the club's official website
138:Alexandra Recreation Ground
22:Alexandra Recreation Ground
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360:, Yore Publications, p13,
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913:Football Alliance venues
383:5 November 2013 at the
322:Dyer, Liam; Day, Dave.
164:, both in 1887, and an
162:1886-87 Welsh Cup final
554:Records and statistics
476:Smith & Smith, p62
395:Seddon, Peter (2004),
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431:"Crewe v Australians"
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878:Crewe Alexandra F.C.
647:Sexual abuse scandal
457:Welsh Soccer Archive
168:home match in 1888.
207:semi-final between
160:semi-final and the
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187:Princess Alexandra
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75:53.0884°N 2.4356°W
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91:Record attendance
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385:Wayback Machine
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28:Nantwich Road
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559:Women's team
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460:. Retrieved
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435:. Retrieved
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333:. Retrieved
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284:Francis Webb
276:
252:Grimsby Town
245:
235:, which saw
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194:Australia XI
191:
183:
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137:
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18:
580:Gresty Road
335:16 February
292:Crewe Kings
280:Gresty Road
256:Liverpool's
209:Aston Villa
78: /
53:Coordinates
867:Categories
366:0954783042
298:References
290:racing by
63:53°05â˛18âłN
727:1999â2000
632:Blue Moon
437:29 August
407:), p.174.
217:Welsh Cup
66:2°26â˛08âłW
539:Managers
525:The club
381:Archived
288:speedway
260:Sandbach
225:Davenham
38:Location
852:2024â25
847:2023â24
842:2022â23
837:2021â22
832:2020â21
827:2019â20
822:2018â19
817:2017â18
812:2016â17
807:2015â16
802:2014â15
797:2013â14
792:2012â13
787:2011â12
782:2010â11
777:2009â10
772:2008â09
767:2007â08
762:2006â07
757:2005â06
752:2004â05
747:2003â04
742:2002â03
737:2001â02
732:2000â01
722:1998â99
717:1997â98
712:1996â97
707:1995â96
702:1994â95
697:1993â94
692:1992â93
687:1991â92
682:1990â91
677:1989â90
672:1988â89
667:1987â88
658:Seasons
589:Matches
568:Grounds
549:Seasons
544:Academy
534:Players
237:England
213:Rangers
199:In the
172:History
166:England
150:England
123:Tenants
99:Surface
46:England
403:
364:
229:hosted
205:FA Cup
158:FA Cup
115:Closed
107:Opened
625:Other
462:9 May
329:(PDF)
243:5â1.
241:Wales
239:beat
221:Chirk
146:Crewe
102:Grass
94:7,000
42:Crewe
464:2019
439:2017
401:ISBN
362:ISBN
337:2021
223:and
211:and
136:The
118:1896
110:1877
148:in
869::
455:.
345:^
306:^
44:,
506:e
499:t
492:v
466:.
441:.
339:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
