Polytechnic Stadium (London)
| File:Poltechnic Stadium 1930s grandstand in London.jpg The 1938 grandstand (Historic England) | |
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| Location | Chiswick, London |
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| Coordinates | Lua error in Module:Coordinates at line 489: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). |
| Tenants | |
| Fulham RLFC (1985-1990) | |
The Polytechnic Stadium is a sports venue on Hartington Road, Chiswick, London. It is the centre piece of the Quintin Hogg Memorial Grounds (now known as University of Westminster Sports Grounds).[1]
History
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In 1888 Quintin Hogg built a boathouse near Chiswick Bridge, which is used at the finish of the university boat race each year.[2][3] When Hogg died in 1903, an appeal to raise funds for a memorial in his memory took place. The Quintin and Alice Hogg Memorial was built and a piece of land in Chiswick was purchased.[3][4] In 1936 plans were drawn up for a sports stadium to be built at the site. The design was undertaken by Joseph Addison, Head of Architecture at Regent Street Polytechnic. The stadium was home to the Polytechnic Harriers athletics club, along with several local clubs and schools. It was also used for international and national competitions as soon as it was built.
In 1938 the sports ground was extended for the stadium to be built by 7.5 acres.[3] The grandstand had a capacity of 658 spectators and contained a restaurant on the first floor. In July 1944 the stadium suffered bomb damage with all the windows blown out and the running track damaged.[3] Behind the stand there is a miniature railway.[5]
The venue hosted the Women's Amateur Athletic Association Championships in 1947[6] and 1948.[7][8]
From 1938 until 1973 the Polytechnic Marathon finished at the stadium.[9] In the 1963 edition of the marathon a world record was set at the stadium by Leonard Edelen.[10]
Primarily a track and field athletics venue, it hosted the field hockey preliminaries for the 1948 Summer Olympics.[11]
The grandstand is now a Grade II listed structure, but is unused due to it not being able to meet modern health and safety criteria.[12]
It was the home stadium of rugby league team Fulham RLFC (now the London Broncos) between 1985 and 1990.
See also
[edit | edit source]References
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- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b c d Chiswick Research Guide[permanent dead link]
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- ^ 1948 Summer Olympics official report. Archived 27 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine p. 46.
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External links
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- Polytechnic Stadium
- Video of Olympic athletics trials at the stadium
- Video of Windsor to Chiswick Marathon in 1950
- Jim Peters Marathon World Record
