Londons Long Lost Sports Grounds Derelict London. Londons Long Lost Sports Grounds and some long lost London teams  such as West Ham Hammers Speedway, Thames AFC, Croydon Common FC,  Deptford Invicta FC,  Catford Southend FC moreRather than lumping all these pictures in with the Derelict London Sports Grounds here is a whole new section of grounds that are beyond dereliction and mostly redeveloped which I will expand over the coming months. There are many pics floating around on the net of  these grounds in their heyday but it often crops up in conversation what do the grounds look like now. I have included some brief history but those wanting to dig deeper can find copious amounts of further information on web forumssites and books on the subject matter for example, books by Simon Inglis, Ed Glinert Norman Jacobs. I am starting off with some football grounds but expect cricket grounds, dog tracks, speedway stadiums and so on as I keep adding to this. In 2. 01. 3 I shall be giving a guided walking tour of the Isle of Dogs and  will be covering the old Millwall grounds Docklands Arena along with the old docks and canal, the mudchute, WW2 defences the old ropeworks. Join the mailing list to be kept updated. CHARLTON ATHLETIC FCThe origins First off  on this page we start with Charlton Athletic, a SE London team who still play close to where they  originally started. The club who currently play in the Football League Championship was founded in 1. SE London area combined to form Charlton Athletic. News and opinion from The Times The Sunday Times. London tube strike to hit commuters and football fans next week. A trial of the use of video assistant referees for gamechanging decisions in football will begin no later than 201718. Football Trials In North London' title='Football Trials In North London' />MBNA Thames Clippers trials commuter riverboat service from Gravesend to London. Londons Long Lost Sports Grounds and some long lost London teams such as West Ham Hammers Speedway, Thames AFC, Croydon Common FC, Deptford Invicta FC, Catford. Many of the youths lived in what was then residential housing in East St, Charlton which is the modern day Eastmoor Street a run down light industrial estate and entrance road to the Thames Barrier. A committee was set up and the first HQ was in the now demolished public house called The Crown. Amongst the committee members was a Joe Merryweather believed to be from the family business in Greenwich who made fire engines and tram engines. A local fishmonger Arthur Bryan was also involved with the committee. Arthur supplied haddock to the players for after match suppers. This is confirmed  by cartoons from the local papers of the day, and is the origin of the club nickname The Addicks. Joe Merryweather, kept the name going by parading around the pitch holding up a board with a picture of a haddock on it. The site of the 1st Ground Siemens Meadow 1. The clubs first ground was Siemens Meadow, a patch of rough ground by the River Thames  near to the present day site of the Thames Barrier. Football Trials In North London' title='Football Trials In North London' />This was over shadowed by the now demolished  Siemens Telegraph Works. December  1. 90. 5 is the first time a Charlton match is mentioned a  friendly between Charlton and Silvertown Wesley ended with a 6 0 Charlton win according to a report by the Kentish Independent. The Barrier Animal Care Clinic was originally built as a public house in 1. The Lads of  The Village but was later renamed to Thames Barrier Arms, when the nearby flood barrier was built in 1. It closed as a pub in 1. A decaying sign on the corner edge says Roebuck Arms but Derelict  London reader Bev Smith explains that the the sign is just an abandoned prop after the building was used in filming for an episode of the TV series Londons Burning. Football Trials In North London' title='Football Trials In North London' />This pub was adjacent to Siemens Meadow and is one of the only original buildings in the vicinity of the old ground. In   the late 1. 97. Charlton fan  journalist Gary Bushell played at this pub with his legendary oipunk band The Gonads. Siemens Meadow Below is a then and now shot of sorts. The 1. 90. 5 pic was one that I found on Wikipedia and for the 2. Maryon Park due to thicker  vegetation than there was in 1. I had to move down the hill and this is the best that I could get. The Site of the 2nd Ground Woolwich Common 1. Charlton played on the grass on the common for a year. There was no stadium here  and the team may have played on various parts of the common. The players even had to carry the goaplposts themselves for over a mile as part of the pre match warm up. In 1. 90. 8 Charlton player Bill Pirie sadly drowned after a boating incident in the Thames. The Easter Monday game was called off and a benefit game was played on April 3. Bostall Heath Athletic, which ended in a 4 0 Charlton victory. This site is not to be confused with Woolwich Stadium which was not built on the common until 1. Charlton were at The Valley. However, Charlton reserves did play at Woolwich Stadium in the 1. The stadium which housed 2. The stadium has been demolished though you can see traces of its outline on Google maps. I will cover more on Woolwich Stadium  in the future. The Site of the 3rd Ground  Pound Park 1. This is an area that was once Charltons first public park. Pound Field was originally used as an overnight enclosure for animals waiting to pass through a toll gate at the junction of Charlton Lane and Lower Woolwich Road. Recreation Ground in 1. Pound Park. Charlton Athletic played here for 5 years. In 1. 92. 0 the Park was transferred to the Greenwich Boroughs housing department and became the site of Charltons first council homes, built as family houses with three bedrooms and gardens. Although Charlton lost Pound Park with the growing population it gained two schools. Thorntree  Junior School was opened in 1. Pound Park Nursery was opened in 1. Pound Park.  The Site of the 4th Ground  Angerstein Athletic Ground 1. In the clubs early years its progress was hampered by the nearby presence of Woolwich Arsenal F. C., and Charlton spent the years before the First World War playing in local leagues. Woolwich Arsenals move to North London in 1. Charlton an opportunity to develop, and they became a senior side and progressed through the Lewisham League. The 4. Angerstein Athletic Ground could be described as Charlton Athletics first proper ground although this was a ground share with Deptford Invicta FC. As the First World War progressed football appeared to have been abandoned and by the time the war had ended the Angerstein was used as a petrol storage facility. These days the site is now the Angerstein Business Park with no clues  as to the existence of the stadium. The name originates from the nearby Angerstein Wharf named after John Julius Angerstein 1. Greenwich area. Upon his death his collection galvanised the founding of the National Gallery. The Site of the 5th Ground The Valley 1. The Mount, Selhurst Park The BoleynAfter the end of the First World War, a chalk quarry known as the Swamps was identified as Charltons new ground, and in the summer of 1. The first match at this site, now known as the clubs current ground The Valley, was in September 1. The club progressed through the leagues, joining the Football League in 1. The Site of the 6th Ground The Mount Stadium 1. Charlton stayed at The Valley until 1. The Mount stadium in Catford as part of a proposed merger with Catford Southend Football Club  to create a larger team with bigger support. The team wore the colours of The Enders, light and dark blue vertical stripes. However, the move fell through and the Addicks returned to the Charlton area in 1. The Mount was a football stadium in Catford, but not to be confused with Catford Stadium which you will find elsewhere on this website located in the SW corner of Mountsfield Park. Catford South End F. C. founded before 1. The Mount was unusual as it was elevated above the surrounding area and the reason for its name. London tube strike to hit commuters and football fans next week UK news. A strike by tube drivers on Thursday 5 October will cause substantial disruption across the London Underground network, passengers have been warned. Members of the Aslef union plan to walk out for 2. The strike will hit football fans travelling to Wembley for Englands World Cup qualifier against Slovenia. Transport for London Tf. L warned that other transport services would be busier than usual as passengers seek alternative routes. Bus services were likely to be exceptionally busy across the capital, it said, and urged people to walk if possible. Road journeys could also take significantly longer than normal, so people were advised to drive through central London only if necessary. Extra buses and Santander cycle hubs will be provided should the strike go ahead, and Tf. L is exploring options to help get supporters to Wembley stadium. The dispute is about the progress of joint initiatives set up last year between Tf. L and the unions to improve the worklife balance of tube drivers. A four day, 3. 6 hour working week was trialled on the Jubilee line for drivers, which is now being analysed. Tf. L said it had met its commitments and had been in constructive discussions with Aslef at the conciliatory service Acas to try to resolve the dispute. Further talks are scheduled early next week. Nigel Holness, director of network operations for London Underground, said Should the planned strike action go ahead, there will be substantial disruption. We will do everything possible to ensure customers can get around on alternative transport services and have the right information to help them do this. We are committed to ensuring that our employees are able to maintain a good balance between their work and personal lives, and we have been working closely with the unions on new ways to achieve this. I encourage the Aslef leadership to continue working with us constructively rather than moving towards unnecessary strike action. The strike will take place as four rail companies around the UK face action by RMT members in the escalating dispute over the role of guards on trains. Conductors or guards from the union will walk out on Tuesday and Thursday next week on Southern, Northern, Merseyrail and, for the first time, Greater Anglia services. Southern and Greater Anglia have said they will run a near normal service despite the action, although Northern and Merseyrail will operate only a limited service, mostly from the morning to evening peaks. However, the prospect of the dispute spreading outside England has receded. Agile Solutions Software Defined Radio Architecture. Unions welcomed a commitment from the Welsh government that it would retain a second staff member on all train services during the next Wales and Borders franchise, which is due to be renewed next year. The government said the commitment was built on a clear public response in a consultation that guards were important or essential in the region. Cabinet secretary for economy and infrastructure, Ken Skates, said We want to hold up the Welsh rail network as an example of where a government can work in effective social partnership with trade unions to deliver a world class railway for commuters, our economy and our communities.