Viva Brighton Issue #82 December 2019

INSIDE LEFT: GOLDSTONE LANE, DECEMBER 1911
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Until the late 1950s a full round of football
fixtures was played on Christmas Day, and in this
photo, taken by Thomas Wiles, we can see the
crowds flooding down Goldstone Lane after the
match between Brighton and Hove Albion and
Northampton Town, at the Goldstone Ground in
Hove, on December 25th, 1911.
There is no record of how big the attendances
were in those days, but you can see from the
crowded nature of the street that there must have
been at least a few thousand. The Albion moved
to the Goldstone in 1902, and soon built a new
stand capable of seating 1,800 fans behind the
south goal, to complement the open-air wooden
seating opposite, and the ramshackle West Stand,
which remained in place till 1958. Most of the
spectators stood on mud banks on the east side
of the ground – the ‘chicken run’ - behind picket
fences. There was a pond behind the north goal,
into which all the rainwater from the Old Shoreham
Road used to drain.
It’s interesting to see the well-dressed nature of
the crowd, with a smattering of (middle-class)
bowler hats among the flat caps favoured by
working men. Then, as now, it’s mostly grown
men in attendance, though two women are prominent,
one of whom is leading two small children
by the hand. I wonder how many are going back
to a turkey supper.
In those days Brighton were playing in the Southern
League First Division, in effect the third tier
of the footballing pyramid. They were enjoying a
good season, and eventually finished a creditable
fifth out of 20. The crowd will be happy, because
the Albion, according to the Dec 29th, 1911
edition of the Sussex Express, ‘won by two goals
to one, Goodwin and Smith scoring, the latter
from a penalty’. It was customary to play the same
opposition on Boxing Day, and the Albion players
had to travel all the way up to Northampton on
the 26th, where they suffered a 1-0 defeat.
The Albion played their football at the Goldstone
Ground until 1997 when, shamefully, it was sold
off by majority shareholder, Bill Archer. It was
demolished and an ugly retail park was built in
its place. It wasn’t until 2011/12 that the club
regained a permanent home at the splendid Amex
Stadium in Falmer. Alex Leith
With thanks to Regency Society for letting us use
this image from the James Gray Collection.
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