The Manor Ground
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Brief History Of The Manor
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Brief History & A Fans Memories of The London Road Stand
The Manor Ground Just Before It Closed
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1925
Headington United move permanently to The Manor Ground.
1946
First development at the Manor when a stand was constructed on the Osler Road side of the ground.
1947
The stand collapsed during the winter and was rebuilt, with seats, at the Cuckoo Lane end of the ground.
1948
Terracing built at the London Road end and part of the Osler Road.
1949
More terracing added to Osler Road, London Road and also five rows on the Beech Road. Small stand built in the corner of the Beech Road (The Manor
Club) with dressing rooms underneath. Even smaller stand built next to the Manor Club, called the Stewards Stand. It was uncovered terracing rising
20-30ft above pitch level. Capacity at this time was 12,000. Roof added to the terracing on one half of the Osler Road.
1950
First floodlights built. Oxford were the first club to erect floodlights.
1954
Terracing along the Beech Road extended to 22 steps.
1957
Beech Road stand built to replace terracing.
1962
London Road terrace covered. Cuckoo Lane stand demolished and replaced with 12 rows of terrace.
1964
With the help of huge amounts of temporary terracing being built, a record crowd of 22,750 attend the Oxford vs. Preston 6th round FA Cup tie.
Permanent terracing added to the cuckoo Lane, giving it the unusual
"hump" shape.
1974
Stewards stand converted to covered seats.
1985
Osler Road terrace replaced with new terrace. Two small stands built on the other half of the Osler Road. One was away seating, the other family
terrace.
1986
Family terrace on the Osler Road replaced with family seating. More family seating added to replace terracing in front of Beech Road stand.
1989
Capacity reduced to 14,374
2000
Capacity now stands at 9,500
A Brief History & A Fans Memories of The London Road Stand
Terracing was first built at the London Road end of the ground in 1948 at a cost of 100 pounds. It was the first terracing at the ground. In preparation for the 1963-64 season it was banked and covered and had a capacity of 4,000. Since then it has remained largely unchanged. At one point the first five rows of terracing were removed and a "moat" was built in front of the terrace to prevent people running onto the pitch. Also an extremely ugly fence was constructed that went from the roof to pitch level to stop coins and other such objects being thrown onto the pitch. The London Road has always been the traditional home end where most of the noise comes from and the angle of the roof makes just a few people singing sound like a few hundred. Thankfully the moat and fence have now gone but for some reason the club never did extend the terracing back to pitch level to replace the moat. This is a shame because it was very intimidating for the away goalie to be so close to the home fans and sometimes gave them the "jitters" and may have been worth a goal or two. I vividly remember Roy Burton - the greatest goalie in Oxford's history - setting up for goal kicks and as he came back to the wall to begin his run up about 4 or 5 kids would lean over and slap him on the back with a chant of "Give 'em hell Roy!!" Of course I was one of them, that's why I remember but now you couldn't touch the keeper if you leaned over the wall with a bargepole in your hand.
Another game I remember well was against Hull City (I think) sometime in the 70's when the wall collapsed and buried me and my pals beneath piles of bodies and rubble. I'm sure it was a potentially dangerous situation but at the time we lay there in mangled heaps laughing so hard we cried. When a policeman finally grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the bricks that surrounded me he stared in amazement at my laughing face and said "Bloody 'ell kid what's so funny, I've a good mind to put you back in there." I was somewhat embarrassed and slipped away into the corner but quickly realized that I had lost my scarf and rattle in the melee. So at 6.00pm you can imagine my joy when, on hand and knee, covered in brick dust and sweating like a pig I finally found my treasured scarf and rattle beneath a pile of rubble. 30 years on and I still have them.......magic!!!! Now the London Road has a capacity of just over 2,000. It has hardly changed in 40 years. The front wall is painted blue and the crush barriers bright yellow. Wayward shots from Oxford strikers that balloon into the roof still bring down showers of rust, dust and other assorted health hazards that have accumulated over time. But the London Road is my boyhood home, the shrine at which I would go and pay homage every Saturday afternoon and I for one will be very sad when the bulldozers eventually arrive at the ground and raze it to the ground. The odd looking structure at the corner of the London Road and Beech Road is a police lookout and offers probably the best view of the action in the goalmouth, in enviable comfort. It has been there for about five years.
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The Manor Ground Just Before It Closed
Behind the trees is a large open area of land owned by the local hospital. In the Northwest corner are the "Manor Club" and the old "Stewards stand" - both are relics of the past and a joke for visiting supporters but I kind of like them, especially since my Granddad helped build the Manor Club. The Stewards stand, which is the one directly next to the Cuckoo Lane is seating for away supporters, capacity 108. The Manor Club is Oxford's version of an executive box and offers fans pre-game drinks, half time tea and a post game meal - capacity 140. Both should have been demolished years ago but there is something "quaint" about them and they serve as a reminder of Oxford's Southern league days. To the west is the Beech Road. The stand has a capacity of 1,515 and the seats must be the most uncomfortable in the league. They are very hard, fold down, wooden seats that often leave you with a splinter or two in your rear end !!!! Leg room is almost non existent and if you're taller than 5ft then you can expect to spend the match with your knees wrapped up under your chin. The last 3 or 4 rows of seating are benches and extend right up to, and almost into, the press box. During Oxford's "glory days" when Radio 2 would often commentate on the games the poor blokes from the radio would have to spend the whole match stood up to see over the heads of the spectators. However, when Oxford scored the stand would literally "shake" and it wasn't uncommon for cups of tea to fall over and spill on the commentators notes....they must have hated coming to Oxford.
In front of the Beech Road stand to the left of the tunnel is family terracing that is sunk below the level of the pitch. As a small kid watching the game you would be eye level with the pitch, that was if your Dad brought along a little wooden stool to stand on. If not then you either got a face full of concrete or, as usually happened, you were passed down over the heads of the "grown ups" and allowed to sit on the other side of the wall (this was in the days before pitch invasions). To the right of the tunnel is an area of family seating, capacity 182, the capacity of the terrace is 702. The rest of this side of the ground is a two tier terrace, capacity approx 1,000. The London Road end, capacity 2,000 is a covered terrace.
The small stand closest to the Cuckoo lane is away seating, capacity 418, and is called the "Cuckoo Lane East stand". Next to it is another small stand of family seating for home supporters, capacity 442. The remainder of this side is terracing - The Ostler Road - capacity 1,000. The capacity of the ground is roughly 9,500. There is an interesting story that concerns the building of the two stands on the Ostler Road side of the ground. The stand backs right up to the gardens of several houses. Before the stands were built, when Ostler Road was just terracing, the people that lived in these houses would take ladders to the bottom of their garden, prop them against the back of the terracing and get a free view of the game. They were "extremely upset" when the two stands were built because their free view of the game was taken from them.
Another
interesting story concerns the Headington Bowling Club. You can see their
clubhouse and green just behind the Ostler Road terrace. For years Oxford United
have tried to encourage them to relocate so that they could develop the Ostler
Road but the bowling club have stubbornly refused to move. So on Saturday
afternoons it is not uncommon to see old ladies clad in their "whites"
bowling in a very serene atmosphere (supposedly) while just behind them 5,000
Oxford fans are creating as much noise as possible. You'd think that after a
while the bowling ladies would have gotten tired of this disruption to their
concentration, but to their credit, they have stood their ground and stayed
around. What strikes me about the ground is the unusual surroundings. Houses,
trees, alleyways all surround the ground and this is why people say that
redevelopment is impossible. I disagree but I'm afraid I'm in the minority. I
think the Beech Road entrance must be the most unusual entrance into any
football ground. You will find yourself walking down a beautiful, tree lined,
very middle-class neighborhood and then suddenly you turn a corner and see the
ground before you.
As you can tell I'm definitely in love with "The Manor" and do not
want the club to move to a new stadium. Unfortunately it's just a matter of time
but I think that after a couple of seasons in the "Meccanno Minchery
Farm" most Oxford fans will miss The Manor.
August 2000
Richard Coppock -The Yankee Ox - Yellow Till I Die !!