West Bromwich Albion F.C. former grounds
West Bromwich Albion F.C. started in 1878 as West Bromwich Strollers and, before settling at The Hawthorns in 1900, they played on five nearby grounds close to the center of West Bromwich.
Their first ground was Cooper's Hill, between Walsall Street and Beeches Road (the site is now St Philip's Church). From 1879 to 1881 they also used Dartmouth Park, often alternating with Cooper's Hill, with the Globe Inn on Reform Street serving as the players’ changing rooms. The third ground was Bunn's Field, later known as The Birches, used for one season (1881–82) and was their first enclosed ground, so they could charge an entrance fee.
Football’s growing popularity led them to rent Four Acres from the local cricket club from 1882 to 1885. The cricket club allowed football on Saturdays and Mondays. At Four Acres they recorded their biggest win, 26–0 against Coseley in 1882, and the attendance peak was 16,393 for an FA Cup match with Blackburn Rovers in 1885. The Four Acres ground later became Park Crescent.
From 1885 to 1900 they played at Stoney Lane, a very successful era in which the club won the FA Cup twice and finished as runners-up three times. They built a wooden grandstand called the “Noah’s Ark” that could hold over 2,000 fans; this stand was later moved to The Hawthorns in 1900 and was destroyed by fire in 1904. The first league game at Stoney Lane was on 29 September 1888, a 4–3 win over Burnley, and the ground’s attendance record was 20,977 for an FA Cup match against Wolverhampton Wanderers in March 1895. The last game at Stoney Lane was on 16 April 1900, an 8–0 win over Nottingham Forest in front of 5,187 spectators.
In 1900 the club moved to The Hawthorns, which has been their home ever since.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 19:17 (CET).