The Turf Moor Story
Turf Moor may be in a fine position to stage football well into the 21st century, but it hasn't always been so luxurious!
The famous old ground has changed in appearance many times over its long history and has played host to a great variety of games down the years.
One thing that can be said about the ground is that it was conceived with ambition and has since been designed, built and extended with nothing but top level football in mind. It may not have hosted too much 'top level,' football in recent times, but the modern Turf Moor is certainly fit enough to be a Premiership stadium.
In an illustrious past, Turf Moor has staged football in all four of the Football League divisions, the two domestic cup competitions, England internationals and various other competitions.
Burnley Football Club moved to Turf Moor nine months after the club was formed in February of 1883, and the Clarets have played there ever since.
Only Preston North End have been in continuous residence of the same ground for longer than Burnley.
The club originally played at Calder Vale, but moved to Turf Moor after being invited by Burnley Cricket Club. The two institutions remain neighbours to this day and the clubs have worked together ever since.
Turf Moor circa 1900
Turf Moor, which at this stage was still a field next to the cricket pitch, hosted its first game against Rawtenstall - a game which Burnley lost 6-3.
The ground was gradually improved as time went by, with an 800-seat grandstand erected in September of 1884. Along with this there was a natural mound which could accommodate around 2,000 spectators. At the same time, there was a two-sided terrace being constructed, which would hold a further 5,000 supporters.
The decision to extend the ground like this was made because of a crowd of around 12,000 for a local 'derby,' with Padiham in March 1884. This attendance was three times bigger than that of the FA Cup final that year, which illustrated the early passion for football in this particular Lancashire town.
Turf Moor is also believed to have been the first ground visited by a member of the Royal Family as Queen Victoria's son, Prince Albert, attended a game at Turf Moor in October of 1886.
The crowd that day was around 9,000 and the game ended 4-3 to Bolton Wanderers. Prince Albert, perhaps fearing the worst, left the game at half time!
1908 saw the emergence of two covered sides at Turf Moor, with the addition of the Brunshaw Road Stand (latterly The Bob Lord Stand) and the Star Stand (latterly the Longside & James Hargreaves Stand).
This development of Turf Moor gave more people the chance to watch Burnley and before World War One, crowds were around 50,000 for every game, which was equivalent to the town's population at that time.
This was truly a remarkable achievement and in 1924 Turf Moor's record attendance was recorded, for a game against Huddersfield Town in the FA Cup. The crowd that day was 54,755.
In 1927, Turf Moor hosted an international match as England, along with Clarets' players Louis Page and Jack Hill, took on Wales. However, it wasn't a happy day for the Clarets contingent as England lost 2-1, with Jack Hill scoring an own goal.
The next major addition to Turf Moor came after World War Two in 1954, when the renowned 'Longside' was built.
The Longside
The club spent £20,000 on the roof that was put on this vast terrace. Unlike the modern stadiums of today, the 'Longside' was built using help from the club's young apprentices at that time.
The first floodlights followed shortly after in 1957. They were first switched on for a friendly game against local rivals Blackburn Rovers, lasted for eighteen years and were finally replaced in the mid seventies.
A new and improved pitch was laid in 1974, which minimised the slope that had previously existed at the ground. This was done by raising the pitch and installing a new drainage system.
The first modern development of Turf Moor came when The Cricket Field Stand was officially opened in 1969 by the Lord Lieutenant of Lancashire.
At the time it was a revolutionary new stand that cost the club around £180,000 to construct. The changing rooms were situated here and Turf Moor remains one of only a few grounds left in the Football League to have the changing rooms situated behind the goals.
In 1974, the state-of-the-art Bob Lord Stand was opened. This stand held 2,500 spectators and at the time offered a fantastic view of the pitch. It is still standing and in use to this today.
It cost the club £450,000 to construct, a figure that would have to be multiplied if the club were to develop this stand nowadays. Former Prime Minister Edward Heath opened it along with the chairman whose name it bore.
Edward Heath (left) with former club chairman Bob Lord
Another addition to the ground was the cons
truction of the Bee Hole End terrace. This large, open terrace held around 7,000 spectators, and despite being open to the elements, was extremely popular after being opened in the 1960's.The ground remained like this throughout the rest of the 1970's and 1980's, as the famous old club sank through all the four divisions of the Football League.
However in December of 1994, the decision was made to develop Turf Moor and in July of 1995, Lincolnshire based contractors Linpave were contracted to build two new stands at Turf Moor.
It was always going to be a historic occasion at Turf Moor on September 16th 1995, when Hull City were the visitors in Division Two for the final ever game played in front of the 'Longside'. The terrace had built up a 'cult membership' among many of the supporters and it was a bittersweet day for many as the Clarets ran out winners.
The next time any supporter would watch a game from that part of the ground was on April 23rd 1996, when Bristol Rovers were the visitors to Turf Moor and fans could watch from the new James Hargreaves Stand.
Demolition of the Bee Hole End was commenced the next day and at a final cost of £5.3 million, the full ground was opened again in September 1996 for the visit of local rivals Blackpool. The Bee Hole End is now known as the Jimmy McIlroy Stand, named after arguably the club's greatest ever son.
Since then, Turf Moor has received much commendation from the football world with excellent corporate facilites and spectator comfort. Burnley even staged an England 'B' Game in May 2007, where modern day stars such as Michael Owen entertained a sell-out crowd.
England B v Albania at Turf Moor in May, 2007
The next phase of the redevelopment is to replace the delapidated Cricket Field Stand, which would further increase the capacity of the ground as the club bids to become a Premiership club.
Until then, Turf Moor currently has a current capacity of 22,619.
