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The old rec hanley actual location?


Yellowskies88

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If the half-way line can be tracked to the car park behind the Potteries Centre, then it should be possible using modern technology, to plot it's actual siting

Then it might be an idea to paint the centre circle on the tarmac, or have some kind of decorative plaque

Then we could pick an 'anniversary day', say for example the date of the club's formation, and similar to what folk do with the chalk figures carved into hills, encourage a fertility myth that couples copulating on said plaque will be blessed with child

Might get the new supporters figures up

Dogging with a purpose?

Points-with-Bone

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in 70's if stood on Stafford Street (At the junction with Hope St) and looked at Lewis's store main entrance the old Rec ground was on the left of Lewis's store. As I remember it going left there was Lewis's store, a minor road, some waste land, another minor  road then the Old Vale Rec Ground which by the early 70's had been turned into a tarmac pay as you stay surface Car Park,  there was still terracing on the side away from Bryan St.

Used to park on the car park when going to The Place on Bryan St in the 70's, a hot dog/burger van used to park on the wasteland between the car park and Lewis's Store. Have no idea what the area looks like now, I believe The Place has been knocked down.

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9 minutes ago, RailwayRowdy said:

Opposite Lewis’s was a big pub called the “Port Vale” which I think was still called that in the 70’s. It has changed names since then and the Gaiety seems to spring to mind, but I could be wrong.

Rarely get to Hanley nowadays but I think the pub still exists in some guise.

That’s right RR it was later called the Gaiety it was a Bikers pub, been in there many times.

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A lot of people said we lost a lot of support when we moved out of Hanley to Burslem. 

I can well believe it. Potteries folk are a parochial bunch; I know someone whose relative turned down a job in Hartshill because it wasn't in Stoke where he lived! As for the rest of the county; well it's a common conception that you fall off a cliff if you travel south of Stone. 

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Yeh, I've heard that said a few times. My dad used to say it - and he would have seen all the Vale games in Hanley.

It does make some logical sense if the ground is in the centre of the city, in its busiest town, and with more transport links to the other towns but if, in reality, there is any truth in the story I don't know. Perhaps we just fell on harder times in the sixties as Stoke starting doing so well and most neutrals went to the Victoria Ground. Is Hanley closer to Stoke than Burslem? Maybe but there is little in it.

I do know at least one Stoke fan who has never been to their new ground as he was mortified when they left Stoke but these odd events are surely balanced by the larger number of new fans who want to visit a new ground.  But Hanley was certainly easier to get to and no doubt gave the club more publicity in the face of the hordes of shoppers that went there on a regular basis. Huntbach was of course closely linked to the Vale as were a few other Hanley businesses.

Just off on a tangent, there must be a interesting book to be written (if it hasn't already been penned) about the lost football grounds of England. Westport, Cobridge and Hanley for us. Another one in Stoke. And dozens more clubs have moved in the past 20-30 years. Coventry, MC, Scunthorpe, Doncaster, Walsall, Crewe, Brighton had several homes, Barnet, Chester, Arsenal, Spurs... the list is endless.

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1 hour ago, TheSage said:

Yeh, I've heard that said a few times. My dad used to say it - and he would have seen all the Vale games in Hanley.

It does make some logical sense if the ground is in the centre of the city, in its busiest town, and with more transport links to the other towns but if, in reality, there is any truth in the story I don't know. Perhaps we just fell on harder times in the sixties as Stoke starting doing so well and most neutrals went to the Victoria Ground. Is Hanley closer to Stoke than Burslem? Maybe but there is little in it.

I do know at least one Stoke fan who has never been to their new ground as he was mortified when they left Stoke but these odd events are surely balanced by the larger number of new fans who want to visit a new ground.  But Hanley was certainly easier to get to and no doubt gave the club more publicity in the face of the hordes of shoppers that went there on a regular basis. Huntbach was of course closely linked to the Vale as were a few other Hanley...

This is my experience. My Granddad admits that even back then, nice as Vale Park was, it was considered a pain to get to. That’s even with him living close to the ground on Brownhills Road, Tunstall. 
 

The biggest problem was that getting to the ground for Saturday kickoffs was tough on the majority of those who worked until midday in industry on Saturday. 

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33 minutes ago, TJHValiant said:

The biggest problem was that getting to the ground for Saturday kickoffs was tough on the majority of those who worked until midday in industry on Saturday

Hence why Vale were one of very few sides to kick off at 3.15, which still was the case as relatively late as the 70’s.

But when we moved to Burslem the loop railway line would still have been in operation so I would have thought getting to the match would not have been a problem. But perhaps other factors came into play ?

 

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Yes the loop line was in use. I lived about 500 yards from the old ground in High street , Hanley (now Town road) and used to catch a train from the station by the Grand hotel. Three pence, (old money) if my memory serves me right to the Vale.

Sunday morning about 40 of us used to play football on the old ground and one of the stands was still up and the crush barriers were still in place on the slobs side (Swan passage). Memories ! I was always under the impression that the kick off was at 3.15 because the pubs shut at three then.ha ha.

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