Thrum Hall

Thrum Hall

Location	Halifax, West Yorkshire
Coordinates
Capacity	9,832 (before closure)
Record attendance	29,153 (21 March 1959 v Wigan)
Opened	18 September 1886
Closed	1998
Tenants
Halifax RLFC

Thrum Hall was a rugby league stadium on Hanson Lane in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. It was the home of Halifax RLFC for 112 years. The site on which the ground stood is now occupied by a supermarket.

History

In 1878, Halifax RLFC, who had just won the inaugural Yorkshire Cup, bought a patch of land for £3,000 from a local farmer, Major Dyson, to develop as a new multi-purpose sports ground. It was to be a replacement for their Hanson Lane ground which stood opposite.

The site measured 55,000 square yards and included a cricket pitch, greyhound track and bowling greens. The rugby stadium was opened on 18 September 1886 by Alderman Riley, who kicked off before the Halifax v Hull match. Forward Ernest Williamson scored the first try (his only try for Halifax) and the home side went on to win in front of a crowd of around 8,000. As Thrum Hall was built on an old hilltop farm, it had a distinctive slope of 3.6 metres away from the main grandstand touchline.

The ground was continuously developed over the next 40 to 50 years and it came to be regularly used as a neutral ground for Challenge Cup and Championship matches, including the 1914 Challenge Cup final (won by Hull) and the 1912, 1929 and 1930 Championship deciders.

Thrum Hall was run by trustees from 1921.

The attendance record of 29,153 was set in a third round Challenge Cup tie against Wigan on 21 March 1959. By the time of the Taylor Report, Thrum Hall's capacity was reduced to 9,832.

Halifax was hit hard by the financial situation of the late 1960s and 1970s. In 1970, a concert was held at Thrum Hall in an attempt to alleviate these financial troubles. Adverse weather conditions meant that only around 3,000 arrived to watch the 'Halifax Pop and Blues Concert' which made a loss of £6,000.

File:Asda, Thrum Hall, seen from Wainhouse Tower - geograph.org.uk - 1385814.jpg

The Asda supermarket that now stands on the site of Thrum Hall stadium

Other uses

Between 1928 and 1930 a speedway track operated at Thrum Hall.

The adjacent Thrum Hall Cricket Ground hosted four first class cricket matches between 1888 and 1897. Yorkshire played three County Championship matches there, in July 1888 against Gloucestershire, August 1889 against Middlesex and Kent in June 1897, while they played Essex in a non-championship fixture in July 1894. Kent were bowled out for 74 in their match, with Bobby Peel taking 8 for 93. Peel also bowled Gloucestershire out for just 89, taking 7 for 39, in a low scoring match which Yorkshire won by 3 wickets.

Closure

Halifax sold Thrum Hall for £1.5 million to Asda for a supermarket development in 1998, and moved across town to their present home, the Shay Stadium.