Friday, 4 July 2025

St Barts Royal London Hospital FC - Queen Mary University Sports Ground


St Barts Royal London Hospital FC 
Queen Mary University of London Sports Ground
Perry Street 
Chislehurst 
Bromley
BR7 6SD









Ground Number: 1443
Friday 4th July 2025
Stansfeld 2-2 Lordswood
Friendly








QUEEN MARY UNIVERSITY SPORTS GROUND HISTORY

The ground was established in 1937 when the sports teams of St Bartholomew's Royal Hospital (formerly the Royal Hospital) decided that their home at Winchmore Hill was no longer sufficient for their needs. They purchased the patch of land in Chislehurst where the ground stands today. Rugby is the dominant sport nowadays, but that was not always the case. St Bart's entered the FA Cup in 1882 and were drawn to face the five-time winners, the Wanderers, in the first round. However, the Wanderers were unable to field a team as their members, drawn from elite public schools such as Eton and Harrow, had chosen to play for their respective old boys' teams instead. It was the last time the Wanderers entered the FA Cup, and St Bart's, playing in black shirts with the hospital crest on them, lost in the second round to Great Marlow. It would be the last time the hospital team entered the FA Cup in their own right, although a combined team encompassing several London hospitals would continue for a couple of seasons after. These games were before they got their ground in Winchmore Hill and were played at the Old Spotted Dog, home of Clapton CFC in the present day. Although the team no longer plays in any FA competitions, they are highly successful in student and college football and have a host of honours to their name.


The new sports ground in Chislehurst was bought to take into account the increased popularity of sport as part of a wider fitness craze and the growth of sporting societies at St Bartholomew's. Money was borrowed to build a pavilion, and the student union was charged a higher rent. In June 1938, the pavilion was completed, and after the grounds had been levelled and returfed, three rugby pitches and a football and hockey pitch were opened. Residents were invited to the opening ceremony to ‘foster association’ with the hope of securing donations. Other sports facilities followed. Current facilities include three football pitches, two rugby pitches, a cricket pitch and a grass tennis court. During the Second World War, the sports ground at Chislehurst was taken over by the Army and trenches were dug across the ground to prevent the landing of aeroplanes, but some pitches were usable and continued to be played upon.


MY VISIT

Originally, I had planned to go to Hitchin Town v Luton Town for a revisit on this day. It was one of my favourite grounds, and I needed the Wetherspoons in town. It was also against Luton Town, and there was a slight chance that former legendary Wycombe Wanderers manager Matt Bloomfield would be there. This was the plan until Wednesday evening, when I started looking further into it. To start, I was already pleased with my blog entry, having expanded on it during my 2015 revisit. At the time, it was my favourite ground, having been there before I visited Falmouth Town. The final straw was the £13 entry fee they were asking for. Not outrageous, but if it was normal pricing, then I would save it for a better game. With my recent trip to Wales being quite pricey, it would be nice to keep the costs down too, and also give my car a rest by going on the train instead. The Queen Mary University Sports Ground looked like a nice venue, although it was annoying that the stand was used for rugby only.
From my game in Luton on Tuesday, it was a nice, easy drive home and I was back by around 9,45 after dropping Colin off. I was pleased that the game had added just £7 to my football costs, once I'd split petrol with Colin. I managed to get my blog up before bed, but sleep was tricky. It was the tail end of the heatwave, but it felt like the warmest night by far. I got enough sleep to be OK for my shortest shift of the week at work, and I was home by midday. I spent the afternoon at home, updating the step 7 leagues on this blog, but there was still plenty of work to do. The evening was when I had to put more work into this trip. Colin had changed his days at work, so two Spoons in Central London became one on the outskirts so that he could have time to drop his stuff off at home. It was a relaxed and uneventful Thursday. I had considered going to the CONIFA Asia Cup game at Walton & Hersham in the afternoon, but opted for a rest instead.
On Thursday evening, Colin had a change of heart and decided to come straight from work. Therefore, two Wetherspoons was back on the cards. Friday was a killer at work as with every other Friday, being the busiest day of the week. I finished at 1, got petrol and went home. It was a busy hour at home, getting lunch, putting uniform in the wash, getting my things together and checking out the FA Cup draw. I left at 2.30, delayed by the usual roadworks with no work. I was still at Amersham Station ten minutes early, though, meeting Colin on the train. We took the 2.52 to Baker Street, discussing the FA Cup draw on the way. Colin was all for going to see Amersham Town at Cinderford, for me, it's a choice of 17 new grounds in the draw. We changed at Finchley Road to the Jubilee Line, which was boiling. Colin enjoyed a sleep after his gruelling four-hour shift, so I woke him up to get off at Canada Water. The station reminded me of the Kevin Bloody Wilson song 'You can't say cunt in Canada'. It was a scorcher but a pleasant walk, and ten minutes later I was at Wetherspoons 414 - The Surrey Docks in Rotherhithe. An unremarkable pub, they only had ghastly Rum and Raisin and Toffee Apple ciders at the Cider festival. But £1.99 for a pint of Stowford Press in London was a bargain.

 

The transport situation was frustrating after I got on the wrong train. It should have been an easy bus to Peckham from there, but a 7-minute wait turned into a 25-minute one. Finally, the bus came and we were at Spoons 20 minutes late. The area was a complete hovel but it was a decent Spoons, menu-wise. Shawarma Chips, wings and a pint of Hecks Dabinett for £11.77. The food and drink were great but service was variable. My food came in a few minutes, the drink took ten minutes and Colin's fish and chips took fifteen minutes. I'd have liked another pint, but time was tight now, that said, we'd still make kickoff. It was a ten-minute walk through a filthy slum ghetto to get to the station. I hate feeling bad about a place, and there was probably some great food places here. But the streets were chaotic, and even two pints deep, it was frustrating. It was a nice air-conditioned train to Bickley, where we got a bus to the ground. The late arrival of an earlier bus made it a breeze to get to the ground, and time was made up.

 

We got to the ground 15 minutes before kickoff. Meeting up with Dan and Richard was nice and the ground was better than expected too. Lordswood took the lead on 12 minutes with a lobbed goal from outside the area. There was an equaliser on 29 minutes, a high shot was followed up from close range. It was a very quick halftime, just five minutes during which I went over and got a picture of the rugby stand. The second half was a typically slow pre-season, but on 86 minutes, Lordswood plundered what looked like a late winner. However, in injury time, it was 2-2, a great strike from the edge of the area.

 

THE GROUND 

QUEEN MARY UNIVERSITY SPORTS GROUND is a pleasant venue, though the pitch area is basic with no rail or dugouts. It is impeccably kept though with a superb surface. There is a clubhouse which is a decent building, this houses dressing rooms, WC and a bar which was not open on my visit. The adjacent rugby pitch has a stand which is a classic wooden structure. There's not a huge amount around the ground, although it's well linked by buses.


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