Grove Sports Stadium
Grove Sports Stadium is a 20th-century large sports stadium/field on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England. It is situated within The Grove village, and is owned by the prison service; the nearby HM Prison Portland. It is found north-west of St. Peter's Church, and was created within an abandoned and disused quarry.[1]
History
HM Prison Portland had been an adult convict establishment since its opening in 1848.[2] In 1921 the prison became a borstal institution.[3] During the late 1920s, the borstal's governor H. Scott proposed the transformation of a nearby disused convict quarry into a sports stadium. The project started in 1931, and was completed by 1936, using the borstal inmates as labour."[4]
The first sports day took place on 1 August 1936, with the public able to spectate.[5] Over the following decades the stadium continued to hold Borstal-related sporting events, the last being the Foundation Day Sports event of 1975.[6] The prison, now a Young Offenders Institution, continues to own the stadium, who have allowed local schools to use the pitch in the past.[1] In recent years Portland United F.C. have continued to use and maintain the stadium.[7]
References
- ^ a b "North of Grove Road, Portland". Geoffkirby.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-07-20.
- ^ http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~pbtyc/Portland/PYB/Chronology.html
- ^ http://www.geoffkirby.co.uk/PortlandArchivePictures/html/grove_prison.html
- ^ Morris, Stuart (1985). Portland: An Illustrated History. Dovecote Press. p. 125. ISBN 978-0946159345.
- ^ Legg, D. R. G. (2000). Portland Prison Illustrated. Sprint Signs and Graphics, Weymouth. p. 44.
- ^ Grove Prison Museum - Official Museum Guide. Grove Prison Museum. 2014. p. 28.
- ^ "Portland's Big Grove Summer Festival donates £800 at annual launch (From Dorset Echo)". Dorsetecho.co.uk. 2012-04-09. Retrieved 2014-07-20.