Matches played at Bramall Lane, Sheffield

Born in 1854, this sporting venue was actually laid out as a cricket ground. Football didn’t arrive here until 29 December 1862 when Hallam played Sheffield FC, the world’s oldest football club.

Bramall Lane has also hosted lacrosse, tennis, cycling and baseball. In 1878 it was the venue for the world’s first floodlit football match. Five years later Bramall Lane hosted the first England game to be played outside of London. A ‘large crowd of ladies and gentlemen’, accommodated in an improvised stand running the length of the pitch, saw Scotland win 3-2.

All this took place before the formation of Sheffield United in 1889. The Blades were formed to take advantage of the facilities at Bramall Lane, and for the revenue that a resident football club could generate. Success soon followed, with United winning their first League Championship in 1898.

The Blades are one of a handful of clubs to have been crowned champions of each of the top four tiers of English football.

Bramall Lane in the summer of 1933. This aerial view reveals pitch markings for both cricket and football. A sight screen is positioned in front of the John Street Stand. The stand was designed by legendary football ground architect Archibald Leitch and opened in 1902.

The cricket pitch finally disappeared in 1975. Leitch's John Street Stand was demolished in 1994 and its replacement was completed in 1996 and includes a small gable in homage to Leitch's predecessor.