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There has been sport
of some kind or another played on the site of the Spencer Stadium since 1895 when the land was given over to the people of Banbury for recreation purposes.
In 1934 the ground became home to Banbury Spencer who, until then, had been playing friendly matches on the Middleton road.Some cynics say the ground has changed very little since then, whereas in fact it has changed a great deal in those interim years.
In the beginning old railway carriages from the nearby railway station were used as dressing rooms.
These were positioned on the nearside of the pitch, close to where the present dressing rooms are located.
On the far side of the pitch a large wooden stand was erected while on the near side cover was provided by a wooden structure running from the right hand corner of the pitch to the half way line.
The right hand goal was covered over with the cover stretching around the the far right hand corner of the ground. The left hand goal was left open to the elements.
Very little was to change until the 1960`s
when Spencer became United and the club were elected into the Southern League. The famous old railway carriages were ripped out to be replaced with new dressing rooms whichwere incorporated into a new clubhouse. At the same time floodlights were installed and at the time the ground was one of the best non league grounds in the country.The stand remained on the far side as did the cover on the near side and behind the right hand goal ( the Town End).
In the summer of 1986 new dressing rooms were built and are
still in use today
Over the years,however,the rest of the ground had fallen into a bad state of repair and in 1985, after the terrible fire at Bradford it was decided to close down the old stand. It was boarded up and painted with images of supporters including one Jimmy Greaves and was finally taken down in the summer of 1990 leaving the space you see now on the far side of the pitch. Next to that space is a small white building, this used to be the tea bar for that side of the pitch but was no longer needed
once the stand came down. The removal of the stand coincided with
United`s relegation the previous season and the club`s uncertain future. However United survived, which is more than can be said for the cover at the Town End.In the mid 1990`s the section that was covering that corner of the ground was taken down leaving just the terrace behind the goal covered.
During United`s Hellenic League days attempts were made to cover the left hand goal but it was only a token gesture and was taken down not long after being put up, again on the grounds of safety. The old wooden clubhouse
was faced in white plastic panelling, although this was on just the ground side leaving the rest of the building as it was when first erected.A small seating area was provided and was placed under the cover at the Town End next to the club shop. This was taken out prior to United gaining promotion back to the Southern League to be replaced with the present stand.
In 2004 new buildings in the form of portakabins were installed, these have been used for a new clubshop, new boardroom and a new
toilet block.
Since returning to the Southern League improvements have also been made to the pitch itself. Gone now are the days when the pitch would be just a sea of mud after a spellof heavy rain would cause games to be postponed. After better drainage was installed in 2004 the pitch now stands up far better to rainfall and is no longer prone to flooding, as happened in 2003.
Old ground images
Flooding
My thanks go to Dave
Shadbolt and Steve Tamblin for their assistance in writing this history of the Spencer Stadium and for anyone whose images I may have used without their permission.
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This
is .....Puritanical