It was in open rugby magazine many years ago! Think i may have saved the copy as it told the history of our ground.

I'l have to dig the magazine out now! May take a few days.
Oh and there used to be a cycle track that ran around the pitch but on the terraces.

Yeah remember an article mentioning the cycle track, wasn't the track laid on ash which was contaminated with nic or some such thing, that's what makes BV very difficult to re develop?

When I was a kid (before the days of the automatic washing m/c) most housewives did the weekly wash on the same day. They used to say you could tell wash day because all the water from the twin tubs went straight through the drains and into the river which then frothed up going over the weir. No such problems at Wakey due to the complete lack of soap.

Quote: cheshirecat57 "I'l have to dig the magazine out now! May take a few days. Oh and there used to be a cycle track that ran around the pitch but on the terraces.'" You're spot on about the cycle track - www.trinityheritage.co.uk/through-the-years/ It's the reason why the terracing in front of the East stand is so sunken as that used to be the sloped track. NB: A farm building with a curved or pitched roof set over a steel, timber, or concrete frame without walls, used for storing hay - kind of fits.

Quote: cheshirecat57 "I'l have to dig the magazine out now! May take a few days. Oh and there used to be a cycle track that ran around the pitch but on the terraces.'" You're spot on about the cycle track - www.trinityheritage.co.uk/through-the-years/ It's the reason why the terracing in front of the East stand is so sunken as that used to be the sloped track. NB: A farm building with a curved or pitched roof set over a steel, timber, or concrete frame without walls, used for storing hay - kind of fits.

Don't know how that happened

Nothing to do the cycle track as such. The whole north terrace is built on a pile of ash and colliery waste. The old south terrace was the same.. This is nothing out of the ordinary as most RL grounds had their terracing built in this way. They then used to step them and grade them with old railway sleepers.

We could have had sleepers on our ground at one time ,but way before I remember. Belle Vue was one of the few grounds that had concrete terracing. If you look at the terracing on the old sections you can see its hollow, and that is because its re cycled sections from a second world war floating dock, or so I'm told.


Last but not least, Yes the old south stand was demolished and sold to a local farmer as a barn.

I go back far enough to remember the old west stand.
And I remember it being pulled down because of the Bradford Fire regulations.

What I can't remember is, when you look at the pictures Vasty linked, it looks like the terracing was at the same height as the pitch. What happened there. Did we lower it? Or is it just a misleading photo?

No, the track was made of wood and built with the terrace as the base hence it is raised. I assume they changed the wood fairly often.

Actually I think the terracing has been slightly raised and not lowered ! certainly has down the east stand side.


I can remember standing in both sides when I was young and there was a fair old drop on the pitch side. Any small children could hardly see above the wall and their heads were about pitch level.

That was a grand old stand (west stand) and what a crowd in that picture, I bet MC wished we could get that lol