LOST FOOTBALL STADIUMS THE MOUNT CATFORD

The Mount was a football stadium in Catford, (not to be confused with Catford Stadium). The stadium was located in the south west corner of Mountsfield Park where football was played as early as the mid 19th century. Catford South End F.C. (founded before 1914) eventually developed the land into a proper stadium with terracing. The Mount was unusual as it was elevated above the surrounding area and thus that may be a possibility for its name.

SIEMEN MEADOWS ONE OF THE FIRST CHARLTON GROUNDS

The Mount was the polar opposite to The Valley, which was a sunken ground that was originally a chalk pit. The Mount was a more modest stadium, holding roughly 50,000 compared to The Valley's 75,000, and had an appearance like a fort owing to concrete pylons having to be raised to support the terraces which were erected on sloping ground (down hill). Despite being the largest ground in the world at the time apart from the newly completed Wembley Stadium, Charlton Athletic F.C. decided to move to The Mount for the 1923-24 season as they failed to fill The Valley with supporters. The Addicks also changed their kit colour to dark and light blue (the same as Catford South End) sparking rumours of a merger. The move to The Mount and the construction works to improve the terracing were almost entirely funded by Harry Isaacs, owner of The Dartmouth Arms in Laleham Road adjacent to the park, who was a passionate racing and football fan and son of Sam Isaacs, founder of the UK's first table service Fish & Chip Restaurant chain. The 1923-24 season was one of the wettest on record and being far from their fan base in Charlton it meant that attendances were very poor throughout the season. Added to this, the concrete pylons supporting the stands began to slide into the mud taking a bankrupt Harry Isaacs with them, and The Addicks back to The Valley the next season.

Catford South End remained a modest local team who eventually fell into obscurity. The stadium proved too big for them and so they also decamped. The Mount thus became vacant and fell into disrepair and, by the 1950s, had been completely demolished. The land still remains as a grassed area within Mountsfield Park.Apparently this is a 1950 shot of the Crystal Palace, home of those pre-WW1 cup finals. Casuals had played amateur league football there in the 1920s and Corinthians carried on using the grounds until the big fire in 1936. Old Boys games - including the Arthur Dunn Cup final - were still played at the Palace in the 1950s. The site was then cleared for the building of the athletics stadium - and national sports centre - in the 1960s. I've read Crystal Palace have used the athletics stadium for reserve games and - here's a confession - I saw a round of Superstars filmed there in 1974. Hamlet played at Champion Hill from 1931 to 1991. Dulwich, four times winners of the Amateur Cup, were a considerable force in the 1930s when Torquay twice played them away in the FA Cup. We won both times - by the odd goal - in front of crowds of 9,000 and 11,600. The biggest crowd at Champion Hill - 20,744 - was for the 1933 Amateur Cup final between Kingstonian and Stockton.

The badly-decayed ground was cleared for a supermarket in the 1990s. The club now plays on a newer ground next door. I popped into the old place one Sunday morning in the 1980s when a game was in progress. My sole memory is of graffiti which read "The players deserve your praise not your criticism" Nunhead, who played at Brown's Field on Ivydale Field SE15, were a major force in the amateur game until they went under after the outbreak of WW2. The biggest crowd was probably 10,000 for the visit of Dulwich Hamlet,DENNIS COMPTON OF NUNHEAD in 1920. The main stand burnt down in 1936 and it was downhill from then onwards. This 1974 picture shows the remains of a small section of terracing: I .
Under the main stand it was like the Highbury of non-league football with a beautiful marble entrance hall for   players/VIPs/Press. Very enjoyable, if rather anachronistic, but a real shame to see it go.