Ladysmead

Infobox_Stadium
stadium_name = Ladysmead
location = flagicon|ENG Bolham Road,
Tiverton,
Devon,
England
broke_ground = 1946
opened = 1946
owner = Tiverton Town
operator = Tiverton Town
tenants =
Tiverton Town (Southern Football League Premier Division) (1946-present)

seating_capacity =
502 (seated)
3,500 (total) [cite news|url=http://www.pyramidpassion.co.uk/html/tiverton_town.html|title=Tiverton Town ground guide|publisher=Pyramid Passion|accessdate=2007-11-11]
highest attendance = 3,000 (vs Leyton Orient, Nov 12, 1994)

tadium

Ladysmead is the home to the southern premier division side Tiverton Town Ladysmead Stadium is in the town of Tiverton, Devon and is set on the edge of the town, in Bolham Road. Since moving into Ladysmead, the seated capacity has been increased to 520 with the installation of more seats in 2002, and the total capacity has been increased to 3500 with covered terraced areas being built at the main road and west ends.

General

whilst not situated in the most picturesque of surroundings, compared with many clubs in Devon and Cornwall; Ladysmead is a neat and well-maintained venue, with cover on all four sides of the pitch. The clubhouse however, which stands along the north side of the pitch, was opened on 5 March 1984 by Mick Channon and replaced an earlier building erected in 1964. A roof with five supporting pillars has been added onto the front and provides shelter over an area of shallow terrace in front.

Opposite is a long fairly low-level stand erected in the late 1990s that extends some way on either side of the half-way line. Additional seats were installed in 2002 bring the total seated capacity of the ground to over 500, in the club colours of yellow black, although the view is obscured from some due to the roof supports. A covered terraced area was built at the main road end of the ground in 1996, whilst the west end of the ground is the latest part of the ground to be covered, albeit with a smaller more basic structure with netting to catch stray balls.

History

As Tiverton Athletic, the club played it's home games at the Athletic Ground, now known as Amory Park. The ground boasted a huge wooden pavilion with a seated verandah, which was quite extravagant for a non-league club in the 1910s.

In 1921, Athletic were effectively evicted from their ground and moved to a local rugby pitch, Elm Field (aka "The Elms"), with the reformed rugby club taking their place at their old ground. A satisfactory ground, The Elms housed a wooden 150-seat stand on one side, with grass banks behind the goals being the only other spectator zones.

The Elms was pretty much destroyed during World War II, meaning Tivvy now had to move to a third ground. They found a place they could call home in a small stadium called Ladysmead, where they still currently play their home games. Despite having a lovely new stadium with an extra stand built out of compensation money, The Yellows had no changing rooms and had to change in the nearby Cross Keys pub, a 10-minute walk from the ground.

Record Attendance

Tiverton's record attendance came in the FA Cup First Round Proper, against Leyton Orient on November 12, 1994.

External Links

* [http://www.tivertontownfc.com/historypage.htm History of Ladysmead at the Tiverton Town website]
* [http://www.pyramidpassion.co.uk/html/tiverton_town.html Tiverton Town ground guide]