Hyde Road - Layout and Structure

Layout and Structure

For certain areas of the ground few photographs survive, however, a map dating from 1894 indicates that most of the terracing was of uneven shape, and that unusually, a section of railway line leading to a neighbouring boilerworks ran between the terrace and the pitch at one corner of the ground. The main grandstand (the "Main Stand") was situated at the north of the ground. Built in 1889 for £1,500, this structure replaced the original 1,000 capacity grandstand which had been built in 1888. The new grandstand comprised an upper tier of seating and a lower paddock. Most contemporary sources listed the capacity as 4,000, though it is unclear whether this refers to the seating capacity or the total capacity. The wooden stand was gutted by fire in 1920, causing the loss of both the stand and the club records, which were stored within.

The north-eastern end of the ground was known as the "Galloway End". It was intersected by a railway loop leading to the Galloway boilerworks. One part of the terracing was known as the "Boys Stand". This was a separate structure, slightly removed from the rest of the ground and positioned behind the railway loop line which transported boilers from Galloways Boiler Works. The opposing end, known as the "Stone Yard Stand" or "Hotel End", was another part of the ground with an irregular shape. It consisted of a mixture of seats and terracing, and became the most important seating area in the period following the Main Stand fire. The fourth side was a simple terrace, with a roof covering three-quarters of its length. It had a larger capacity than the other parts of the ground, and was therefore known as "The Popular Side". Part of the terrace stood back-to-back with a row of houses on Bennett Street; though the ground was named Hyde Road, its proximity to Bennett Street meant that for some supporters the names Hyde Road and Bennett Street were synonymous.