Grounds - Hastings Football History

Football Venues

As football’s popularity grew rapidly throughout the 1890s, the demand for new pitches and improved facilities rose with it—a need shared by many other sports. Long before the modern game reached the area, sites such as the East Hill, The Green and South Saxons were already used for recreation. The Central Recreation Ground, laid out and opened in 1864, soon replaced the East Hill as the town’s principal venue for organised sport.

The Green staged the first recorded association football match in 1881. Other early venues included the East Hill, the Central Ground, Horntye, Drapers Field at Silverhill and the Hastings Grammar School playing field at Ore Valley.

After its formation in 1892, the Hastings & St Leonards Football Association sought a dedicated ground for its matches. Alexandra Park and the Highbury House field (now Horntye) were considered, but Alexandra Park would have required major landscape alterations and the owner of the Highbury House field refused permission. Sites on the West Hill and near Barley Lane were also suggested but not pursued further. Although football was already played regularly on the East Hill, attempts had been made to prohibit the sport there. The Central Recreation Ground, though long used for organised sport, suffered from poor drainage.

Unable to secure another suitable venue, the Hastings FA reached an agreement with the Central Ground committee to use the site for football between October and April, with gate receipts split evenly. The Green acted as an alternative when the Central Ground became unplayable. Relations between the FA and the Central Ground committee were strained, and the FA continued searching for an exclusive football ground. It was not until 1904 that they settled on a pitch on the Brisco Estate—known as the Sports Ground.

Though the Sports Ground had been intended for hockey as well, it soon became an exclusively football venue. However, its future was always limited, as the council planned to convert the surrounding land into pleasure grounds, now known as White Rock Gardens. Replacement sites at Silverhill, Horntye and the gas works were discussed, but progress came to a halt with the outbreak of the First World War.

After the war, the search resumed for a ground capable of hosting senior football. The leading candidates were the Pilot Field and Horntye. The Pilot Field was chosen as it could be made ready for the 1920–21 season, with Rock-a-Nore becoming its first main tenants.

The opening of the Pilot Field enabled Rock-a-Nore to join the newly formed Sussex County League and allowed other teams aspiring to higher-level football to use the venue. Yet the borough still lacked public pitches for junior and intermediate teams. Harrow Lane recreation ground opened in 1921, followed by a site at Elphinstone Road (later the B.O.S. field) in 1922, and the Bexhill Road recreation ground in 1927. These helped ease pressure on the council but offered few facilities, and players often changed outdoors or at nearby buildings.

Many of the grounds mentioned here have since been lost to development or are no longer used for organised sport. At the time of writing, plans exist to build 140 homes on the Harrow Lane field.

A recurring theme is Hastings’ shortage of sporting facilities compared with nearby towns such as Eastbourne, though forthcoming projects may narrow the gap. Proposals include a new ground for Hastings United at Tilekiln, featuring two additional full-sized 3G pitches, funded by selling the Pilot Field for development. Another project involves selling Horntye (excluding the pavilion) to finance new facilities at Claremont School for Hastings Priory and the South Saxons. These plans include a new pavilion, an astroturf pitch, two cricket pitches and three football pitches.

Senior Football Venues

Pilot Field

The Pilot Field has been the borough’s principal football venue since opening in 1920. Today it is home to Hastings United, but over the years it has also hosted speedway, cycling, rugby, athletics and numerous community events, including festivals and firework displays. There is evidence that football may have been played on the site as early as 1894.

The Firs

Also known as: Pilot Field upper

Clubs:

Hastings Rangers: c1925
Rock-a-Nore: 1924-1925
Ore United: 1946-47
Hastings & St Leonards/Hastings Town: 1949-1985
STAMCO/St Leonards: 1993-2004
St Leonards Social: c2002

Situated beside the Pilot Field, the Firs was originally known as the upper pitch before developing into a ground in its own right. A small all‑weather surface occupies the southern end, while the remaining grass pitch has most recently been used for youth football and baseball.

The Pilot Field began as a large sloping meadow before being divided into upper and lower pitches in 1921. The upper pitch became the home of Hastings & St Leonards FC after they were displaced from the lower pitch when Hastings United was formed in 1948. In 1979 the amateur side changed its name to Hastings Town, and around this time the club invested in improving the facilities at the upper ground.

Hastings Town returned to the original lower pitch in 1985, after which the upper pitch hosted youth and reserve football until STAMCO moved in during 1993. By this stage the ground had become known as the Firs. STAMCO invested further in upgrading the facilities so the ground could meet county league standards, and continued developing and altering the site throughout their tenancy.

STAMCO—later renamed St Leonards—folded midway through the 2003–04 season. The ground was then used briefly by St Leonards Social. Hastings Council later constructed a small all‑weather pitch on the site, making it unsuitable for adult football. Since then, the ground has steadily fallen into disrepair, with the main stand seats being relocated to the main stand at the Pilot Field. Despite its derelict condition, the Firs has continued to host youth football and, more recently, baseball.

Central Recreation Ground

Also known as: Central Cricket Ground

Clubs:

Hastings & St Leonards Athletic/FC: 1884-1906
Hastings Alliance: 1893-1894
Rock-a-Nore (Cup games): 1895-1897 & 1907-1908
Hastings Police: c1896
St Leonards: 1900-1901
Hastings & St Leonards United: 1906-1910

Best known as a first‑class cricket venue, the Central Recreation Ground was also used for football until 1910. Opened in 1864 on land leased from the Cornwallis family, it became the area’s premier recreation site. Thanks to its substantial spectator facilities, it hosted high‑profile fixtures, including visits from Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Queens Park Rangers.

Hastings v Portsmouth on Central Recreation Ground.

The ground’s first recorded use for football came in 1870, when Hastings Amateur Athletic Club faced a combined local schools team—although the match was played under rugby rules. By the 1890s the venue was being used regularly for association football and was shared by two athletic clubs: the later Hastings & St Leonards Amateur Athletic Club (distinct from the club involved in the 1870 match) and Hastings Alliance.

Throughout the years in which football was played there, the Hastings FA and several local clubs were frequently at odds with the Central Ground committee over access and use of the venue. Financial disagreements were common, as the committee received a share of the football gate receipts. It was also widely believed that the committee preferred cricket and wished to preserve the surface for the summer season, which restricted winter football. Their caution was not entirely unfounded—the pitch was known to suffer from poor conditions and flooding. These issues, combined with strained relations between the football authorities and the committee, meant that local football bodies were continually searching for a ground of their own.

Hastings & St Leonards United used the Central Ground as their home until the club folded in 1910. Shortly afterwards, the committee installed tennis courts on the former pitch, preventing any further football from being played there. In 1948, after Hastings & St Leonards FC had been forced out of the Pilot Field, proposals were made to return football to the Central Ground, but the club and committee were unable to reach an agreement.

In 1982 Hastings Council voted to develop a shopping centre on the site and relocate the cricket ground to Horntye. The government initially rejected these plans in 1984, but in 1986 the Central Ground committee agreed to move. Planning permission followed in 1988. The new cricket ground at Horntye opened in 1996, and Priory Meadow Shopping Centre opened the following year.

Sports Ground

Also known as: Catholic Ground, Brisco Estate

Clubs:

St Leonards/St Leonards United: 1904-1906
Rock-a-Nore: 1904-1905
Hastings & St Leonards United: 1906-1908
Hastings & St Leonards Amateurs: 1906-1907
Old Hastonians: 1907-1908
St Leonards Amateurs (1)/Hastings & St Leonards Amatuers: 1907-1914
Junior Conservatives: 1913
St Leonards Amateurs (2): c1914

Laid out in 1904, the Sports Ground was the borough’s first purpose‑built football ground and hosted senior matches until 1914. Plans for a recreation ground on the Brisco Estate were first explored in 1897, with proposals for football, cricket, cycling and even horse riding. The land was purchased in 1902, and the football pitch was positioned along St Margaret’s Road. The opening fixture, St Leonards v Kensal Rise, was played on 3 September 1904, with Brighton & Hove Albion visiting a week later.

Old map detailing the Sports Ground c1908. Source: https://maps.nls.uk/

When the pitch was first laid out, it was intended to host both football and hockey. Football quickly became the main attraction, however, with St Leonards and Rock‑a‑Nore becoming the ground’s primary and secondary tenants respectively. Plans were drawn up for a grandstand and changing rooms, but progress was slow. As late as 1905, players were still getting changed at White Rock Villa, and the only known photograph of the ground shows nothing more than a small, simple shelter in the south‑west corner.

Although the Hastings Sports Association had ambitious intentions for the site, the Hastings Corporation had always planned to transform the football ground and the surrounding wasteland into pleasure gardens for residents and visitors. By 1914 the Corporation had begun moving forward with redevelopment plans, but the outbreak of the First World War brought everything to a halt. After the war, the area was re‑established as White Rock Gardens; today, the bowling greens and the Clambers Play Centre occupy the land where the pitch once lay.

During the 1920s, some football continued to be played on a site known as the Catholic Ground—a name also occasionally used for the earlier Sports Ground. This later pitch was most likely located on the opposite side of Falaise Road, on the area now home to the skate park and tennis courts. The ground was also referred to as White Rock Road and Parks Field.

Other venues

Bexhill Road Recreation Ground

Also known as: Bulverhythe, Pebsham

Clubs:

Hastings Rangers: 1927-2018
St Saviours: 1927
Radcliffes: c1931
Railway United: 1931-1932
South Saxons: 1929-1935
Old Hastonians: 1934-2017
St Leonards Athletic: 1937-1938
Griffins Athletic: 1938-1939
Rock-a-Nore: 1946 & c1985
Civil Service: c1952-1954
Hastings Labour: c1954
Linton Athletic: c1985
Castleham FC: c2002
Travaux: 2000s
Beulah Baptists: late 2000s
Hastings Elite: late 2000s/early 2010s
HG Aerospace: late 2000s
Hollington United III: late 2000s
Nelson Tigers: late 2000s
Westfield III: late 2000s
Bo-Peep Marina: early 2010s
Kurdistan united: 2010-2011
West Hill United: 2010s
Bexhill Town: c2017

First marked out in 1927, the earliest recorded football match here was between Hastings Rangers and Hailsham on 22 October that year. Rangers have used the ground ever since. Early pitches were located closest to Bexhill Road, but the site lacked facilities; the Hastings Observer reported that St Leonards Hockey Club changed at the Bathing Pool and the South Saxons at the Fountain Hotel during the 1950s.

Hastings & Bexhill Rugby Club were training on the Pebsham Aerodrome site during the 1950s, and this stretch of land later became the second tier of the recreation ground. Around the same time, Hastings Rangers moved to their own pitch on the adjacent ground next to the garden centre, which hosted county league football from 1952 to 1973, as well as briefly in the late 1970s when Hastings Town played there while upgrading the Firs.

The two‑storey pavilion at the southern end of the ground served for many years as the clubhouse of the South Saxons Hockey Club, before the club relocated and the building was demolished around 2015. Alongside hockey, the ground has also hosted rugby, cricket and American football. Over the years, proposals were made for additional facilities, including a driving range at the western end of the site and the Pebsham Motor Racing Circuit to the north.

B.O.S.

Also known as: Elphinstone Road

Clubs:

Vale Orton: 1922
Junior Imperials: 1930
Hastings Corporation Electricity Department: 1935-1936
Clock House United: 1937
Regnal United: 1937
Hastings Central Old Boys: 1937-1938
Red Lake Rangers: 1946-????
Old Centmodians: c1946
Civil Service: c1970s?
Hastings Police: C1970s

First used for football in 1922, this unusually named ground lies downhill from the Pilot Field. The name derives from the Boys’ Own Society, a youth club linked to Robertson Street Congregational Church. Although the B.O.S. ran football teams, no evidence confirms they played on this field. The pitch was notorious for its steep gradient and, in its early years, a ditch running directly across the playing surface.

Coghurst

Also known as: Goddens Field, Ore

Clubs:

St Helens: 1900-1905
Emmanuel FC: c1900
Ore & Clive Vale Harriers: c1900
Ore & Clive Vale Athletic: c1903
Gas Works FC: 1909-10
Vale Orton: 1919-1923
Hastings Invicta: 1920-1922

Part of Bricklands Farm at Rock Lane, this area was first used recreationally in 1891 for informal cricket. The earliest recorded football match took place in 1900 on Goddens Field, named after the tenant farmer. Fixtures continued here until at least 1923, mainly on the eastern side near the Rock Lane–Winchelsea Road junction.

After the Second World War, a cycle speedway track was constructed at the southern end of the site, known as Oratavia (or “Arvy Tarvy”). The Ridge Eagles used the track until the early 1950s. In 1949, plans were submitted to build a greyhound racing stadium on the site, extending as far as Ivyhouse Lane, but the proposal was rejected.

By the 1970s the ground had become known as Coghurst, and an additional pitch was marked out to the west. Teams using both pitches had to share a small brick building—without water or electricity—for changing facilities. The site is now occupied by Sandown Primary School and continues to be used for youth football.

Dave Brown Memorial Field

Also known as: Barley Lane

Clubs: JC Tackleway (1997- )

Home to JC Tackleway since 1997, the ground was created after the club received a 50‑year lease from the Magdalen & Lasher charity and £94,000 of National Lottery funding. Two pitches and changing facilities were constructed, and the ground was named in honour of Dave Brown, who served the club for many years, including two decades as club leader.

East Hill

Clubs:

Hastings & St Leonards Athletic: 1891-1892 & c1898
Hastings & St Leonards Swifts: c1892
Hastings Alliance: 1891-1892
East End/East Hastings FC: 1891-1893
St Clements FC (1): 1891-1921
St Clements Rovers: 1893-1893
St Marys: 1892-1897
Rock-a-Nore (1): 1893-1920
Post Office (1): c1893
Post Office (2): c1896
All Saints/Hastings Rovers (1): 1895-1902)
Hastings Trinity: c1898
Hastings Rifles: c1898
All Saints FC: 1898-1923
National Old Boys: c1900
Alexandra FC: 1907-1909
Normanhurst/Hastings Nomads: c1902
Hastings Invicta: 1905-1909
West Hill Athletic/Hastings Rangers (1): c1909
Municipal Employes/Hastings Rovers (2): c1912
Ore & Clive Vale: c1919
Observer Athletic: c1920
Rock-a-Nore (2): 1920-1954
Hastings Rangers (2): 1920-1927
Hastings Juniors: c1922
Hastings Albion: c1922
Robertson Street Congregational: 1923-1924
Ore Juniors: c1923
Junior Imperials: 1924-1927
Clifton Vale United: 1924-1925
Hastings YMCA: c1925
St Clements United/St Clements FC (2): 1926-1937
Junior Labour: c1929
Hastings Corporation: c1929
Central United: c1930
Hastings Corporation Electricity Department: c1935
JC Tackleway: c1970s

Among the oldest recreation sites in Hastings, the East Hill was used for a range of sports throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries. Cricket was recorded here as early as 1822, while the first rugby match took place in 1872. In 1888 the East and West Hills were purchased for the town from the Sayer-Milward estate for £24,000.

The first recorded football game on the East Hill took place in 1890, however there were soon disputes between footballers and cricketers over the use of the ground, with matches known to overlap each other; the opening of the golf links in 1893 would only exacerbate tensions. In later years, games of football and cricket whose playing areas overlapped were known to briefly pause, to allow the other game to continue.

As football grew in popularity more pitches were marked out and by 1922 there were three pitches on the ground. Over the years more playing areas were laid out towards the Ecclesbourne Glen end of the ground, at one point there was a rugby pitch marked out in addition to the cricket wicket and multiple junior and adult football pitches. By the 1980s the facilities on site had become dilapidated through poor maintenance and they were eventually abandoned.

Gibbons Memorial Field

Also known as: Wishing Tree Road, The Den (1950s)

Clubs:

Hollington United: 1933-Present
Hollington Old Church: 1935-1938
Silverton United: c1935
Victoria Rangers: 1945-1946

Although first used in 1933, the Gibbons Memorial Field was officially opened in 1935. The site originally included a football pitch, bowling green and two tennis courts, and was inaugurated by Mayor Alderman A. Blackman. The land had been acquired after the death of Miss Rosina Gibbons, whose estate funded both the enlargement of the parish room and the new recreation ground.

The first recorded match at the ground took place in 1933 between Hollington United and Rock‑a‑Nore. By 1935 both Hollington United and Hollington Old Church appear to have been using the site, with records showing matches scheduled on the same day but with slightly staggered kick‑off times. This suggests either that two pitches were marked out on the ground, or that one of the teams was using a nearby pitch—possibly further up Wishing Tree Road—while relying on the Gibbons Field facilities for changing.

For more information on Gibbons Memorial Field visit the website of Hollington Old Church Bowls Club.

See also David Bauckhams article on Hollington United.

Gilridge

Also known as: Hillside Road

Clubs: Hastings Wanderers (c1936), Woodwards Sports (c1938)

Located north of the William Parker school fields, this ground began as a camping field but hosted football briefly during the mid-to-late 1930s, used by Hastings Wanderers and later Woodwards Sports.

Harley Shute

Located on the land now occupied by West St Leonards Primary School and St Leonards Academy, multiple pitches were marked out here from the late 1960s on farmland formerly belonging to Filsham Farm. Earlier matches are known to have taken place at Harley Shute, though it is uncertain whether they were played on the same site.

Harrow Lane

Also known as: Baldslow

Clubs:

Baldslow: c1921
Hollington Old Church: 1930-1933
DMS: c1935
Hastings Wanderers: 1936-1938
Stewarts Ltd FC: 1936-1938
Regnal United: c1938
Silverhill Old Boys: c1938
Hastings Electricity: c1952
Old Centmodians: 1954-????
Royal Victoria: c1985
Stedfast FC: c1985
Travaux: c1985
Westfield III: c2002

Laid out in 1921, Harrow Lane once accommodated two football pitches and two hockey pitches. After a brief post‑war period of disuse, it reopened in 1952. It remains one of the borough’s long‑standing recreation areas, though currently under threat from housing development proposals.

Horntye

Also known as: Bohemia, Briscos Walk, Priory Avenue, Highbury House Ground, Summerfields

Clubs:

Highbury House: 1883-1891 & 1902-1907
Hastings & St Leonards Athletic (1): c1892
St Leonards Wanderers: c1898
Horntye Swifts: c1898
St Leonards Swifts: 1901-1902
St Michaels FC: 1902-1903
Hastings & st Leonards Atheltic (2): 1910-1911
Hastings YMCA: 1912-1914
St Leonards Albion: c1912
St Peters: c1914
Blacklands FC: c1985
Old Hastonians: c1985

The name ‘Horntye’ may derive from the historic field name ‘Hornetey’, once part of Chapel Farm. The wider site, stretching from Bohemia Road to Priory Avenue, was first used for sport in the 1880s when Highbury House School rented the field from a private owner. Over the decades it developed into one of Hastings’ most significant multi‑sport venues.

The site was purchased by the Hastings Corporation in 1919, and by 1920 the land north of Briscos Walk was being used by the allotment association. There was early consideration of developing the area into a new community sports ground for the town, but the Pilot Field was ultimately chosen instead. No records indicate that football was played here before the Second World War.

After the war, the land south of Briscos Walk was returned to use as a recreation ground, with three football pitches marked out and the addition of squash courts. The northern section remained as allotment gardens. St Paul’s Primary School opened in 1962 on the western part of this northern area, and in the mid‑1980s more of the site was converted into school playing fields. The remaining allotments were redeveloped in the 2000s as Pashley Gardens.

By the 1980s the area had become known as Summerfields Playing Fields and was selected as the site of the new cricket ground to replace the Central Ground. Temporary changing rooms and groundsman facilities were installed for its opening in 1996, and a lottery‑funded pavilion followed a few years later. Today the ground is home to Hastings & St Leonards Priory Cricket Club and the South Saxons Hockey Club.

Observer Sports Ground

Also known as: Downs Road

Clubs: Observer Athletic (1926-1970s?), Hastings Police (c1929), Plummers (1937-1938)

Acquired by F.J. Parsons Ltd in 1926, this ground served as the base for Observer Athletic FC and supported cricket, stoolball, bowls and tennis. Housing permission was granted in 1970, and the site was redeveloped as Abbotsfield Close.

Old Church Road

Also known as: Blacklands Terrace

Clubs:

Hollington Old Church: 1922-1930
Hollington Boys Club/Hollington St Johns: c1924
St Matthews FC: c1924
Silverhill Presbyterians: c1927
Hollington United: c1931

Known also as Blacklands Terrace, this ground was widely used during the 1920s by teams from Hollington and surrounding areas.

Ore Valley

Also known as: Hastings Grammar School Field, Parker Road, Smiths Field (1907)

Clubs:

Hastings & St Leonards Athletic: c1893
St Clements: 1898-1900
Old Hastonians: 1894-1909 & c1933
Emmanuel FC: 1900-1901
Horntye Swifts: c1900
Boys Own Society: 1900-1905
Boys Brigade: c1908
Normanhurst Nomads: c1900
St Michaels FC: c1905
Observer Athletic: 1904-06 & 1912-14
Hastings Wednesday: c1908
Hastings Orient: 1908-1914
Gas Works FC: c1908
Junior Conservatives: c1910
Hastings Banks/Wanderers: c1914
Radcliffes: c1931
Blacklands FC: c1931

Originally part of Ore Valley Farm, this land was rented by Hastings Grammar School, then in Nelson Road. Rugby was first played here in 1889. The site hosted numerous teams well into the 1930s. Purchased by the Corporation in 1919, it later became the grounds for Elphinstone School, which opened in 1952.

The Green

Also known as: St Leonards Green, Maze Hill

Clubs:

South Saxons: 1879-1889
Hastings & St Leonards FC: 1889-1891
Hastings & St Leonards Swifts: c1889
Hastings Alliance: 1892-1893
Nil Desperandum: c1892
Christ Church FC: 1892-1893
Claremont Rovers: 1894-1895
South Coast Wanderers: c1895
St Leonards Wanderers: 1896-1897
St Leonards FC: 1898-1900
Christ Church/St Leonards Swifts: 1900-1903
St Matthews United: 1902-1903
St Leonards Amateurs: c1913-1914
St Leonards Athletic: c1914

The site of the first recorded association football match in the district in 1881, The Green has a recreational history dating back to at least 1866. Once stretching from Maze Hill to Springfield Road, this clearing in Shornden Wood appeared as ‘Gingerbread Green’ on a 1746 map, named after the country fairs once held there.

The 1881 match was hosted by the Lindens, a school based on Upper Maze Hill, and the ground went on to host regular school fixtures, having already been used for rugby since 1870. The last known football matches were played here in 1914, after which development of the surrounding area rendered the site unsuitable for adult football. Following the Second World War, the only remaining recreation facilities were the tennis club and a field south of Filsham Road, which was used by Hastings & St Leonards College before being built over in the 1950s.

The Oval

Also known as: Hickmans Field (Pre 1920s), Bohemia Farm

Clubs: Hastings YMCA (1919-1921), St Leonards Amateurs (1920-1922), Rock-a-Nore (1922-1923), Hastings Police (c1923)

Part of Bohemia Farm, the Oval was first used for sport in 1915 when two military teams played rugby during the First World War. Later known as Hickmans Field, it hosted several clubs throughout the 1920s, including Hastings YMCA and the St Leonards Amateurs.

During the 1920s and 1930s the area was developed into White Rock Gardens, and the field was renamed the Oval after the circular path constructed around it. By 1930 the site had been designated as a children’s play area, and junior football was banned around this time due to concerns that the surface was being churned up and made unsuitable for other users.

Football later returned to the Oval, and the ground also became a regular site for travelling fairgrounds and community events. Goalposts remained in place until the 2000s, but have since been removed.

The Pines

This small field on the Ridge was once used by Sandown School before its relocation. Later rented by the education committee, it formed part of the playing fields for Hastings High School for Girls and was also used by other schools and youth groups. The site was eventually developed, with Playden Gardens now occupying the area.

Sandhurst Recreation Ground

Also known as: Sandrock, Hurst Court

Clubs:

Red Lake Rangers: 1947-1948
Corbens Sports: c1952
Bohemia United: c1985 & c2002
Old Hastonians: c1985
Segas: c1985
JC Tackleway: mid1980s-1997

Although games had been reported on nearby Ridge and St Helens pitches since 1918, the first firmly recorded match at Sandhurst was in 1947, when Red Lake Rangers faced the Civil Service. Situated north of the Ridge near Sandrock Hall, Sandhurst remains in use for youth football. The earlier Hurst Court pitch, opposite St Helens Church, is now abandoned and overgrown.

Silverhill

Also known as: Drapers Field, Padghams Field

Clubs:

Highbury House School: 1891-1896
Hastings & St Leonards Swifts: c1889
St Leonards FC: 1900-1905
Horntye Swifts: 1900-1902
National Old Boys: 1900-1904
St Matthews United: 1900-1903
St Leonards Swifts: 1901-1902
Observer Athletic: 1903-1904
West Hill FC: c1906
Hastings Tramways: 1906-1909
Clerks Athletic/Hastings & St Leonards Athletic: 1907-1909
St Johns Hollington United: 1907-1909
Hastings Wednesday Athletic: c1908
Hollington United: c1949

First used for cricket in 1873, Silverhill hosted its earliest known football match in 1889, when the University School 2nd XI played Hastings Swifts 2nd XI. The field was also known as Drapers Field, after the family who operated the nearby windmill.

By 1902 St Leonards FC were using the ground as their home pitch and were renting the pavilion from Silverhill Cricket Club. That year the football club made several improvements to the site, including levelling the surface, installing drainage and constructing a cinder footpath. Records show that more than one match was played simultaneously on the field at times, suggesting that at least two pitches were marked out. An additional pitch, described as being at Drapers Mill, was also in use in 1903.

By the 1920s the field had been converted into allotment gardens, before hosting football again briefly after the Second World War, when Hollington United used the pitch. Over the following decades, development of the Ponswood Industrial Estate gradually consumed the site. The ground remained in use into the 1970s, before eventually giving way to the Marshall Tufflex factory, and is now the location of the ASDA car park.

Silverhill Park

Also known as: Old Roar, Richmonds Field

Clubs: Hollington United (1921-1930)

Located at Old Roar Road’s junction with Sedlescombe Road North, this ground was home to Hollington United between 1921 and 1930. The site was later redeveloped for housing on upper St Helens Road. Occasional matches were also recorded at Glenmore Field, associated with a nearby house.

South Saxons

Also known as: Bopeep, West Marina

Clubs:

St Leonards Wanderers (1897-1898
Alexandra FC (c1898
Blacklands FC (c1898
South Saxons (1898-1905
Emmanuel FC (c1901
Bopeep Swifts (c1900
Hastings & St Leonards FC (1900-1902 & c1904
Havenhurst Swifts (1901 & 1905)
St Leonards FC (1901-1902 & c1905
Boys Own Society (c1904
West Marina FC (c1901
Christ Church/St Leonards Swifts (1900 & 1903
St Michaels FC (c1905
Observer Athletic (1903 & 1909-1910
Hastings Tramways (1907-1910, c1914 & c1923
Hastings & West Marina Locomotive (c1907
Bopeep United (c1912 & c1923
St Leonards Athletic (c1914 & c1920
Hastings Juniors (c1920
United Banks (c1920 & 1922-1923
St Leonards Amateurs (c1923
Hillcrest (at Filsham School) (c2002

Situated behind West St Leonards Community Centre, South Saxons was formerly the East Sussex Cricket Ground and staged a first‑class match between Sussex and MCC in 1857. The site also hosted annual horse races after they moved from Bulverhythe Salts in 1826, though the continuation of these events is uncertain.

In the summer of 1886, the South Saxon Cricket and Lawn Tennis Club opened a new ground on the site known as Bo Peep Valley. Football does not appear to have been played there until 1897, with the South Saxon Football Club using other venues in the intervening years.

The ground continued to host competitive adult football into the 1920s, while also remaining a regular venue for school matches. After the Second World War, it was used for the annual Town Sports competition, and at some point the site was extended to the north. This northern area now forms the playing fields of St Leonards Academy (formerly Filsham Valley School), while the southern part of the original ground is today known as South Saxons Wetlands.

Tilekiln

Also known as: Helipad

Clubs:

Blacklands: c1985
Royal Victoria: c1985
Travaux: c1985
Hollington United: 2000s
Peche Hill Select ????-Present
St Leonards Social ????-Present
JC Tackleway: late2000s
Ore Athletic: 2010s

Developed in the mid‑1970s on former Castleham Farm land, Tilekiln became a key set of playing fields for the area. A pavilion was added in the early 1980s, at the same time that permission was granted for a helicopter landing pad.

West Hill

Also known as: Thwaites Field, Breeds Field

Clubs:

Hastings & St Leonards Athletic: 1892
Hastings Alliance: 1891-1894
St Marys: 1893 & 1897
Claremont Rovers: c1893
Hastings & St Leonards FC: 1894-1898
St Clements FC: 1894
Rock-a-Nore: 1895 & 1897-1898
All Saints Rovers: c1895
Hastings Police: c1896
Hastings Trinity: 1898
West Hill Rovers: 1898
All Saints FC: 1898
Boys Own Society: 1898

First used as a cricket ground in 1840 by Hastings Cricket Club, the site later hosted football from 1891, when Hastings Alliance faced East End FC. A ‘practice ground’ also existed nearby, opposite Emmanuel Church. The sports field was lost to development around 1898, and Collier Road now occupies the site.

William Parker/Hastings Grammar School

Clubs: St Helens (2000s), Spartan 04 (2011-2012), AFC Hollington (2017- )

Acquired in the late 1930s, the grounds were made ready for sport by 1938, with the first match—a Hastings Grammar School v Old Hastonians III fixture—played that October. Over the decades, numerous local teams have used the pitches.

The site had originally been acquired for the construction of new Hastings Grammar School buildings, but the project was postponed due to the outbreak of the Second World War. In the intervening years the land was used as school playing fields. Work on the new school eventually began in 1962, and the building opened in 1964. The running track was added two years later, and the Park Avenue buildings were completed in 1979.

Over the years the grounds have been used by numerous local teams. Today they also serve as the home of Hastings & Bexhill Rugby Club and Hastings Athletic Club.

Windmill Road

Also known as: Moons Field, Drapers Mill?

Clubs:

Christ Church/St Leonards Swifts (1900-1901
Horntye Swifts (1901-1902
St Matthews United (1902-1903
Observer Athletic (1903
Bohemia FC (c1904
Hastings Invicta (c1907
Hastings & St Leonards Athletic (c1908
St Johns Hollington United (c1908
Hollington United (c1949

Accessed from what was once an unmade track past piggeries and allotments, this pitch was first recorded as hosting St Leonards Swifts II v Bexhill II in 1900, when it was known as Moons Field. Based on descriptions in the Hastings Observer, it is likely the same pitch briefly used by Hollington United after the Second World War.

The field took its name from John Moon, a market gardener from Silverhill who worked the surrounding land. Records show that local church groups used “Mr Moon’s field” for children’s outings during the 1890s. Throughout the early 20th century the ground was used regularly for football and may have been the same pitch described as being at Drapers Mill (see Silverhill).

After hosting Hollington United matches in the late 1940s, the field was later used by Hollington Park School, based at Gillsmans Hill. The site was eventually developed, and part of it is now occupied by Bluebell Gardens.

Wishing Tree

Not to be confused with Gibbons Memorial Field, this playing field lies further up Wishing Tree Road near Church Wood Drive and Marline Road. Football may have been played here before the current layout, as matches at nearby Blacklands Farm are recorded. The present field was established around 1971, coinciding with the construction of Church Wood Drive.