Plough Lane was a football ground in the London Borough of Merton, situated on the corner of Plough Lane and Haydons Road in Wimbledon. It opened on 7 September 1912 with a 2–2 friendly draw against Carshalton Athletic, and served as the home of Wimbledon F.C. for nearly eight decades. From modest beginnings with a 500-person stand, the stadium expanded to hold around 30,000 supporters by the early 1930s, establishing itself as one of the notable non-league and lower-division venues in London.
The ground witnessed the most celebrated period in Wimbledon FC’s history, providing the home base for the club’s rise from the non-league pyramid to the First Division. In 1988, Wimbledon won the FA Cup — a stunning upset over Liverpool — while still playing out of Plough Lane. Known for the raucous, tight atmosphere generated by the club’s ‘Crazy Gang’, the ground was beloved by supporters for its character, even as facilities aged.
Stats at a Glance
- Team: Wimbledon F.C.
- Location: Plough Lane & Haydons Road, Wimbledon, London
- Opened: 7 September 1912
- Closed (First Team): 4 May 1991
- Last Football Match: April 1998
- Demolished: 2002
- Peak Capacity: ~30,000
- Final Capacity: 15,876
- Notable: Home ground of the 1988 FA Cup winners
A Ground That Grew With the Club
When Wimbledon FC first settled at Plough Lane in 1912, the site was little more than converted marshland. The club steadily improved the facilities over the following decades, and by the early 1930s the stadium could accommodate around 30,000 fans. The ground also hosted representative football: England played Wales in an amateur international there on 19 January 1935. Floodlights were introduced in October 1960 with a London Charity Cup tie against Arsenal — a match Arsenal won 4–1. Wartime bomb damage during the Second World War reduced one of the stands, and post-war reconstruction lowered capacity to around 25,000.
By the late 1980s, however, the ground was showing its age. The Taylor Report, issued in 1990 following the Hillsborough disaster, mandated all-seater stadiums for top-flight clubs. Plough Lane’s predominantly terraced stands made the required investment uneconomical, and the clock began ticking on the ground’s future as a top-level football venue.
Departure, Dereliction, and Demolition
Wimbledon FC played their final first-team match at Plough Lane on 4 May 1991, losing 3–0 to Crystal Palace in front of 10,002 supporters who swarmed the pitch in a farewell to the old ground. The club relocated to a ground-share with Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park, while reserve and youth matches continued at Plough Lane until 1998. The site was then sold, initially to the Safeway supermarket chain, and ultimately redeveloped into a residential complex known as Reynolds Gate, with the stadium demolished in 2002.
Plough Lane’s story did not end entirely with demolition. AFC Wimbledon — the fan-owned successor club formed after the original Wimbledon FC controversially relocated to Milton Keynes — opened a brand-new stadium on an adjacent site in November 2020, deliberately naming it Plough Lane to honour the original ground’s legacy.
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Plough Lane (1912–1998) FAQs
Why did Wimbledon FC leave Plough Lane?
The 1990 Taylor Report required top-flight clubs to convert to all-seater stadiums following the Hillsborough disaster. Plough Lane’s terraced layout made the required upgrades too costly, and Wimbledon FC moved to a ground-share with Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park from the 1991–92 season.
When was the original Plough Lane demolished?
The stadium was demolished in 2002. After Wimbledon FC’s first team left in 1991, reserve-team football continued there until 1998, when the site was sold and later redeveloped into a residential estate called Reynolds Gate.
Is there a new Plough Lane stadium?
Yes. AFC Wimbledon opened a new Plough Lane stadium in November 2020, located just a few hundred metres from the original site. The 9,215-capacity ground — currently known as the Cherry Red Records Stadium — was built to give the fan-founded club a permanent home honouring the historic name.
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Photo: sarflondondunc / CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.