Wrestling Ground

Plot vacant on Oliver 1851. 'Wrestling Ground' shown on OS 1879 25" edition. Lord Decies paid for the stands at the ground. The Easter "Newcastle upon Tyne Wrestling and Great Northern Games" was held annually at the site until 1876 when the North East Railway Company required the land. The event was forced to relocate to the Northumberland cricket ground on Bath Lane. By 1894 'Forth Bank Stables' had been built on the plot. Wrestling was a hugely popular sport in the Victorian period. The "Easter Wrestlings" would bring the town to life with champions of the sport travelling from the surrounding counties to compete. Each county would have a representative colour behind which the competitors would stand. Northumberland's flag was blue with an "N" marked on it, whilst Durham's colour was red with it's representative "D". The rules of the competition under the auspices of the Newcastle Wrestling Society were simple: "The rules of the competition were that each county should meet one from the opposing baneer till none should have been left".