A little bit of Saltergate will be preserved for posterity following the announcement that two 1950s crush barriers are to be donated to leading museums.
The National Football Museum, in Preston, and the Scottish Football Museum, in Glasgow, will soon be taking delivery of two of the four remaining barriers that were designed and patented by the noted stadium architect, Archibald Leitch. Thousands of these barriers were installed at sports stadiums all over the country but were gradually phased out and replaced with the wave of stadium modernisation that followed the Ibrox, Bradford and Hillsborough disasters in the last quarter of the end of the twentieth century.
The Recreation Ground was probably the last football ground to have these iconic barriers installed, around 1950, and the four barriers that remained on undeveloped areas of terracing are among the last surviving examples in the United Kingdom.
Author Simon Inglis, whose "Football Grounds of England and Wales" sits on many fans' bookshelves, and who recently published "Engineering Archie," an engrossing biography of Leitch, became involved in saving the barriers after a tip off from the football ground enthusiast Mike Floate. He in turn brought Chesterfield FC and the museums together and the club kindly offered to donate the barriers.
Simon Inlgis and Peter Holme enjoy one last lean on Archie's finest
Speaking on behalf of the National Football Museum, research officer Peter Holme said, "These barriers were an important part of the football experience for millions of fans throughout the 20th century, so it was vital that we preserved at least two for posterity. We are therefore very grateful to Chesterfield Football Club and in particular to Alan Stevenson and the club historian Stuart Basson for agreeing to support our efforts."
Scottish Football Museum curator Richard McBrearty was equally delighted. "It is especially appropriate for one of Archie's barriers to come back to Glasgow, where he was born and learnt his trade."
Simon Inglis added, "To younger fans these barriers may appear to be a crude concoction of rusting metal bits and bobs, but to my generation they are genuinely iconic, symbolising a lost world of spectatorship, camaraderie and reverie. So it is great that these two from Saltergate will find their way into museums."
One of two remaining barriers is thought to be too short to be worth preserving, but one lucky fan will have a chance to own the fourth and final barrier, when it comes up for auction with many other Saltergate artefacts on Sunday, June 13th.
Links:
Details of the Saltergate auction
Details of Simon Inglis's biography of Archibald Leitch
The National Football Museum
The Scottish Football Museum
Played in Britain
Mike Floate's "Grounds Frenzy" website
A history of The Recreation Ground
