another visit with @Chloe Explores on a very wet day.
the stadium is behind a residential area and took a bit of getting into through trees and undergrowth. the stand has certainly seen better days but was sturdy underfoot considering it’s been left to the elements though i’m not sure how long it has been closed. the field is overgrown and it’s hard to make out the running track.
we had a nice mooch around but unfortunately the building under the stand was all boarded up, some looked to be fairly new. annoyingly there was a door that was ajar but somehow nailed at the bottom forbidding us entry to the changing rooms we knew were in there.
there was a sink hole by the men’s toilet block and a sign on the gate said the ground was closed because of subsidence. i can’t find any further information about this.
history -
Garrison Stadium was a running track and sports field in Gillingham, Kent. The stadium had also been known as the United Services Sports Club, and was built on land owned by the Ministry of Defence and associated with the military establishments in the area such as Chatham Dockyard and Royal School of Military Engineering. The stadium is built on the area known as the Chatham Lines, an area of open space extending between Gillingham and Chatham.
A cinder running track runs around the stadium. This was used in the 1960s for athletics meetings and Kent county schools championships and from 1968 by the City of Rochester Athletics Club. The central area of the stadium was used for rugby league by the Medway Dragons. The club now uses the playings fields attached to the stadium which are also used for association football and field hockey and were used in the past for cricket.
Kent County Cricket Club used Garrison Ground 2, which was situated to the east of the stadium, for first-class and limited overs cricket matches between 1937 and 1972.
The track was used for several open meetings & county schools champs in 1960s and City of Rochester AC held open meetings here from 1968.
the stadium is behind a residential area and took a bit of getting into through trees and undergrowth. the stand has certainly seen better days but was sturdy underfoot considering it’s been left to the elements though i’m not sure how long it has been closed. the field is overgrown and it’s hard to make out the running track.
we had a nice mooch around but unfortunately the building under the stand was all boarded up, some looked to be fairly new. annoyingly there was a door that was ajar but somehow nailed at the bottom forbidding us entry to the changing rooms we knew were in there.
there was a sink hole by the men’s toilet block and a sign on the gate said the ground was closed because of subsidence. i can’t find any further information about this.
history -
Garrison Stadium was a running track and sports field in Gillingham, Kent. The stadium had also been known as the United Services Sports Club, and was built on land owned by the Ministry of Defence and associated with the military establishments in the area such as Chatham Dockyard and Royal School of Military Engineering. The stadium is built on the area known as the Chatham Lines, an area of open space extending between Gillingham and Chatham.
A cinder running track runs around the stadium. This was used in the 1960s for athletics meetings and Kent county schools championships and from 1968 by the City of Rochester Athletics Club. The central area of the stadium was used for rugby league by the Medway Dragons. The club now uses the playings fields attached to the stadium which are also used for association football and field hockey and were used in the past for cricket.
Kent County Cricket Club used Garrison Ground 2, which was situated to the east of the stadium, for first-class and limited overs cricket matches between 1937 and 1972.
The track was used for several open meetings & county schools champs in 1960s and City of Rochester AC held open meetings here from 1968.
