| An interesting old view of Portman Road 23:35 - Jan 26 with 5899 views | Miaow |
From our time in the Southern League (1936-38). |  |
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| An interesting old view of Portman Road on 23:47 - Jan 26 with 5413 views | Rocky |
Loads of space between the goal and the North stand. |  | | |
| An interesting old view of Portman Road on 23:52 - Jan 26 with 5386 views | BLUEBEAT |
| An interesting old view of Portman Road on 23:47 - Jan 26 by Rocky |
Loads of space between the goal and the North stand. |
Like the Abbey Stadium now.
Really annoying. |  |
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| An interesting old view of Portman Road on 05:58 - Jan 27 with 5174 views | PioneerBlue |
And still people would leave early to avoid the rush |  |
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| An interesting old view of Portman Road on 08:11 - Jan 27 with 4961 views | Churchman |
At the Churchmans end, you can make out the large clock on some scaffolding. I believe it was only there a season and the picture was taken in 1937. I’ve read that it was taken on 6th March for the Margate game (3-2), but I notice there is snow on the ground so I’m not convinced.
It’s a great old picture. Assuming it was the 36/37 season, the average crowd was 8,500, but the numbers for some games were at the 14,000+ mark. For the 1st Round FA Cup game it was 18,000. What people actually saw, given the stadium size, goodness only knows.
My grandad remembered the west stand being railway sleepers before a concrete terrace was built though always one for comfort, he sat in the Chicken Run. |  | | |
| An interesting old view of Portman Road on 08:24 - Jan 27 with 4909 views | Sharkey |
The pitch looks to be almost the minimum length allowed. Maybe the manager thought his players weren't the fittest. |  | | |
| An interesting old view of Portman Road on 08:32 - Jan 27 with 4885 views | GeoffSentence |
| An interesting old view of Portman Road on 08:11 - Jan 27 by Churchman |
At the Churchmans end, you can make out the large clock on some scaffolding. I believe it was only there a season and the picture was taken in 1937. I’ve read that it was taken on 6th March for the Margate game (3-2), but I notice there is snow on the ground so I’m not convinced.
It’s a great old picture. Assuming it was the 36/37 season, the average crowd was 8,500, but the numbers for some games were at the 14,000+ mark. For the 1st Round FA Cup game it was 18,000. What people actually saw, given the stadium size, goodness only knows.
My grandad remembered the west stand being railway sleepers before a concrete terrace was built though always one for comfort, he sat in the Chicken Run. |
March 1937 was notably cold and snowy, there had been a big snowstorm across the country at the end of February as well. So the presence of snow on the ground is consistent with that.
https://digital.nmla.metoffice.gov.uk/IO_1526982f-a45a-4085-977c-794ad2b891b6/ |  |
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| An interesting old view of Portman Road on 08:35 - Jan 27 with 4866 views | Sharkey |
What is the land being used for just the other side of the road behind the stand at the top of the picture? (i.e. to the left of the two hangar-like buildings?) | | | |
| An interesting old view of Portman Road on 08:37 - Jan 27 with 4852 views | GeoffSentence |
| An interesting old view of Portman Road on 08:35 - Jan 27 by Sharkey |
What is the land being used for just the other side of the road behind the stand at the top of the picture? (i.e. to the left of the two hangar-like buildings?) |
Wasnt that the cattle market? | |
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| An interesting old view of Portman Road on 08:43 - Jan 27 with 4825 views | Churchman |
| An interesting old view of Portman Road on 08:37 - Jan 27 by GeoffSentence |
Wasnt that the cattle market? |
Yes, it was the Cattle Market. Sheds and grids for the animals is what you can see. They were still there when I first went at the very end of the 60s.
Edit: it actually closed in 1985. Attached is an interesting article on it
https://colinmoss.info/the-influence-of-industry-on-ipswich-its-people-and-colin [Post edited 27 Jan 2023 8:48]
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| An interesting old view of Portman Road on 09:04 - Jan 27 with 4750 views | Sharkey |
" the numerous pubs in the area (now all closed) did a roaring trade on market day."
Were the pubs still there in the late 70s and 80s? I can't remember any pubs REALLY close to the ground. | | | |
| An interesting old view of Portman Road on 09:06 - Jan 27 with 4739 views | OldFart71 |
Think I am correct in that Portman Road was named as such due to men crossing over the land to go to the Port. Hence Portman Road. | | | |
| An interesting old view of Portman Road on 09:18 - Jan 27 with 4636 views | Churchman |
| An interesting old view of Portman Road on 09:06 - Jan 27 by OldFart71 |
Think I am correct in that Portman Road was named as such due to men crossing over the land to go to the Port. Hence Portman Road. |
You might well be right. Makes sense given the location. An alternative could be a Portmen being gateman? People who operated the gates of the town? I think your explanation is the better one. | | | |
| An interesting old view of Portman Road on 09:23 - Jan 27 with 4625 views | BloomBlue |
| An interesting old view of Portman Road on 09:06 - Jan 27 by OldFart71 |
Think I am correct in that Portman Road was named as such due to men crossing over the land to go to the Port. Hence Portman Road. |
Years since I was at school but I think you're correct. It was related to the marshes that existed near the station, one of which was named Portmen's Marsh. The road made between that and the Port (which was closer to the ground than it is now) was originally named Portman's. Then as we started using words like 'road', 'street' etc it was renamed Portman Road.
*caveat being its been centuries since I was at school so it's feasible I dreamt that.
One thing I will add is how great do the white lines look in that photo, they don't do white lines that good now. [Post edited 27 Jan 2023 9:24]
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| An interesting old view of Portman Road on 09:34 - Jan 27 with 4567 views | NthQldITFC |
I can't decide whether that is snow or not.
I think it's a bit odd that the whole pitch and practice pitch area and the gardens? in the south west looks clear, along with areas to the north east. Also the 'North Stand' roof is totally saturated and either the pitch markings have been added later, or they were a yard wide, or it's an artefact of the exposure or printing?
I wonder if the white areas are wet with rain, and reflecting sunlight on a very over-exposed photo? Although if it's an afternoon game, that doesn't make sense with the direction the sun would be in.
Waffle, waffle. Probably it's snow! |  |
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| An interesting old view of Portman Road on 10:08 - Jan 27 with 4439 views | Blowedifiwinit |
The pitch looks a little odd without the "d's" on the 18 yard boxes, which I think were added in 1937! | | | |
| An interesting old view of Portman Road on 10:28 - Jan 27 with 4386 views | N17Blue |
| An interesting old view of Portman Road on 09:06 - Jan 27 by OldFart71 |
Think I am correct in that Portman Road was named as such due to men crossing over the land to go to the Port. Hence Portman Road. |
I think the portmen of Portman Road were the men who ran the old Corporation of Ipswich which governed the town between 1200 and the reform of the nineteenth century. Like “aldersmen” in the Corporation of the City of London. | | | |
| An interesting old view of Portman Road on 10:39 - Jan 27 with 4334 views | hype313 |
Better Egress in those days. |  |
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| An interesting old view of Portman Road on 14:54 - Jan 27 with 4000 views | Churchman |
| An interesting old view of Portman Road on 08:11 - Jan 27 by Churchman |
At the Churchmans end, you can make out the large clock on some scaffolding. I believe it was only there a season and the picture was taken in 1937. I’ve read that it was taken on 6th March for the Margate game (3-2), but I notice there is snow on the ground so I’m not convinced.
It’s a great old picture. Assuming it was the 36/37 season, the average crowd was 8,500, but the numbers for some games were at the 14,000+ mark. For the 1st Round FA Cup game it was 18,000. What people actually saw, given the stadium size, goodness only knows.
My grandad remembered the west stand being railway sleepers before a concrete terrace was built though always one for comfort, he sat in the Chicken Run. |
According to the Moyse/Eastman book (Men who made the Town), the picture was taken during the 1936/37 season. The image is reproduced and a bit clearer than on my little tablet.
The North Stand roof was completed at the end of 1936 so regardless of whether there is snow or it is the camera exposure, the date of the picture has to be Jan-Seasons end 1937. Fascinating. [Post edited 27 Jan 2023 19:36]
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| An interesting old view of Portman Road on 15:34 - Jan 27 with 3901 views | CraigIT |
Long before my time. But I love looking at old pictures 're our club. | | | |
| An interesting old view of Portman Road on 16:35 - Jan 27 with 3775 views | Churchman |
Tremendous picture. I’ve seen a black and white one before, but not colour. Nothing like enjoying a cigarette in the bath! | | | |
| An interesting old view of Portman Road on 18:48 - Jan 27 with 3575 views | Enigma_Blue |
I take it that is not just the players, the guy with the bald head looks like he was in his fifties, was that the manager or coach? | | | |
| An interesting old view of Portman Road on 19:27 - Jan 27 with 3514 views | hatch |
Remarkably I sent this to my 97 year old grandpa by email who replied:
“Yes, as you say, great picture. That could have been the FA cup match against Street which Ipswich won 7-0 and I was there. Aged 10.
First match I was allowed to go to with a friend, instead of my father. I stood on the wooden steps near the players entrance, bottom of picture.
We were wearing blue and white fez hats like Tommy Cooper wore, much later of course. Happy memories . love Grandpa” |  | | |
| An interesting old view of Portman Road on 19:47 - Jan 27 with 3449 views | Churchman |
| An interesting old view of Portman Road on 19:27 - Jan 27 by hatch |
Remarkably I sent this to my 97 year old grandpa by email who replied:
“Yes, as you say, great picture. That could have been the FA cup match against Street which Ipswich won 7-0 and I was there. Aged 10.
First match I was allowed to go to with a friend, instead of my father. I stood on the wooden steps near the players entrance, bottom of picture.
We were wearing blue and white fez hats like Tommy Cooper wore, much later of course. Happy memories . love Grandpa” |
The game against Street was played on 26th November 1938. The clock is in the OP photo behind Churchmans so it can’t be that match I’m afraid as it was taken down at the end of the 36/37 season.
I know about the Street game because it was my dad’s first game. He sat in the chicken run with his father and would have been 11. Unfortunately, while he is still with us his memory isn’t clear enough to remember this sort of thing now. He actually has a reproduction of the programme (it’s in too good a nick to be an original). He also saw the Aston Villa replay the following January, as he was hooked by then. | | | |
| An interesting old view of Portman Road on 21:21 - Jan 27 with 3282 views | hatch |
| An interesting old view of Portman Road on 19:47 - Jan 27 by Churchman |
The game against Street was played on 26th November 1938. The clock is in the OP photo behind Churchmans so it can’t be that match I’m afraid as it was taken down at the end of the 36/37 season.
I know about the Street game because it was my dad’s first game. He sat in the chicken run with his father and would have been 11. Unfortunately, while he is still with us his memory isn’t clear enough to remember this sort of thing now. He actually has a reproduction of the programme (it’s in too good a nick to be an original). He also saw the Aston Villa replay the following January, as he was hooked by then. |
Well corrected! Good knowledge!
Truly astonishing to think how differently our parents and grandparents enjoyed Ipswich to how we do today. | | | |
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