SUPERMARKETS BEHIND THE NORTH STAND That’s SO Hull City please log in to view this image As the 1970s drew to a close and a swathe was cut through the North’s economy by a wicked woman from Grantham, Hull City AFC described a similar arc of decline. By 1982 the club had descended to the fourth division for the first time in its history and the disinterested Chris Needler had assumed the chairman’s post, only to plunge the club into receivership within six months of his second tenure. Struggling to stay afloat, the Tigers came perilously close to extinction. In 1979 City’s directors had announced a scheme to develop Boothferry Park, with the Boothferry Road car park being given over to a complex of leisure facilities, a supermarket, club offices and a multi-storey car park. The proposal took three years to develop and was progressively scaled back to cut costs. In February 1982 receivership and redevelopment plans crashed into each other. And so it came to pass that the fine North Stand structure with its imposing clock, was demolished and replaced by a functional supermarket shed that was occupied by Yorkshire grocery chain Grandways. The rear of the supermarket, which flanked the Boothferry Park pitch behind one goal, accommodated a shallow area of uncovered terracing that became an unsatisfactory home to many an away following for the next 20 years. It also housed an electronic scoreboard that would seem ludicrously basic now, but was considered to be a sign of the space age coming to Kingston upon Hull at the time. It clapped; it issued yellow cards; it responded when wayward shots narrowly missed it; it told the time. It was to all intents and purposes a miracle in electronic form. Once a stadium that proudly boasted to being the only one with a dedicated British Railways station, now Boothferry Park was the only ground in English league football with a fruit and veg aisle behind one goal. The store closed early on matchdays so the spectacle of middle aged shoppers in headscarves mingling in the car park with the Fred Perry wearing hoolies of Middlesbrough and Derby never came to pass, but the embarrassment endured and Boothferry Park was denied much of its original cavernous atmosphere. The decline of Boothferry Park, its name picked out in red backlit letters across the roofline of the store, was characterised most savagely by the failure of the club to replace busted light bulbs in the 1990s, which resulted in the stadium being announced to night-time passers-by as “—–FER– -ARK”. Grandways begat Jacksons in the early 1990s and after a few years in this guise the store became a Kwik Save budget food seller. The store ceased trading in 2007 when Kwik Save went bust and was subsequently demolished along with the rest of Boothferry Park to make way for a housing development. http://www.ambernectar.org/blog/2015/11/15051/
The North Stand terrace backing the supermarket wasn't just home to away fans, our boys used to go in there mid 80's when the away fans were in NE corner of Kempton. One of the biggest losses was the bar beneath the old Nth stand, and the half time transfers through the well to Nth stand.
Yes I remember standing there in a league cup game against Southampton when two fellas next to us spent the entire match chanting 'Tina Tina ' at Peter Shilton as well as chucking knickers at him.
I know Fer Ark is a fondly remembered illumination, but does anyone else remember it saying RY P? It was when I first started going so late 90s. Me and my dad still occasionally call it that but I've only ever heard anyone else say Fer Ark.
And in the mid-nineties (v Bradford) – although this location was reluctantly forced on upon us that day
My first game in early 70s in cup v Brentford -sure my Dad took us in North stand. After that it was always South Stand or the Well. Seemed like a huge ground then.
I went in the supermarket end against Bradford in the mid 80s and made the mistake of standing at the Kempton side and rubble came flying over from the Bradford fans.
I can vaguely remember it saying RY PARK. I only remember because I was listening to Ry Cooder a lot around that time.
I went there in 1975. We lost 5-0. I was in the stand that the photo was taken from. I can remember if the supermarket was there then. I was also at the Brentford cup match. It was the fifth round. We almost lost. Brentford were in either the third or fourth division - I think it was the fourth. They had a posey striker called Roger Cross who wore white boots. I think he scored. We scraped through 2-1.
Did anyone actually go in and use the supermarket? My wife and I did and it was a dire place to shop, we went once when it was Grandways and then again when it was Kwik Save, my wife worked for both firms at that time.
I went in once, more to see what it was like than anything else. It was awful. Very dark. Narrow aisles. I think it was in its Grandways days. We didn't buy anything.
The clock was in the middle of the front of the roof. It was square and large - probably about three feet in each direction. It was hard to tell how big it was as it was high up. It had a white face and black hands. I could still see it from the South Stand when the Blackburn game was abandoned because of fog in 1971. The first time I went to Boothferry Park, we went in through the North Stand turnstiles. I was with one of my friends and his dad. We had separate queues as juniors went in through different turnstiles to the adults. Our queue was much shorter and we went into what felt like a cavern under the stand where we had to wait in semi-darkness for my mate's dad to appear. Quite scary when you're only seven. We then went onto the terraces and were pushed to the front against the white railings so we could see. My mate's dad went and stood further back with some of his friends. We were just to the right of the goal. To our right, was an area that was reserved for what were called invalid carriages at the time - little blue three wheeler cars. They disappeared when the government introduced Motability allowances. It was the equivalent of the ambulant area but right at the side of the pitch. I think it was Workington we played. We won and all was well, except for the crush on the way out. Still, we got to stroke the police horses by the gates. A good day! I went back to the same spot on the terrace with my daughter at the end of the last match at Boothferry Park.
The clock is even bigger than I remembered. Didn't it use to say Hull Savings Bank underneath it at one time? How many of us remember that force on the high street? I'm sure I remember Chris Chilton hitting the clock with a shot once but maybe I'm making that up.
Watched the City v Middlesbrough clip after the Hawley one Ernie and I had forgotten that Nobby Stiles played for Middlesbrough then, but Frankie Banks and John Kaye scoring blimey, you do tend to forget these things but still good to be reminded.
