The brief venture of the Battersea Greyhound Stadium had seen it in operation between 1933 and 1936. Little is known about this flapping track, but what is known is that the track was an irregular shape, with it eastern bend having a much larger radius than its western one. It had a kennel block situated near its entrance and a small steel cladded shelter which had been constructed during 1935 on the railway embankment side.
The track was accessed along Lombard Road and sectioned off by the rear gardens of houses on Vicarage Crescent, with both roads found roughly half a mile south of Stamford Bridge Football Ground, on the southern side of the River Thames. Its reason for its closure has yet to be determined but some reports had suggested that the track had been purchased by the GRA, with a view of selling on the land.
Efforts were made during 1939, to re-open the track for greyhound racing once again, but objections by the military had seen applications withdrawn, saying that its close proximity to a railway bridge could attract a sabotage risk. During the war years the site developed into a recreation ground, and later used for storage and light industry before Wandsworth Council developed the site during the 1980’s and turned into the venue that it is today.
The site of the Battersea Greyhound Track is now pinpointed by land occupied by The Fred Wells Gardens, situated just north of the railway embankment and east of Lombard Road, and is now overlooked by the modern day Lombard Wharf Tower Block located on the opposite side of the railway line.
Recent Comments