Aberdeen FC historians want to install a plaque at the team's former Chanonry Grounds home.
When Pittodrie was little more than a dung hill, fans would descend on the Chanonry to visit “the top football venue in Aberdeen”.
Aberdeen Association Football Club, which would later join with two other sides to form the Aberdeen FC we know today, used the Cruickshank Botanic Gardens site from 1888-1898.
In that time, the Old Aberdeen playing fields were host to some notable ties – such as the time a Scotland XI took on an Aberdeen select in 1888.
And the first visit of an English league club to Aberdeen took place at Chanonry Grounds, with the arrival of Notts County in 1893.
Now, local football historians want to mark the spot with a plaque highlighting its sporting past.
Cruickshank Botanic Gardens, which is looked after by Aberdeen University.
Permanent reminder of sporting past
Aberdeen FC Heritage Trust is asking the council for permission to install the marker on Aberdeen University’s Cruickshank Building, at the entrance to the gardens.
If approved, the plaque would read:
The Aberdeen Association Football Club first played at Chanonry Grounds on 25th February 1888 and last played here on 16th April 1898 before making way for the development of Cruickshank Botanic Garden.”
This is the spot where the plaque could be installed.
Historians shedding light on Aberdeen FC’s time on the Chanonry
These days it’s hard to imagine the botanic gardens as the scene of Victorian football fixtures or scores of supporters streaming down the Chanonry instead of students strolling to lessons.
The Chanonry would have been filled with thousands of football fans in the late 1800s.
But Dons historians Chris Gavin and Stewart Eaton have performed hours of research bringing the site’s rich past to life.
They explain that the grounds began as the playing field of the Chanonry House School.
The school closed down in 1887, and Aberdeen Association Football Club soon took over.
Their first game there, a 10-2 win against Our Boys of Aberdeen, took place on a snowy day during the 1887-88 season.
And the home team would go on to win the first-ever Aberdeenshire Cup there in March 1888, with a 7-1 win over City Rangers.
Here's a #FunFact: Did you know that before the Cruickshank Botanic Gardens were built in 1898, the site was home to the Chanonry Grounds, the stadium of Aberdeen, who 5 years later amalgamated with Orion and Victoria United to form @AberdeenFC? (1/3) pic.twitter.com/IPu2aymdfy
The papers submitted to the council explain what an institution the ground became, quickly establishing itself as “the top football venue in Aberdeen”.
“This was further reinforced when a Scottish International XI came to the Granite City to take on an Aberdeen select in April that year.
“The crowd that was attracted was regarded as the largest yet for any ‘similar sporting event in the city’, the estimated attendance being anything up to 4,000.
“The outcome of the match was a 6-1 victory for the Scotland XI.
“But that hardly mattered alongside the significance of the game having taken place so far away from the central belt which, even then, was dominating the Scottish game.”
From the “sparse” information available, it is thought the biggest crowd ever to turn out at Chanonry Grounds was 7,000 for the Aberdeenshire Cup final in February 1892.
Aberdeen FC Heritage Trust has submitted this map to the council, showing where the Chanonry Grounds used to be.
Why did Aberdeen FC stop using Chanonry Grounds?
In a precursor to recent storms which felled several trees in the gardens, howling gales caused structural damage at Chanonry Grounds in 1897.
The roof from the main stand was torn off, with the side opting to move to Central Park at Back Hilton Road in the aftermath.
The final match played at the Old Aberdeen park was a friendly against Peterhead in April 1898.
The home side won 9-2.
As soon as the Dons moved out, work on creating the university’s botanical gardens began.
History repeating itself as Dons seek new home
At the turn of the 20th century, Pittodrie was a dunghill used by police for their horses.
But by 1903, when Aberdeen Association FC merged with Victoria FC and Orion to form the current club, it was ready for action.
More than 120 years on from their decision to leave Chanonry Grounds, the modern-day Dons are now preparing to move out of Pittodrie.
Whether they will remain in the city at a new seafront stadium remains to be seen.
