1. White City
Built in 1908 for the London Olympics of that year, the stadium was in existence for more than 70 years. Best known for greyhound racing and speedway, White City Stadium was also the venue for a number of other sports. It was Queen's Park Rangers' home ground in the early 1930s and again briefly in the 1960s. The match in the 1966 World Cup between Uruguay and France was originally scheduled to be played at Wembley but the owners of that stadium unsportingly refused to cancel a regular greyhound meet and the match had to transfer at short notice to White City. The stadium was demolished in 1985 and BBC White City now stands on the site.
2. The Hippodrome, Notting Hill
Between 1837 and 1842 there was a racecourse in Notting Hill and the still-existing street name Hippodrome Place is a reminder of it. The spectators at the course stood on the sides of the hill and watched the horses race around a circuit around its base. Described by a contemporary magazine as 'a racing emporium more extensive and attractive than Ascot or Epsom', the Hippodrome nonetheless lost money for its owners and was closed after only five years.
3. Lord's, Dorset Square
Opened by Thomas Lord in 1787 on what was then fields and is now Dorset Square, the ground saw its first match (between Middlesex and Essex) played on 31 May that year. It continued to be in use until 1809 when the land, which Lord had only leased, was sold and he moved to St John's Wood. One of those who played on the old ground was the poet, Lord Byron, who appeared for Harrow in the first Eton v. Harrow match in 1805. A plaque now commemorates the old Lord's.
4. Lillie Bridge Grounds, West Brompton
Opened in the late 1860s, the Lillie Bridge grounds hosted a wide variety of sporting events from bicycle racing to boxing. In 1873, it was the venue for the second FA Cup final between Wanderers and Oxford University, the match kicking off at 11.30 a.m. so spectators could watch the Boat Race later the same day. Wanderers won 2-0, their second goal being scored when Oxford made the mistake of moving their goalkeeper into the attack, leaving the goal undefended for long periods. The varsity athletics matches between Oxford and Cambridge were held here from 1867 to 1887. In the latter year a crowd of several thousand at another athletics meeting, provoked by a gang involved in betting on the races, ran riot and destroyed the track and grandstand. The Lillie Bridge grounds never recovered from the riot and closed the following year.
5. Prince's Club
Founded by two sporting brothers called Prince in the late 1850s, the grounds owned by the club were one of Victorian London's major sporting venues, important in the history of both cricket and lawn tennis. Marylebone Cricket Club played there for four years in the 1870s. Batsmen were obliged to be wary when playing the ball to square leg since the ground adjoined a skating rink and there was a danger of hitting skaters. MCC left for St John's Wood in 1876 but the ground continued to host major matches, Australia playing there during their 1878 tour. Tennis was introduced in the mid-1870s and the club did much to formalise the rules of the game, establishing both the height of the net and the method of scoring still in use today. Overhead service was first introduced at the Prince's Club grounds in 1881, at which time the annual championship there was as renowned and as prestigious as the rival championships at Wimbledon. The grounds closed in 1886 and the site is now covered by Lennox Gardens, SW1.
6. The Ring, Blackfriars
The pub called The Ring in Blackfriars Road is a reminder of the Ring boxing arena, which was sited just opposite. Originally built as Surrey Chapel for an eccentric preacher called Rowland Hill, it was transformed into a place of entertainment in 1881 and became a boxing venue in 1910 when it was bought by a former British lightweight champion called Dick Burge. It was destroyed in the Blitz in 1940.
7. Jack Broughton's Amphitheatre
Established in 1743 in Cockspur Street by Jack Broughton, self-styled boxing champion of England, who was one of the first men to try and impose some kind of code of rules on prize fighting. His own past career in bare-knuckle fighting, during which he killed a man in the ring, gave Broughton an incentive to introduce what became known as the London Prize Ring Rules. His amphiteatre was the first place where a form of boxing gloves were used, that would, in the words of a contemporary, 'effectually secure the fighters from the inconvenience of black eyes, broken jaws and bloody noses'. Nonetheless, the amphitheatre was the scene of some bloody spectacles in the eleven years that it was open, including bear baiting and what were known as Broughton's Battles Royal, in which one man would take on up to seven others at a time. Broughton died in 1789, in his late eighties, and is buried in Westminster Abbey.
Formerly a practising lawyer, Clara Ros is now a professional travel writer who specializes in cruises, luxury travel and soft adventure trips. Clara Ros has traveled worldwide - five continents, plus. So if you need to rent apartment London, Clara is the right person for advice.
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