Underhill Photo Memories

[ninestein]

DON'T PANIC!


We'll be safe come April 27th....

[MatchingD]

The cunning 10 - 11 - 10 - 1 formation

[chrisoffbeat]

Can anyone tell me why we built a new main stand in the 60's... I'd never seen pics of the old one and assumed it was quite small but it looks like a reasonable size affair?

Wonderful pictures from everyone anyway... annoyingly can't spot myself in the 89 Shinners header pic, but remember that game well - agree re: the epic bundle after the winning goal. I thought the last minute winner was by Adie (surname escapes me? Smith?) who played just a few games for us. That must have been one of Sir Nick's last games before his temporary exile at Wycombe?

[jerroll]

Adrian Mann

[dawat]

Don't know if this has been mentioned before, but I think it'd be a nice idea if the club gets all of these photos and a few of their own (they must have accumulated a few down the years) and make a memoriabilia photo album. I'd buy one for a few quid.

Great idea ! Perhaps we could donate one to Barnet Council in thanks for all their support through the years !!!!!!!!!

[Mikel Bee]

It's a shame no one thought to take a little extra cheap land at the time for the football club before the houses were built around it.

Wonderful pictures hertssteve.

[hertssteve]

hi chrisoffbeat. Its a good question about the grandstand. I think with the new stand it was a case of what was built underneath i.e. changing rooms, showers, offices etc which the old one didn't really have much of. However, when my Dad was shown around the new one when it opened, he said he wasn`t impressed with how much it had cost (£30,000) which was a lot of money in the 60s.

Later on I thought what a shame they couldn`t have built the new one alongside/ or extending next to the old one. When you see the room they had at Underhill in the early photos the ground could have been built up with big banks all around and maybe we wouldn`t be moving today. In an Amateur Cup game against Dulwich after the war the programme had an apology for limiting the attendance to "only 8500" so the demand for space was always there.

I still believe the footprint at Underhill is big enough to house a tight, high sided all seater ground that would have a great atmosphere but I guess its too late now.

[hertssteve]

Mikel Bee, just seen your comment - I have to agree with you. In 1907 Underhill was part of Underhill Farm and the spacious ground was leased to the club by the landowner. At that time the ground was fine for the London League but later as crowds increased the club did nothing to accommodate the increase in attendances.

[Phil The Force]

Hertssteve - Do you know when the council bought the land up from the farm and how it was then leased out to Barnet FC?

[OB1]

The old stand was small compared with the one that replaced it and it was made of wood which was considered a fire hazard. The dressing rooms were tiny.
The club wanted to extend the stand all the way down towards the south end of the ground but the extra £15,000 it would have cost could not be raised. Even if they had the money they would not have been allowed to extend it northwards because it would have been too close to the houses in Barnet Lane. That is why the north west terrace has never been covered.

[hertssteve]

Hertssteve - Do you know when the council bought the land up from the farm and how it was then leased out to Barnet FC?

No sorry I do not have any information on when that happened. I think that it was later sub-let to BFC through McMullens brewery for many years.

Underhill Farm house survived empty until the 1960s. It was at the bottom of the footpath that still runs down Barnet Hill to Mays Lane and the site is now part of the school playing field. When you see how far the house was from present day Underhill, the amount of farmland attached must have been very large.

[Reckless]

Underhill 1975 possibly 1977

[bucks bee]

Captured some photo memories for myself yesterday, including from what will be my one and only visit to The Hive ...

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set ... ff9c24416e

[miguelito]

Underhill 1975 possibly 1977

It's more recent than you think - try 1986-1990 - GM Vauxhall Conference pitchside hoarding just to right of main stand is the giveaway.

[Reckless]

Well done Migs you were the first to spot the deliberate mistake. You can come back next week or take away 2 season tickets at Lower Mead!