THE BIRCHES, BUNN'S FIELD
1881-82
First Game: 10th September 1881 vs Oldbury, won 5-1
(Friendly)
Last Game: 4th March 1882 vs St. Lukes, won 10-0 (Friendly)
Biggest Recorded Victory: 12-0 vs Milton, 8th October 1881
(Friendly)
Biggest Recorded Defeat: 2-4 vs The Grove, 26th November 1881
(Friendly)
(No
attendance figures available)
Modern day location of ground
With the ambitious young club outgrowing its 'open' sites at Cooper's Hill
and Dartmouth Park,
Albion moved to The Birches, Bunn's Field in August 1881 after
taking out a nine month long lease on the land. The players and officials
of the club equipped the ground themselves, erecting fencing and flattening the pitch to make it playable.
The Birches, which was located
in Walsall Street,
was the club's first enclosed ground and was capable
of housing 1500-2000 spectators. Being an enclosed ground the club was able to charge admission to games for the
very first
time. A crowd of around 600 was said to have watched the first game at the
ground against Oldbury.
Approximate site of Bunn's Field looking from New Street
-
2005
The players at first
used the nearby White Hart public house as changing rooms before later
utilising the Roebuck Inn which stood on the corner of New Street and
Walsall Street, virtually adjoining the ground.
The main entrance to The Birches was
opposite Christ Church School which was attended by a number of Albion's
earliest players
.
The Drunken Duck formerly The White Hart
-
2004
Today the site of Bunn's
Field is Alfred
Street although due to a major redevelopment planned for the area it
will soon be bulldozed to be replaced by a shopping complex. The Roebuck
Inn was demolished during the late 1960's/early 1970's whilst The White
Hart, more recently known as The Drunken Duck, is currently standing
empty.
Approximate site of Bunn's Field looking from
Cronehills Street - 2005