Grosvenor Vale: Wealdstone FC

From Wealdstone FC

Grosvenor Vale, often referred to simply as The Vale by supporters, opened for the first time in 1947 as the home for Ruislip Manor FC. They continued to play their games at the stadium until financial issues meant that the club collapsed in 2008, at which point the lease was bought by Wealdstone FC. At the time of writing, the ground is known as the NAGLE Flooring Stadium, which is as a result of a sponsorship deal. As is so often the case with sponsored stadium names, however, very few people actually call it by the sponsored name and it is usually referred to by its original title.

Wealdstone Football Club is based in the London Borough of Hillingdon. The club was formed in 1899, although its history can actually be traced back even earlier. Workers at a gunsmith in a Middlesex village called Wealdstone formed a club called The Oaks, which eventually merged with other sides in Wealdstone and Middlesex. Eventually it became Wealdstone FC in 1899, which is considered to be the official foundation year of the club that we know today. The club led something of a nomadic existence, in fitting with its creation, until the decision to take over the lease at Grosvenor Vale in 2008, after which that became the club’s permanent home.

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Grosvenor Vale Photos

Grosvenor Vale Stadium Sign

Grosvenor Vale Stadium Corner Post
Katie Chan, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Grosvenor Vale Seating Plan and Where to Sit

It would be untrue to describe Grosvenor Vale as anything other than basic in nature, but that is true of most of the non-league stadiums up and down the country. The stadium is constantly expanding, even if only thanks to a larger club shop, say, or a new tea stand being built. There is a covered section of terracing at one end of the ground called Couch Corner, with a row of seats installed next to that in 2017. The Bulla Stand is found at the opposite end and opened in 2013, with further additions a year later. It is a mixed bag of a ground, but that just gives it some personality.

Wealdstone FC Ticket Prices

There are numerous things that will have an impact on how much you’re going to pay for your ticket to see Wealdstone play a match. If you are a member of the armed forces, for example, then you can get entry for £13, whilst anyone with a season ticket for another club can also pay £13 for a ticket. After that, your age will be the deciding factor for how much your ticket will cost you, alongside when you buy your ticket. Here is now things worked in the 2023-2024 season:

How To Get Wealdstone FC Tickets

A lot of the teams that play their matches lower down the Football League pyramid tend to have very good websites, knowing that that is a sure fire way to attract younger people that have spent their lives online. As a result, you can get match day tickets through the club’s website. Of course, no team in the lower leagues has the capacity to turn down money, so you can also buy tickets on the gate.

Where to Buy

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Getting To Grosvenor Vale

Train – Given its location, there is perhaps no surprise that Grosvenor Vale is best-reached by tube. Ruislip and Ruislip Manor can both be found on the Piccadilly and Metropolitan lines, whilst Ruislip Gardens and West Ruislip are on the Central line. West Ruislip, meanwhile, is on the National Rail network and reachable from High Wycombe and London Marylebone.

Bus – The closest stop to the ground itself is served by the E7 bus route, but there are also buses that run between Ealing Broadway and Ruislip, with the likes of the 114, 278, 331, 398, H13, U1 and U10 all running nearby.

Car – If you’re hoping to drive to a Wealdstone game then you’ll want to get off the M25 at Junction 16 and head along the M40 towards London. The M40 turns into the A40, with the first exit putting you onto the B467 towards Ruislip. At that point, keep an eye out for the signs that will direct you towards the stadium.

By Air – It goes without saying that London is well-served by numerous different airports, so you’re probably best-suited simply picking the one that is ideal for you and using that one to get into the city. From there, you’ll be able to get the tube out to the football ground.

Taxi – Taxis to the stadium will vary in cost depending on where it is that you’re looking to get it from. Obviously you’ll be paying significantly more if you take one from the centre of London than you will if you get the tube to Ruislip and go from there.

Parking Near Grosvenor Vale

When it comes to match days, parking at the ground is limited to club officials. There is some street parking, but obviously the usual London restrictions are likely to be in place for them. Make sure that you obey the rules of the road, including not blocking any driveways or parking where you’re likely to get a ticket.

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Useful Resources

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Pubs and Bars Near Grosvenor Vale

About Wealdstone FC

There had been a Wealdstone FC that existed in a Middlesex village to Harrow Hill’s north, which some claim has ties to the football club that we know today. The problem is that there were numerous different mergers between smaller teams in the area, so it’s very difficult to know for sure what the truth of that is. What we do know with a degree of certainty is that the team that we understand to be Wealdstone Football Club formed at the start of the 1899-1900 season, joining the second division of the Willesden & District League. The club’s first game was a friendly one against Northwood, which was won 6-1.

In the years that followed, the club bobbed up and down between the lower divisions of the Football League pyramid, switching between divisions when it best suited them. The club did appear at the old Wembley Stadium, such as when the reached the final of the Middlesex Senior Red Cross Cup in 1942. There have been many ups and downs for the club over the years, but one of the real highs came in 2020 when it was promoted to the National League South on a points-per-game basis, after the worldwide health crisis of the time ended the campaign prematurely. Their best FA Cup performance came with a third round appearance in 1977-1978.

Grosvenor Vale History

For many years, Wealdstone played their games at Lower Mead, which was something of an iconic ground. Financial issues meant that that had to be sold to commercial developers, which led to a ground-sharing experience with Watford at Vicarage Road. More ground-sharing took place in the early 1990s with Yeading’s The Warren. This nomadic existence continued for more than a decade, with the club only feeling settled once it had managed to sign the lease for Grosvenor Vale, which was included with the acquisition of the Ruislip Sports and Social Club, thanks to the fact that Ruislip Manor FC had gone bust.

Grosvenor Vale itself opened for the first time in 1947 as the home ground of Ruislip Manor FC, remaining the case until financial issues saw the club collapse. There was no time without football being played, however, thanks to the fact that Wealdstone moved into it almost immediately. The stadium has been gradually expanded and improved upon in the months and years that followed. It reached the point that Watford made an agreement with Wealdstone to allow their women’s team to play most of its matches at Grosvenor Vale, with the agreement being in place from the 2022 season onwards.

Future Developments

It has been announced that Wealdstone will be moving from the London Borough of Harrow to the London Borough of Hillingdon in order to open a new stadium. An 18-acre site has been allocated at Freezeland Way, which is less than three miles from the current location. No timeline has been put in place yet, but it is believed that there will be enough room for 6,300 people in terms of capacity, which is a significant improvement on Grosvenor Vale and, some might argue, somewhat pointless for a club that attracts less than 2,000 people to matches on average.