Invicta Ground

The Invicta Ground was a football stadium in Plumstead, south-east London. It stood on the south side of Plumstead High Street and was Arsenal’s first proper stadium. The ground had a stand, a row of terracing and changing rooms. It was much larger than the Manor Ground across the high street and railway lines. The name came from Invicta, the motto of Kent. Royal Arsenal moved there when they were still an amateur team with about 1,000 supporters. Within a year they turned professional and became Woolwich Arsenal. Crowds grew quickly, reaching a record 12,000 for a match against Heart of Midlothian in March 1891. The club planned to stay for their first Football League season in 1893–94 but the rent rose from £200 to £350. They could not pay and returned to the Manor Ground instead. After Woolwich Arsenal left, an amateur side called Royal Ordnance Factories used the ground for a short time. By late 1894 they had gone and no new tenant could be found. The owner demolished the stadium and built houses on the site. Today Mineral Street and Hector Street cover the old pitch. Some of the concrete terracing still survives in back gardens along Hector Street.