Cliff Hill Training Ground Tour

[Martin Weiler]

Sorry; been watching Russia v Kenya! 2-1 to Kenya in 84th minute. But some spot on replies above. St Luke’s became part of the University in 1978. The Uni put the land up for sale and the Hill family bought it and immediately leased it to the Club for a peppercorn rent. The family continue to lease it to us to this day.

Yes the players trained at SJP - all over the stadium. But also in local parks and on beaches. John Henderson from the 63/64 promotion winning team put their success down to spending the Big Freeze break training at Dawlish Warren. He reckoned they got really fit and that rolled over to the next season.

St Luke’s played their last ever match at SJP in May 1978 losing 2-1 to a Chelsea XI. A certain Julian Tagg was in the College team.

 

[older-codger]

Any Exewebbers ever see St Lukes play there?

Didn't see them play there, but my friend's father was groundsman for the college in the 50's and we watched all of their matches home and away (travelling on the team bus). If Cat and Fiddle was wind swept, then believe me the coldest place I ever watched them was at Chelston. That really was exposed!

 

[Martin Weiler]

Wow - 1950s St Luke’s! Was their home ground on Magdalen Road then? That’s where there were some classic games between St Sidwell’s United (and after the name change in 1904, Exeter City) and St Luke’s in the pre professional days.

 

[Spoonz Red E]

Used to watch St Lukes at SJP quite often we had a student teacher that played for them. Got into trouble after a small crowd invasion once (me and a mate).There was a hostile reaction to our actions in the staff room the next day!
There were strong links between the club and St Lukes back in the day. Famously City borrowed student Alan Pinkney for the match v Man U in 68.

He was a student teacher at Hele's when I was there.

After introducing himself he was asked what colour the other knee was.

 

[Bridgy 81]

Sure the tall bald bloke wasn't Arnold Mitchell who played for Taunton (66-67) after his long career at City. Sadly broke his leg there, a sad end to a great career.

66-67 would have been a few years before my time.
But I’m fairly sure that I would have seen Kells playing for Falmouth at Taunton in the early 70s.

 

[Colesman Ballz]

Wow - 1950s St Luke’s! Was their home ground on Magdalen Road then? That’s where there were some classic games between St Sidwell’s United (and after the name change in 1904, Exeter City) and St Luke’s in the pre professional days.

I recall Magdalen Rd being used as their rugby pitch in the 60's, but it would have had to been a shared surface if football was played there too, as I can't remember the playing field as being large enough for two separate pitches.

 

[older-codger]

I recall Magdalen Rd being used as their rugby pitch in the 60's, but it would have had to been a shared surface if football was played there too, as I can't remember the playing field as being large enough for two separate pitches.

The whole area between the back of the college and Magdalen Rd was the sports ground. The rugby pitch was more or less adjacent to the road and the football pitch was the nearest to the college buildings. They didn't share a pitch.

 

[Mid Devon Grecian]

St Luke’s played their last ever match at SJP in May 1978 losing 2-1 to a Chelsea XI. A certain Julian Tagg was in the College team.

Was at that game, my dad took me as for some reason at the age of eight I’d decided I was a Chelsea fan - no idea why that was.

Got the programme somewhere. Do you know who the scorers were?

 

[Oldsmobile-88]

The Grecians also trained at St Luke’s College occasionally. I remember going there with other lads in my class from Primary School to watch a training session.
The form master arranged it through John Newman, who he was friends with.That would have been 1970/71.

I believe another place used for training was a pitch at the end of Priory Rd, Mount Pleasant. A landscaped area known as Priory Park now. I’m not sure who owned that pitch, it could have belonged to British Rail, given its close proximity to the huge Exmouth Junction Shed area.

 

[Gilbert]

Used to watch St Lukes at SJP quite often we had a student teacher that played for them. Got into trouble after a small crowd invasion once (me and a mate).There was a hostile reaction to our actions in the staff room the next day!
There were strong links between the club and St Lukes back in the day. Famously City borrowed student Alan Pinkney for the match v Man U in 68.

Yes, I used to watch St.Luke’s at the Park too, before I was old enough to travel to away games. Unless my memory is playing tricks on me, they used to play in light blue and dark blue quarters. The small crowd was restricted to the Old Grandstand and we (my cousin and I - not the entire crowd), used to buy 10 fags and smoke ‘em during the match. Ridiculous not because I was too young to go to away matches but was still smoking (managed to give it up 30 years ago now thankfully) but because the Old Grandstand being a wooden structure must have been a tinderbox, a Valley Parade just waiting to happen. On Saturdays when the first team we’re away, if it wasn’t St. Luke’s at the Park, it was the reserves. Pasty and bovril at half time isn’t it… jumpers for goalposts, eh, eh. Marvellous! For some reason, games with Mangotsfield seem to stick in the mind! Happy days (barring the smoking and the horrible dark and dingy loos, and the big metal girders obstructing the view and so on).