Aveley v Cheshunt

Millfield

Ryman League South

September 17, 2016

Ground No 191

WHEN I was a kid I always wanted to go to Aveley's Millfield ground. In the days before the M25 we'd often motor past the big, imposing stand that backed onto the main road as we made our way to the Dartford Tunnel.

I used to wonder what was on the other side of the perimeter fence and vowed that, when I was a big boy, I'd make it my business to find out.

Imagine my surprise, then, when at the age of 52 I finally made it to an Aveley home game to discover that this clearly wasn't the ground we'd passed when I was a nipper.

What that ground was, I honestly have no idea now. My mum and dad had very little sense of direction and an even smaller collection of maps, so even with the benefit of the internet, online maps and Google Street View, I'm still none the wiser.

But it was still good to visit such a proud, traditional football ground, especially as its days are numbered.

Home to the club since the 1951-52 season, the ground's main stand, with an expanse of concrete terracing in front and either side, is indeed the ground's most imposing feature, although not as imposing as the one the eight-year-old me looked longingly at from the window of a passing car.

The wooden stand, with 400 tip-up seats, was added in 1957, while opposite is a covered standing area - a cobbled together metal and scaffold affair.

Until high winds destroyed it in 2009, that area was occupied by the Pepper Stand, a standing enclosure bought from neighbours Grays Athletic for 100 quid after they decided they didn't want it at the Recreation Ground.

Grays feature heavily Aveley's history. As well as flogging them their old standing enclosure, Athletic were the visitors for the grand opening of the stadium and were also the opponents for its first game under lights. It's fitting, then, that they groundshare there in advance of their own new ground being built.

The clubhouse, situated in the car park is a sturdy and sizeable 1950s structure with the club's crest featuring ornately on some of the windows.

And above the bar is a reminder that it won't be around for too much longer. The club move to a fresh home at Belhus Park next season and plans for the new era are proudly displayed for all to see.