James Grove
Recreation & Sports Ground Trust
Also known as the Grove Recreation Ground, The Grove, or the Stourbridge Road Ground, is a football stadium in Halesowen, England. It has been home to Halesowen Town Football Club since 1882. The ground was built in the 1850s for Halesowen Cricket Club who used the stadium until 1948.
Case Studies
Cheviot Way residents
The grant was used to purchase 3 mature fruit trees, which were planted in the reclaimed green space opposite numbers 39-43 Cheviot Way Halesowen. The area now includes wildflower areas and hundreds of spring bulbs.
News & Events
September 2024 – Thomas Jones Funfair
Thomas Jones funfair returned to the Recreation Grounds on 23rd September 2024.
July 2024 – Change of Trustee
Following the local, and General election, on 4th July 2024, Councillor Parmjit Sahota has been replaced as a Trustee by Councillor Ethan Stafford.
2024 – Wild flower meadow and the planting
The Trust is also considering the development of a wild flower meadow and the planting of a mixed tree border. Comments are welcomed from local people interesting in helping or learning more. Please contact the Trustees at info@jamesgrovetrust.org.uk
May 2024 – The mobile mast erection
The works to upgrade the communication mast are now complete. The trackway used by contractors to access the works will be repaired in the coming weeks.
December 2023 – Tree and shrub felling
Works to remove a large Ash tree and the scrub adjacent to the Yeltz Club in Old Hawne Lane was completed on 1st December 2023
Brief History
The Grove was built on land belonging to James Grove, a well-known local businessman who owned James Grove & Sons button company. The site, located on Stourbridge Road, Halesowen, was originally used for cricket. Halesowen Cricket Club, established ca.1856, used the ground for nearly a century before moving to Manor Abbey Sports Ground in 1948. It was not until ca.1882 that Halesowen Football Club moved to Stourbridge Road after having played at three different grounds since their founding in 1877.[1]
The ground underwent a series of renovation projects during the 1920s. In 1920, the Halesowen Cricket, Football, & Recreation Club funded the construction of a pavilion and dressing room facility; before this, teams had gotten dressed in the nearby Waggon & Horses public house.[2] Then, in 1924, the club opened a new grandstand at the Old Hawne Lane end of the stadium.[3]
Towards the end of the decade, the Grove family relinquished ownership of the ground, entrusted the land to Halesowen Urban District Council, and renamed the stadium the James Grove Recreation & Sports Ground.[4] In honour of the handover and at the cost of £137, the club bought a set of entry gates that are still in use on the Stourbridge Road today.[5] Then, in 1934, the Council constructed another wooden stand along the west side of the ground.[6]
Following the Second World War, the football club constructed new dressing facilities and, in 1950, opened a new 1,000 capacity stand to replace the timbre structure at the stadium’s north end. The “Shed”, as it has become known, is the oldest stand still in use at the ground today.[7] In the late 1970s, after several failed attempts to demolish the ground for the construction of a highway, Halesowen Council passed ownership of the Grove to the newly formed James Grove Recreation & Sport Ground Trust in October 1984.[8]
6 Trustees
| Name | Role | Date first appointed |
| Phillip Leonard Coldicott | Trustee | 13 Oct 2022 |
| Michael Freeman | Trustee | 21 May 2021 |
| Cllr Parmjit Sahota | Trustee | 21 May 2021 |
| Cllr Simon Phipps | Trustee | 23 Oct 2015 |
| Jennie Dunn | Trustee | 03 Oct 2013 |
| Andy Koszary | Trustee | 17 Sept 2013 |
