00:00Since its humble beginnings in November 1881, Stanley Football Club founded by William Coulson, William Findlay and Joseph Simpson launched what would become Newcastle United by forming a team from a local cricket club in Biker.
00:15By 1882, the club had evolved into Newcastle East End, later assuming the name Newcastle United in 1892 as it consolidated support across the city.
00:26That same year, East End took over the lease of St James's Park, which remains the club's historic home.
00:34St James's Park began its journey as a simple sloping patch of grazing land.
00:39Following Newcastle's 1898 promotion to the First Division, the ground transformed dramatically.
00:46Terraces and a stand were constructed, instantly elevating capacity to £30,000.
00:52By 1905, a lavish £16,000 redevelopment, led by the Clyde Structural Iron Company and engineer Alexander Blair, introduced a new stand, a swimming pool and boosted capacity to over £60,000.
01:06It became one of the England's finest stadiums, second only to the pitch quality of Glasgow Giants.
01:12Plans for the 1920s by famed architect Archibald Leach proposed a complete stadium overhaul, which stalled due to planning disputes and local objections.
01:24Only a modest roof over the leases end materialised, and further progress remained limited through the mid-century.
01:30A turning point arrived in 1971, with the construction of the East End, designed by Falconer Browns, an elegant concrete masterpiece that bridged the gap between club and city.
01:44This bold architectural statement cemented the club's commitment to its home.
01:49The dawn of the hall era in the early 1990s, under property magnate Sir John Hall, heralded a new age.
01:57He funded the transformative redevelopment as the third John Hall stand rose at the leases' end in 1993.
02:04The Gallo Gate stand was rebuilt, and the Milburn stand uplifted.
02:08This flurry of construction filled in the corners to create a modern, all-seater arena by 1995, capable of hosting matches during Euro 96.
02:17Behind the scenes of the pitch, figures like alderman William McKeague, Robert and George Rutherford, and Baron Westwood, formed the backbone of the club's leadership through the early 20th century.
02:30From 1895, Newcastle United was a private limited company.
02:36By the 1930s, a tight group of local shareholders, McKeague, Rutherfords and Westwood, guided the club's direction.
02:42In later decades, George Forbes, in the 1980s and 90s, chaired the club during turbulent transitions, helping navigate the way towards Hall's takeover.
02:53Ferry Shepard succeeded Hall as chairman in 1997, steering the organisation for a decade.
02:59Ferry Shepard succeeded Hall as chairman of the
Comments