Craven Cottage
Craven Cottage is a football stadium located in Fulham, London. It has been the home base of Fulham FC since 1896. The stadium has a capacity of 25,700 and it has four stands: The Putney End, Hammersmith End, Johnny Haynes Stand and the Riverside Stand. Because of its name, Fulham FC's players are commonly referred to as The Cottagers.
A visit to the historical Craven Cottage
Before Fulham could play football in Craven Cottage, people had to work two years to work on the ground before the ground was eligible for football. The ground was dominated by forests, which is why it took a while before a stadium could be built here. It started out as a field accompanied by four small stands, and a short period of time after, a court case followed because the London City Council didn’t think it was safe to play football here. The architect who designed the Ibrox Stadium in Glasgow was hired to work on the Craven Cottage. He came with the idea of the pavilion, which we now know as the Cottage, and the famous Johnny Haynes Stand, which was still called the Stevenage Road Stand back then. The stand got named after former Fulham FC’s captain after he died in a car crash.
Craven Cottage's history
Craven Cottage served as a royal hunting lodge and goes back 300 years. The ‘stadium’ was already built in 1780. It wasn’t nowhere close to being a stadium back then; it was William Craven’s hunting lodge. It served as William Craven’s royal hunting lodge so he could hunt in the surroundings of his house. Many people lived in the cottage after William’s death until it caught fire in 1888. Finally, a stadium was built here where Fulham settled after having moved eight times. American, Australian, Irish, and Canadian football teams and rugby team Fulham RLFC also used the stadium.
Visit Craven Cottage
Would you like to visit this stunning, historical stadium? This is totally understandable. It takes around 40 minutes to drive from London’s central station to Craven Cottage. If you don't have a car at your disposal, then you could, of course, go by taxi if your budget allows this. If not, then you could go by metro or bus. Using the underground takes around 45 minutes to arrive at the stadium. Board the metro towards Wimbledon and get off at Putney Bridge. You’ll have to walk another 15 minutes to the stadium when travelling this way. Would you rather not walk this distance? Then you should get off at Fulham Broadway and catch bus 424 towards Craven Cottage. You’ll only need to walk three more minutes from bus stop Fulham Leisure Centre. Book your football trip to Fulham and admire the great stadium!