Video – Celtic Park On Fire: Paradise Twice In Flames

The new Celtic Park was troublesome at times in Celtic’s early years. Problems first arose with the stadium when the disastrous Grant Stand was opened ahead of a 5-0 league win over St Bernard’s FC, on 28 October 1899. The stand required the road we now know as Kerrydale Street to be constructed, so that the huge gallery could link to London Road. It had a number of modifications made to it to try and overcome the issue of condensation. The fitted windows may have been a retardant against weather blemishes but when the stand was full, they had an unfortunate tendency to steam up and prevent occupants from being able to see the match.

Worse was to come on 9 May 1904, when a separate yet similarly named structure, the Grand Stand, and Pavilion caught fire. The Grand Stand was on the north side of the field and ran the length of the pitch, as opposed to the Grant Stand which stood at the opposite side of the stadium.

The Evening Telegraph provided the following information in a report on 10 May 1904:  The Grand Stand was constructed with terraced seats rising backwards from the cycling track up to the height of 50 feet. It provided seated accommodation for 3,500 spectators, and had a corrugated iron roof, supported on steel struts and girders. The pavilion, which stood a little to the north-west of the stand, was a comparatively small building, being only about 40 feet by 30 feet and two storeys in height. It included the rooms of the club, a billiard room, in which was a table which cost £75; retiring rooms for the players, bathrooms, and other apartments. In the pavilion was a large quantity of what in football parlance is described as “stock,” consisting of players’ clothing, hurdles and other athletic apparatus, and seats for the track, to the value of about £500. When erected about ten years ago the stand and pavilion cost about £6,000. The erections, however, have from time to time been strengthened and improved to meet the requirements of the Dean of Guild Court. So recently as the International football match, which was played on 9th of last month, the stand was completely renovated, and having been officially inspected by the Master of Works, the liners of the Court declared it to be safe and sound in every respect.

The fire originated near the east of the stand and, fanned by a slight westerly wind, the flames were blown across the stadium with terrible rapidity. The wind carried sparks in the direction of the Grant Stand and there was serious danger of that structure also becoming ignited. Fortunately, the breeze was not of sufficient strength to carry the embers such a distance, but the scorched and blackened grass bore testimony to the danger in which the erection was placed.

A local man, named James MacDonald, quickly raised the alarm on London Road before the fire brigade were again informed of the emergency by a man named Mr. Anderson in Great Eastern Avenue. However, when the firemen arrived via the small road between Janefield Street Cemetery and the back of the stand, they were met with a sight not too dissimilar to Blackpool illuminations. There was no chance of saving the Grand Stand or the Pavilion.

The Grand Stand was insured to the extent of approximately £2,000 but there was no insurance on the contents of the pavilion. The loss to the club, therefore, amounted to £4,000.

After the 1904 fire, damage to the pavilion side of the stadium had been repaired. However, in May 1929, the job was finished when Celtic Park befell further bad luck and caught ablaze.

Construction workers, architecting a new South Stand, spotted flames bursting through the pavilion windows. They quickly raised the alarm but the ruthlessness of the fire, combined with the wooden composition of the structure, meant that the pavilion was condemned before so much as a fire serviceman could arrive. Stowed in the building were the early photographs and documentation from the first 40 years of the club. Valuable photographs including the original Celtic team, the first Celtic players to win the Scottish Cup and league title, and single photographs of Micky Dunbar, John H McLaughlin, John Glass, and other prominent Celtic men, were irretrievable.

The fire destroyed everything but a safe. The safe, of which all hopes hinged on the contents of, had been damaged having struck a radiator as it fell from the above floor. Thankfully, the club’s early records of charitable contributions, committee members and plans to find land for a stadium etc. were found inside it in good condition. Their survival allows us to tell the Celtic story.

About Author

Hailing from an Irish background, I grew up on the English south coast with the good fortune to begin watching Celtic during the Martin O'Neill era. I have written four Celtic books since the age of 19: Our Stories & Our Songs: The Celtic Support, Take Me To Your Paradise: A History Of Celtic-Related Incidents & Events, Walfrid & The Bould Bhoys: Celtic's Founding Fathers, First Season & Early Stars, and The Holy Grounds of Glasgow Celtic: A Guide To Celtic Landmarks & Sites Of Interest. These were previously sold in Waterstones and official Celtic FC stores, and are now available on Amazon.

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