Pier Field

The Cricket or Pier Field was the venue for the 1884 New Year’s Day friendly match between North Eastern and Tynefield, which caused the outbreak of football fever in the borough and the formation of Berwick Rangers, Tweedside Wanderers and Seaside (Spittal) Rovers football clubs.

The ground ran parallel with the back of the houses on Devon Terrace and was quickly snapped up by the newly formed Berwick Rugby Football Club.

In December 1886, the Rugby Club, with dwindling attendances, decided that they could not hope to continue in the face of such opposition as Berwick Rangers and decided to close down.
Up to this point in time, Berwick Rangers had had to play a secondary role to the Rugby Club when they needed a ground to play off their games, now they could play on the Pier Field whenever they chose. However, the rent for the ground was £3 3s per year and with playing membership of the club being two shillings, the rent was regarded as challenging.

First match to played on the Pier Field was a 1885 New Year’s Day friendly against Alnwick Working Men’s Club, which Rangers lost 1-4. The last match was the Short Cup Final on 20th April 1889 when Berwick Rangers beat their 2nd XI by three goals to nil to lift the silverware.

Pier Field East

At the start of the 1889/90 season, the Berwick Cricket Club committee allocated the east end of the Cricket Field for football use.

The new pitch, the Pier Field East, ran northward at right angles to the east end of the original pitch, just within the field’s eastward boundary. The only drawback was its openness. A decent gate was hard to attract with a howling sea wind and rain, preventing the leading clubs from visiting Berwick.

The first match played on the Pier Field East was a 2-2 friendly draw against Alnwick Working Men’s Club on 12th October 1889. The match was played under such atrocious conditions that the visitors refused to play the second half with the wind and rain now against them.
The football ground at Shielfield was used when available to spare visiting teams the wrath of the weather.

Attempts to relocate to the south side of the river and play on Shielfield had been knocked back with the formation of the Shielfield Athletic Football Club from the ashes of the Tweedside Wanderers and Seaside Rovers, who had ceased to exist. As a result, enclosing the windswept ground was now felt a necessity and a canvas sheet enclosure was erected around the ground in October 1892; however, it did not have the desired effect.

The Rutherford College team, Science & Art were the last visitors for a friendly which Rangers won 3-0 on 26th March 1892.