Fartown
Huddersfield (Fartown), West Yorkshire, England
Fartown, Huddersfield (Fartown), England — opened 1878, 1,875 rugby league games hosted, home of None (largely demolished; historic home of Huddersfield RLFC, 1878-1992).
Ground facts
| Opened | 1878 (The site itself dates to 1868 as the St John's Ground (a cricket ground); it was renamed Fartown Grounds in 1875 after a club merger, still years before rugby was first played there in 1878 following summer alterations.) |
| Home club | None (largely demolished; historic home of Huddersfield RLFC, 1878-1992) |
| Closed | 1992 |
| Site today | Largely dilapidated; still used for amateur rugby league, with the pitch, floodlights and former terrace bankings remaining |
| Games hosted (rugby league, on record) | 1,875 |
| Top recorded crowd | 35,136 |
| Capacity | 5,000 (reduced from a peak of 36,000, and 28,000 in its later senior-rugby years) |
| Challenge Cup Finals hosted | 2 |
| Surface | Grass |
| First rugby league match | Manchester Rangers visited for the first rugby match, 2 November 1878, opening the 1878-79 season (score not identified in sources found) |
| Last rugby league match | Huddersfield RLFC's last match at Fartown, 23 August 1992 |
| Years used | 1895–1992 |
| Location | Huddersfield (Fartown), West Yorkshire |
Name history
- St John's Ground — 1868-1875, home of Huddersfield St John's Cricket Club
- Fartown Grounds / Fartown — since 1875 (rugby played from 1878)
Rugby league history
One of the oldest grounds in the sport, hosting rugby from 1878 on a site used for cricket a decade earlier. Staged two Challenge Cup Finals (1908 and a 1910 final plus replay, all three at Fartown) and international Test matches from the 1920s to the early 1970s. The ground's attendance record, 35,136, was set for a Challenge Cup semi-final on 19 April 1947; Huddersfield's own record home-league crowd was 32,912 against Wigan on 4 March 1950. Huddersfield RLFC left for Leeds Road (and eventually the club now known as Huddersfield Giants moved on to the John Smith's/Kirklees Stadium) after their last match at Fartown on 23 August 1992; the site was never fully redeveloped and remains in a dilapidated state, still hosting amateur rugby league.
Also a significant early multi-sport venue: 76 first-class and 9 List A cricket matches (1873-1955), an 1882 FA Cup semi-final (Blackburn Rovers v Sheffield Wednesday), an 1882 lacrosse fixture, and a 1943 baseball exhibition.
Historic Test matches, Cup & Grand Finals hosted
- 1907/08 Challenge Cup Final, 1908 — Hunslet 14-0 Hull FC, attendance 18,000
- 1909/10 Challenge Cup Final, 1910 — Leeds 7-7 Hull FC, attendance 19,413, plus a replay — Leeds 26-12 Hull FC, attendance 11,608 (both at Fartown)
Pre-dates the site's structured match-by-match records for these competitions, so listed here as sourced facts rather than linked match pages.
Notable games played here
| Date | Competition | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1944/45 Challenge Cup Final | Challenge Cup Final | Huddersfield 13-9 agg (Leg 1: Huddersfield 7-4; Leg 2: Bradford N. 5-6) Bradford Northern |
| 1909/10 Challenge Cup Final | Challenge Cup Final | Leeds 7-7 (drawn; replay 26-12) Hull FC |
| 1907/08 Challenge Cup Final | Challenge Cup Final | Hunslet 14-0 Hull FC |
Only matches we have full, sourced records for are listed here — other historic games mentioned above may not have a dedicated match page built yet (World Cup coverage in particular is still expanding tournament by tournament).
Sources
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
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