Knotty Ash
Liverpool, Merseyside, England
Knotty Ash, Liverpool, England — opened 1950, 324 rugby league games hosted, home of Liverpool City (renamed Huyton RLFC after leaving the ground).
Sourcing caveat: Sources disagree on the closure date and reason's timing: the Liverpool Stanley Wikipedia article states the club received notice in July 1964 and were homeless nomads (mostly playing at Widnes) from 1964 until Alt Park opened in August 1969, while a separate Sky Sports summary states the club left Knotty Ash itself in 1968. Rugby League Project's own match-by-match venue listing was only checked through its first page of results (1950s fixtures) and could not be paginated further in this environment to pin down the exact final fixture date, so the closure year is given as a range rather than a single confirmed date.
Ground facts
| Opened | 1950 (Sources disagree on the exact first season — one account gives the club's move to Mill Yard as the 1950–51 season, while a separate summary states 1951; 1950 (start of the 1950–51 season) is used here as the more detailed source.) |
| Home club | Liverpool City (renamed Huyton RLFC after leaving the ground) |
| Closed | 1964 (club given notice by the landowner; ground vacated by 1964–68 — sources disagree on the exact final year, see caveat) |
| Games hosted (rugby league, on record) | 324 |
| Top recorded crowd | 4,712 |
| First rugby league match | Liverpool City's opening fixture after moving to Mill Yard for the 1950–51 season (exact date/opponent not identified in sources found) |
| Years used | 1950–1968 |
| Location | Liverpool, Merseyside |
Name history
- Knotty Ash Stadium, Mill Yard — 1950–1964 (also referred to simply as "Knotty Ash")
Rugby league history
Liverpool City rugby league club developed the Knotty Ash ground at Mill Yard themselves on modest means — fencing the pitch and building a small grandstand — after moving there for the 1950–51 season, and it served as the club's home through the 1950s and into the 1960s, a rare rugby league foothold in a city otherwise dominated by football. The ground was owned by a Carmelite convent, and the club lost their lease when it was not renewed; they subsequently spent a period as nomadic tenants (playing many "home" games at Widnes) before securing a new ground at Alt Park in Huyton, opening in August 1969, and rebranding as Huyton RLFC. The club later moved on again to Runcorn (1985) before folding in 1997.
Sources
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
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