Mather Lane
Leigh, Greater Manchester, England
Mather Lane, Leigh, England — opened 1889, 760 rugby league games hosted, home of None (Leigh R.L.F.C.'s home ground 1889-1940; the club is a distinct, separate ground from Leigh's later Hilton Park, which opened in 1947 on the former Kirkhall Lane site).
Ground facts
| Opened | 1889 |
| Home club | None (Leigh R.L.F.C.'s home ground 1889-1940; the club is a distinct, separate ground from Leigh's later Hilton Park, which opened in 1947 on the former Kirkhall Lane site) |
| Closed | 1940 |
| Site today | The site was requisitioned by Callender's Cable and Construction Company during the Second World War for materials storage, ending Leigh's tenancy; the club played at Madeley Park (Leigh Harriers' athletics ground) immediately after the war before establishing new headquarters at Kirkhall Lane in 1947, later renamed Hilton Park. |
| Games hosted (rugby league, on record) | 760 |
| Top recorded crowd | 24,000 |
| First rugby league match | 7 September 1889 — Leigh 3-6 Leeds, Northern Rugby Football Union |
| Last rugby league match | 27 April 1940 — Leigh v St Helens, War Emergency League fixture |
| Years used | 1895–1940 |
| Location | Leigh, Greater Manchester |
Name history
- Mather Lane — 1889–1940
Rugby league history
Mather Lane was Leigh R.L.F.C.'s home for over fifty years, from the club's move there in 1889 (with a drained and levelled pitch, a 10-foot hoarding and a 500-seat stand built for the opening) through to the Second World War. It is a distinct and separate ground from Leigh's later, better-known home Hilton Park — the two never overlapped: Leigh's last game at Mather Lane was a War Emergency League fixture against St Helens on 27 April 1940, after which Callender's Cable and Construction Company took over the site for wartime materials storage. The club spent the rest of the war and immediate post-war period playing at Madeley Park before settling at a new Kirkhall Lane ground in 1947, which was later renamed Hilton Park after benefactor James Hilton — meaning Mather Lane predates Hilton Park by several decades as an entirely separate venue, not an earlier name for the same site.
Sources
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
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