Wheater's Field
Salford (Broughton), Greater Manchester, England
Wheater's Field, Salford (Broughton), England — opened 1877, 366 rugby league games hosted, home of None (defunct ground; historic home of Broughton Rangers, to 1913).
Sourcing caveat: Do not confuse this ground with The Cliff, a separate Broughton Rangers venue also in Broughton, Salford, that the club moved to immediately after leaving Wheater's Field in 1913 — the two are different sites with different histories, not two names for the same ground.
Ground facts
| Opened | 1877 (Broughton (Rangers) were founded in 1877 with home games at Wheater's Field from early on, but no source found gives a precise first-use date for the ground itself; a match there is independently documented as early as 15 December 1888 (Rangers lost 8-0 to the touring New Zealand Native team), and the club is clearly established there by 1892.) |
| Home club | None (defunct ground; historic home of Broughton Rangers, to 1913) |
| Closed | 1913 |
| Site today | A housing estate; the ground's former location is traceable through three streets named after it — Wheater's Crescent, Wheater's Street and Wheater's Terrace |
| Games hosted (rugby league, on record) | 366 |
| Top recorded crowd | 25,000 |
| Capacity | 20,000 |
| Last rugby league match | 9 April 1913 — Broughton Rangers' last game at Wheater's Field, against St Helens, before moving to the nearby Cliff ground |
| Years used | 1895–1921 |
| Location | Salford (Broughton), Greater Manchester |
Name history
- Wheater's Field — 1877/1892–1913 (base name; Lower Broughton, Salford)
Rugby league history
Wheater's Field, in Lower Broughton, Salford, was the home of Broughton Rangers (founded 1877, and one of English rugby league's original 22 Northern Union clubs from the 1895 split) through the code's formative decades, with a documented capacity of 20,000. The club left for a different, nearby Broughton venue, The Cliff — a separate site on Lower Broughton Road, not the same ground under a new name — after playing its final match at Wheater's Field against St Helens on 9 April 1913. Broughton Rangers themselves went on to leave Salford entirely in 1933 for Belle Vue Stadium in Gorton, Manchester, were renamed Belle Vue Rangers in 1946, and folded in 1955. Wheater's Field itself was redeveloped for housing; its site is remembered today only in the naming of Wheater's Crescent, Wheater's Street and Wheater's Terrace.
Notable games played here
| Date | Competition | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1920/21 Challenge Cup Final | Challenge Cup Final | Leigh 13-0 Halifax |
| 1906/07 Challenge Cup Final | Challenge Cup Final | Warrington 17-3 Oldham |
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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