Does anyone have a picture, or link, to the old floodlights at the Turf?

They are one of my first memories of Burnley, the huge, imposing steel lattice structures beaming out a blinding phosphate-esque white fire

I never realised how big they were until they were craned into the car park at the back of the cricket field

THEWELLERNUT70 wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 22, 2021 11:32 pm

https://thebeautifulhistory.wordpress.c ... s/burnley/

Fantastic, thank you!

I was discussing our old floodlights recently, I had once to ascend a huge tower crane and it was extremely frightening job, then a pal of mine in the same week was required to climb our old lights and he was similarly terrified of the height. they were colossal structures .

Wile E Coyote wrote: ↑

Fri Jul 23, 2021 12:19 am

I was discussing our old floodlights recently, I had once to ascend a huge tower crane and it was extremely frightening job, then a pal of mine in the same week was required to climb our old lights and he was similarly terrified of the height. they were colossal structures .

Real imposing structures. Navigation to away grounds used to be easy, "where are the floodlights?"

Now, they are incorporated into the stand structure.

ChrisG wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 22, 2021 11:26 pm

Does anyone have a picture, or link, to the old floodlights at the Turf?

They are one of my first memories of Burnley, the huge, imposing steel lattice structures beaming out a blinding phosphate-esque white fire

I never realised how big they were until they were craned into the car park at the back of the cricket field

During the early 70s, while I was working for the club, workers were replacing Nuts and Bolts in the floodlights framework. I picked up some discarded 1" thick bolts, which looked like egg timers. They had been worn to that shape by years of friction movement of the floodlights, caused by winds.

ChrisG wrote: ↑

Fri Jul 23, 2021 12:34 am

Real imposing structures. Navigation to away grounds used to be easy, "where are the floodlights?"

Not that easy. Going to a Wimbledon night match with no idea where the ground was I found it - the railway marshalling yard!

Hipper wrote: ↑

Fri Jul 23, 2021 7:11 am

Not that easy. Going to a Wimbledon night match with no idea where the ground was I found it - the railway marshalling yard!

Haha, we had a similar issue at Crewe looking for Gresty Road!

RammyClaret61 wrote: ↑

Fri Jul 23, 2021 3:18 am

9FFC8FF0-6114-43F5-88D8-251AE7F5D7A8.jpeg

What a brilliant photograph! Added bonus of the old Bee Hole End turnstiles my old man used to lift me over

RammyClaret61 wrote: ↑

Fri Jul 23, 2021 3:18 am

9FFC8FF0-6114-43F5-88D8-251AE7F5D7A8.jpeg

Other than the road, no part of the ground in that picture remains.

ChrisG wrote: ↑

Fri Jul 23, 2021 7:58 am

What a brilliant photograph! Added bonus of the old Bee Hole End turnstiles my old man used to lift me over

That was my first ever view of Turf Moor. Those floodlights looked much bigger to the 9 yr old me.

You could sometimes hear them firing up,iconic structures. I wonder if there are any listed ?

RammyClaret61 wrote: ↑

Fri Jul 23, 2021 3:18 am

9FFC8FF0-6114-43F5-88D8-251AE7F5D7A8.jpeg

Wow that’s a cracking picture.

By the late 80s they didn't seem to put them on until it was nearly dark in winter. Probably saving every penny. Plus they took about 10 minutes to 'warm up' and half of them didn't work. I did like them though, great pics.

They were the days of delayed and abandoned matches for floodlight failure. Good times.

Hipper wrote: ↑

Fri Jul 23, 2021 7:11 am

Not that easy. Going to a Wimbledon night match with no idea where the ground was I found it - the railway marshalling yard!

We played at Swansea might have been a Friday night and the van driver who was unsure where the ground was aimed for the lights and we ended up at the prison

claretonthecoast1882 wrote: ↑

Fri Jul 23, 2021 9:11 am

We played at Swansea might have been a Friday night and the van driver who was unsure where the ground was aimed for the lights and we ended up at the prison

Could be worse. I am sure it was my dad (possibly uncle) who followed a car with a burnley sticker in the back to Peterborough away. Only said Burnley fan was going on holiday, not to Peterborough!

cricketfieldclarets wrote: ↑

Fri Jul 23, 2021 10:10 am

Could be worse. I am sure it was my dad (possibly uncle) who followed a car with a burnley sticker in the back to Peterborough away. Only said Burnley fan was going on holiday, not to Peterborough!

ChrisG wrote: ↑

Fri Jul 23, 2021 12:34 am

Real imposing structures. Navigation to away grounds used to be easy, "where are the floodlights?"

Now, they are incorporated into the stand structure.

That was SatNav version 1 for football fans, looking for the floodlights. Didn't always work though. You could not see Liverpool's from outside the ground. When Everton dispensed with theirs they left one stanchion remaining for that very reason.

Loved the sight of proper floodlights in towns. I was once driving down from Aberdeen, I spotted the floodlights on at Forfar. Parked up walked to the ground, no one on the turnstile. Went in and watched Forfar Reserves v Dundee Utd Reserves. Couple of hundred crowd on due to Willie Petigrew making a comeback for Dundee Utd.

That's a great photo.

Looks like there's a cable coming off the roof and into the Development Office where they must've plugged them in.

if that house had put a window in the gable end wall, they could possibly have watched the matches.

The above picture is looking down Bee Hole Lane during the redevelopment.

I remember going on the Turf to mark the switching on of the floodlights. I was a ten year old in 1957 when we played Blackburn at home to officially see a floodlit Turf Moor for the first time. I know both teams played strong teams but I can't remember much about the game, I think was too enthralled by these incredible illuminations in the night sky. It was almost a space age new experience for me. Great memories.

Didn't the origional lights have a full bank of lighting which at sometime was replaced with high intensity lighting which only required about 2/3 rds of the lighting bank/pylon to be filled?

Yes, tally.

tally wrote: ↑

Sat Jul 24, 2021 9:29 pm

Didn't the origional lights have a full bank of lighting which at sometime was replaced with high intensity lighting which only required about 2/3 rds of the lighting bank/pylon to be filled?

The original lights I seem remember had 48 light blubs per pylon but that was reduced significantly when they replaced them around 1970.

it was quite magical as a kid to see the sky near the turf illuminated by these lights.

Wile E Coyote wrote: ↑

Sat Jul 24, 2021 10:01 pm

it was quite magical as a kid to see the sky near the turf illuminated by these lights.

I was a young kid living close to the ground when they first went up. I thought we were getting four Blackpool Towers.

Wile E Coyote wrote: ↑

Fri Jul 23, 2021 7:25 pm

if that house had put a window in the gable end wall, they could possibly have watched the matches.

More than likely. My mate lived two doors down and we could watch games off his roof when they put the big screen up in cfs. Still unsure how it was even possible but we definitely watched us against Birmingham on said screen out of the skylight.

Another club had the same lights, possibly Bolton at Burnden Park. I think they were made by Watson's (or maybe Booth's), of Bolton?

basil6345789 wrote: ↑

Sat Jul 24, 2021 11:18 pm

Another club had the same lights, possibly Bolton at Burnden Park. I think they were made by Watson's (or maybe Booth's), of Bolton?

Definitely Bolton at Burnden Park. I think Watson's were a Bolton company.

RammyClaret61 wrote: ↑

Fri Jul 23, 2021 3:18 am

9FFC8FF0-6114-43F5-88D8-251AE7F5D7A8.jpeg

Those were the first turnstiles I remember going through. Pushed through the child’s turnstile by my dad (think it cost 50p or maybe less) and told to wait the other side. There was always a group of boys waiting for their dads to come through the adult turnstile.

martin_p wrote: ↑

Sat Jul 24, 2021 11:32 pm

Those were the first turnstiles I remember going through. Pushed through the child’s turnstile by my dad (think it cost 50p or maybe less) and told to wait the other side. There was always a group of boys waiting for their dads to come through the adult turnstile.

Yep, same here. I think I recall the adult price being around £1,80 - painted white on black above the turnstiles.
The floodlights always fascinated me. MASSIVE things, with the WATSON panel. Going to Burnden Park was interesting as they had the same pylons, as noted on here. The actual lamp configuration was different in the late 80s, though.

Funnily enough I remarked to my Dad yesterday that the floodlights at Oldham reminded me of our old ones.

Highbury was always an odd ground. It had the floodlights mounted along the roofs of the two side stands. It had the moats running around the perimeter, presumably to stop fans getting on the pitch but a nuisance for ball retrieval; and it had the police band. They used to march round the pitch at half time and as they went along the ends the leader would throw his stick up in the air and then catch it, often making out he was going to fail to entertain the supporters who would react accordingly. I don't remember them being dropped. These police would then return to a seated area on the side to the right of the away end.

Some comments on floodlights:

https://www.footballsite.co.uk/DYK/DYK2 ... lights.htm

...and some pictures:

https://www.ecosia.org/images?q=footbal ... loodlights

ClaretTony wrote: ↑

Sat Jul 24, 2021 9:40 pm

The original lights I seem remember had 48 light blubs per pylon but that was reduced significantly when they replaced them around 1970.

I have this abiding memory that the "new" lights were required because of the move to colour television and the old ones werent good enough. With Bob Lords love of TV I wonder these days if that was true!
Also I remember hearing they were purchased second hand from West Ham.

Petersa wrote: ↑

Sun Jul 25, 2021 3:31 pm

Also I remember hearing they were purchased second hand from West Ham.

Did they run with a limp?

ClaretTony wrote: ↑

Sat Jul 24, 2021 11:23 pm

Definitely Bolton at Burnden Park. I think Watson's were a Bolton company.

ClaretTony wrote: ↑

Sat Jul 24, 2021 11:23 pm

Definitely Bolton at Burnden Park. I think Watson's were a Bolton company.

I can't vouch for Burnden Park but I think that Watsons did the floodlights at Leeds Road, Huddersfield (or that we had the same firm providing the Longside roof).

The 'Big One' Rollercoaster at Blackpool Please Beach opened in 1994 and claimed to be the world's tallest (it wasn't). The tubular track and supports were produced then shifted from Watsons in Bolton and stored at the nearby Blackpool Airport.

Vino blanco wrote: ↑

Sat Jul 24, 2021 9:13 pm

I remember going on the Turf to mark the switching on of the floodlights. I was a ten year old in 1957 when we played Blackburn at home to officially see a floodlit Turf Moor for the first time. I know both teams played strong teams but I can't remember much about the game, I think was too enthralled by these incredible illuminations in the night sky. It was almost a space age new experience for me. Great memories.

Similar for me. Not the game mentioned above but still the promise of attending my first game played under floodlights. Think it was late 50's, perhaps Jan 1960 but I was taken to Peel Park, home of Accrington.Stanley, for an FA Cup replay between the hosts and Preston.North End who included the great Tom Finney.in their line-up. I could hardly eat my tea I was so excited and as you can see it was an unforgettable.night. I'd.never seen a.team in red shirts.before , everything seemed to glisten and the only disappointment was that the underdogs were beaten. Magical memories. I'm going to go and see if I can find out exactly when that game was played.

Silkyskills1 wrote: ↑

Mon Jul 26, 2021 11:29 am

Similar for me. Not the game mentioned above but still the promise of attending my first game played under floodlights. Think it was late 50's, perhaps Jan 1960 but I was taken to Peel Park, home of Accrington.Stanley, for an FA Cup replay between the hosts and Preston.North End who included the great Tom Finney.in their line-up. I could hardly eat my tea I was so excited and as you can see it was an unforgettable.night. I'd.never seen a.team in red shirts.before , everything seemed to glisten and the only disappointment was that the underdogs were beaten. Magical memories. I'm going to go and see if I can find out exactly when that game was played.

Monday, 9th January 1961.

It was 1-1 at Deepdale on 7th but Preston won the replay 4-0.

Just checked myself,CT, and surprised to see that date. I was still a few months short of my 9th birthday and I'd already been to 'a night game' at Turf Moor so I'm guessing the excitement must have been a combination of another night game and the magic of the F A Cup that was around then. Game replayed just over 48 hours later,too. Something else we'll never see again.

Tom Finney had retired at the end of the previous season though - 1960/61 saw Preston relegated.

ClaretTony wrote: ↑

Mon Jul 26, 2021 5:37 pm

Tom Finney had retired at the end of the previous season though - 1960/61 saw Preston relegated.

Never to return, as we speak...

randomclaret2 wrote: ↑

Mon Jul 26, 2021 5:45 pm

Never to return, as we speak...

He came to The Turf in a testimonial - was stll magic!

basil6345789 wrote: ↑

Mon Jul 26, 2021 5:47 pm

He came to The Turf in a testimonial - was stll magic!

I was referring to Preston in the Top Division

ClaretTony wrote: ↑

Mon Jul 26, 2021 5:37 pm

Tom Finney had retired at the end of the previous season though - 1960/61 saw Preston relegated.

The years playing tricks again. I did see him play at Turf Moor in the 59-60 season, a 1-0 win for us and that was an evening kick off. I thought he carried on playing but evidently not but according to my dad and older brothers a truly magnificent footballer.

Silkyskills1 wrote: ↑

Mon Jul 26, 2021 5:55 pm

The years playing tricks again. I did see him play at Turf Moor in the 59-60 season, a 1-0 win for us and that was an evening kick off. I thought he carried on playing but evidently not but according to my dad and older brothers a truly magnificent footballer.

I never saw him play competitively but my dad said he was the best player he ever saw, Bill Shankly said he was the best player that ever lived and Jimmy Mac told me he was the best he ever played with or against. That'll do for me.