Gates opening to the Bee Hole end

[Quickenthetempo]

When I started watching Burnley late 80s/early 90s, I would go on the Longside with a few mates.

But 10/15 minutes before the end of the game, the gates in the fencing between Longside and Bee Hole would open and hundreds would flock on to the open terrace.
Some were queuing up and would get angry at stewards if they were late opening them.

What brought this tradition on?

Was it just to get away from the ground quicker? Coming out near the club shop opposed to going down the Longside steps?
We followed the crowd and stood behind the nets for 10 minutes but the main reason was the cheap pies the Bee Hole kiosk sold off for 25p at the end of the game.

[ElectroClaret]

Remember it well.
I think it was probably to let people get away from the ground quicker, maybe a safety thing? Don't really know.

There was also the fenced off area behind the goal, presumably to deter missile -throwers, I remember a few times when, if it was snowing, the opposition keeper would be bombarded with snowballs.

Not that I'd partake in such an unsporting thing....

[Stonehouse]

Also remember tight buggers waiting outside the Beehole end entrance on Brunshaw rd to watch the last 20 mins when the gate was opened.

[Dark Cloud]

I think it was because after the Longside was segregated Burnley fans could only enter and exit via the Bee Hole, either from the top where Bee Hole and Longside joined or via the Bee Hole itself. I remember before segregation you could not only enter and leave from the Longside, but could watch the match from the Bee Hole when Burnley were kicking that way and then at half time walk right up to the other corner by the CFS to watch them shooting in that end. That changed when it was fenced off for away supporters.

[RammyClaret61]

I think when the fences first went up, they didn’t open the gates. But the amount of people funnelling down the steps at the back of the Bee Hole was a crush and a disaster waiting to happen. This was because exiting the Longside out of the back and up the side of the cricket club was now visitors only.
They needed to open the gates to elevate that the crush.

[Sproggy]

They sold the pies off cheap in the pie kiosk on the right hand side at the bottom of the steps between the BHE and the BLS just before you left the ground too.

[dougcollins]

They sold the pies off cheap in the pie kiosk on the right hand side at the bottom of the steps between the BHE and the BLS just before you left the ground too.

I always used to buy two pies walking out of there.

[ClaretTony]

Not sure when that fencing went up - was it around 1980 when we suddenly had our capacity reduced if we didn't get some segregation work done?

[beeholeclaret]

I always used to buy two pies walking out of there.

That would set you back £9 based on current day prices. That particular treat has now ended for me and junior BH. Enough is enough!

[wilks_bfc]

I always used to buy two pies walking out of there.

My mate worked on the kiosk

I didn’t pay

[blatherwickstattoos]

It was a nightmare getting off from the longside. My dad lost my best mate in the bee hole end against Plymouth once. No mobile phones back then. We had to go to Padiham
To tell his mum we’d lost him . We hung around for hours at the club looking for him. He’d used his common sense to ask a bus driver to get on the bus and he was lost. Safe to say he wasn’t allowed on with us anymore after that

[Herts Clarets]

I am sure I can remember standing on the Bee Hole end with the option of moving around to the Longside if it rained, so no fencing between the two.

[NottsClaret]

I am sure I can remember standing on the Bee Hole end with the option of moving around to the Longside if it rained, so no fencing between the two.

They had fencing up then but occasionally opened the gate if the weather was particularly bad. This was late 80s, so overcrowding wasn't going to be an issue in any part of the ground.

Also opened them for some poor Darlington fans who'd ventured onto the Longside and quite urgently wanted to leave.

[ElectroClaret]

I am sure I can remember standing on the Bee Hole end with the option of moving around to the Longside if it rained, so no fencing between the two.

Yes remember doing that plenty of times when it rained.
Must have been in the Seventies if the fencing went up in the early Eighties.

[dougcollins]

Yes remember doing that plenty of times when it rained.
Must have been in the Seventies if the fencing went up in the early Eighties.

Yep, that's how I remember it.

[SGEclaret]

We used it to get to the bus station quicker. If you were skinny enough there was a bent bar near to the gate that could be squeezed through prior to gate opening. Not sure I would get through it now though…

[Herts Clarets]

DFC_BFC (5).jpg (155.44 KiB) Viewed 2884 times

Also opened them for some poor Darlington fans who'd ventured onto the Longside and quite urgently wanted to leave.

The Darlington fans in the Longside was 15th April 1989, the day of the Hillsborough disaster....

[groove]

Not sure when that fencing went up - was it around 1980 when we suddenly had our capacity reduced if we didn't get some segregation work done?

Wasn't the fencing already in place for the infamous Celtic game in 78?

[Herts Clarets]

Wasn't the fencing already in place for the infamous Celtic game in 78?

Between the home and away fans yes but not between the Bee Hole and the Longside

[groove]

Between the home and away fans yes but not between the Bee Hole and the Longside

Ahh I see. I presumed they were all fitted at the same time.

[ClaretAL]

remember it well. On the segregation fence there was a railing missing just further up from the gate so you could squeeze through when it was raining.

[Rowls]

Wasn't the fencing already in place for the infamous Celtic game in 78?

Different fence, I think. The fence in question here was in between Longside and Beehole End.

The fence in between the away end and the Longside was presumably there earlier?

[dougcollins]

Between the home and away fans yes but not between the Bee Hole and the Longside

I'd agree with that.

[gawthorpe_view]

I think it was something to do with capacity and emergency evacuation.
Spectators in each section of the ground had to be able to exit within 10 minutes at maximum capacity to comply with County Council ground licensing rules.
If the entire Longside tried to exit via the Bee Hole End, it wasn't possible to do this in 10 minutes.

[FCBurnley]

Pre fencing we used to go behind goals for first half as Burnley nearly always attacked that end first. Then we moved round to the Cricket Field end for the second half. If ground was full it would take the whole of half time to squirm our way through It was weird as regular supporters had their own barrier and would get well angry if somebody else took their spot Brilliant times

[Buxtonclaret]

The Beehole/Lonside fence went up a good few years after the Longside was partitioned. Early 80s, I think.
I walked off that way from the Longside, across the Beehole, passed that old Police/security building.
Only remember them not opening them once.
But working in London then, I only made, atcthe most, half the home games.

[bfcjg]

Forcing all those fans past the Bee Hole End bogs breached our human rights, they HAD to open the gates to save lives.

[HuncoatClaret]

There was a gap just above the bottom gate that as kids we could squeeze through.

[Terrier]

Do parents have to pay for toddlers nowadays? I used to carry my son through the beehole turnstiles and never paid.
He was 3 yr old, not sure when I was asked to pay for him, in his late 30s now and burnley mad so I did a good job!

[Loyalclaret]

With it being all ticket, you can't risk the toddler not getting through!

[martin_p]

Used to be a nightmare getting through one of those two small gates between the Longside and Beehole once the final whistle had gone, even with small crowds. If it was a big crowd it felt downright dangerous!

[Blue Skies]

My first memory of the fencing was Everton at home in 1974, there were gaps but there was no "no man's land" so the police had a hard job! This continued for a while and eventually a gap appeared 'no man's land". There was always a fence after that between Longside and Beehole but the was no gates and from the steps from Beehole turnstiles, so there was easy access and this was the case against Celtic. Movement between Longside and Beehole was always easy. The fence changed the dynamics of our fans particularly against bigger clubs and we became a lot braver and went from strength to strength on that front.

[Cirrus_Minor]

The gate from the Longside into the BeeHole was bloody dangerous. People would push to get through and if you weren't prepared to wait you could be crushed.