Stoke City legends transform allotment plot in Fenton

Can you identify where the red gate once stood?

Manor Street allotment - right to left - Bob Banks, Terry Conroy
Author: Adam SmithPublished 20th May 2021
Last updated 21st May 2021

The Stoke City Old Boys Association (SCOBA) have been working on the Stoke-on-Trent City Council-run site since last year, and have worked – with the help of local businesses and the community – to clear weeds, flatten the ground, install raised flower and vegetable beds, fill them with soil and prepare them ready for planting.

Manor Street allotment

A summer house and patio area will be added next to the plot in the coming months, with decorative wood chippings and other attractive features to finish the works.

Where did this gate once take pride of place?

Terry Conroy, one of the club’s greater players, who came to the city in 1967 from Glentoran in Northern Ireland, is the main inspiration behind the project, and wants the site to become a community plot, with former players and close friends using some of the planters, and war veterans, homeless people and other needy groups also benefitting.

Manor Street allotment

Did you guess correctly? The Butler Street gates of the club’s former Victoria Ground home have also been moved to the allotment and have been revamped and emblazoned with the SCOBA logo.

The Butler Street gates of the club’s former Victoria Ground

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