Millwall FC were founded as Millwall Rovers by the workers of J.T. Morton’s canning and preserve factory in the Millwall area of the Isle of Dogs in London’s East End in 1885. The club secretary was 17-year-old Jasper Sexton, the son of the landlord of The Islander pub in Tooke Street where Millwall held their club meetings.
Millwall Rovers’ first game saw a 5-0 away defeat on 3 October 1885 against Fillebrook, a team that played in Leytonstone. The first home game was on a piece of waste ground on Glengall Road against a team called St Luke’s, on 24 October 1885, which Millwall won 2–1. A better playing surface was found for the 1886/87 season, at the rear of the Lord Nelson pub on East Ferry Road which became known as the Lord Nelson Ground.
In April 1889, a resolution was passed for Millwall to drop “Rovers” from their name, and they began playing under the name Millwall Athletic, inspired by their move to a new home The Athletic Grounds in September 1890. This was a purpose-built ground, with a grandstand that seated 600 people and an overall capacity of between 10,000 and 15,000.
In 1894 they were founder members of the Southern League which they won for the first two years of its existence, and were runners-up in its third. They were also founder members of the United League in 1896, a competition formed for clubs in central and southern England with games played in midweek, and won it twice in its first three seasons.
The club were invited to join the Second Division of the Football League but the committee turned down the opportunity, partly due to the expected increase in travel expenses but also to stay loyal to the Southern League. They were forced to move to a new ground in North Greenwich in 1901, as the Millwall Dock Company wanted to use their existing land as a timber yard.
After three seasons the club dropped out of the United League and for several seasons from 1900 also competed in the Western League along with other London clubs despite the competition being Bristol-based, winning it in 1908 and 1909, From 1901 they competed in three leagues after joining the London League for three seasons, winning it in the last of these. During these years the club reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup in 1900 and 1903 at which time they dropped “Athletic” from their name and became simply Millwall.
Due to limited space for expansion on the Isle of Dogs and in order to boost support and attendances the club moved across the river in 1910 to a new stadium, named The Den on Cold Blow Lane in New Cross. The estimated cost of the ground was £10,000 and was designed by the ubiquitous football ground architect Archibald Leitch. It had just one stand with open banking on the other three sides. The first match was played there on 22 October 1910 in front of a crowd of 25,000 against reigning Southern League champions Brighton & Hove Albion, who won 1–0.
The Den hosted an England international match against Wales in March 1911 which England won 3–0.
Millwall became a Football League club when the Southern League First Division formed the new Football League Third Division, designated Third Division (South) after one season. Their first Football League match was on 28 August 1920 at The Den, winning 2–0 against Bristol Rovers. It was during this season that Lincoln City paid their first visit to The Den, immediately recording what was to be their biggest-ever win on the ground. Undergoing one of their periodic seasons out of the Football League the Imps were riding high in the Midland League and became giant-killers with a 3-0 win in the first round of the FA Cup in January 1921. Scorers were ‘Pip’ Rippon with two and leading scorer ‘Oscar’ Bretnall.
In the 1927/28 season Millwall won the Third Division (South) championship to gain promotion to the Second Division where they remained until relegation in 1934. This period therefore included further visits from Lincoln City during their two seasons at that level. September 1932 saw the Imps, with three points from their first four games lose 2-0 to sixth-placed Millwall in front of 14,392, the highest crowd ever to witness one of their games at the ground. In December 1933 they were back, suffering their heaviest-ever defeat at The Den with a 4-1 scoreline, the Imps’ goal coming from ‘Chick’ Reed. Placed bottom at the time, with Millwall just two places above them both sides were relegated at the end of the season to go their separate ways for many years. Millwall, however, were back in the Second Division four years later, along the way reaching the FA Cup semi-finals again after beating Derby County in the fifth round in front of a record crowd at The Den of 48,762.
By 1939 Millwall were the 11th best supported team in England and one of the most financially wealthy despite being in the Second Division. Plans were proposed to improve the Den to make it one of the biggest grounds in London including the extension of the terraces at the Cold Blow Lane End. Roofing had already been provided at the back of all three terraced sides, and that at the Cold Blow Lane End was to be dismantled and rebuilt on new terracing further back so the capacity at that end could be increased by 8,000. Also, the covering on the North Terrace was to be extended a further 80 feet towards the Ilderton Road End. It was also planned that within three years the ground would be completely covered. However, due to the outbreak of World War II work got no further than the replacement of the wooden fence on the North Terrace/Cold Blow Lane corner by a new concrete wall, with further concreting replacing the wooden terrace steps.
The Den sustained severe bomb damage in April 1943 with a direct hit on the North Terrace, and a week later a fire caused by a discarded cigarette, destroyed the entire 8,000-seater main stand along with its distinctive gable.
Games were played at Charlton, Crystal Palace and West Ham until February 1944 when Millwall were able to return to The Den, although there was no seating accommodation.
After the war, due to restrictions on building materials Millwall were refused permission by the Ministry of Works to construct a new two-tier main stand which would have taken the ground’s capacity to 60,000. In 1948, however, a new main stand was constructed running two thirds the length of the pitch, with terracing at the front.
Relegation to Division Three (South) came in the second post-war season followed by an application for re-election when Millwall finished in last place two years after that.
Floodlights were installed in 1953 and in 1962 the final third of the main stand was constructed giving a total of 2,300 seats together with a paddock which when converted to seating in 1966 raised the seating capacity to 3,480.
Although there was an improvement in placings Millwall had remained in the third tier despite averaging crowds of over 20,000. Another slump then came towards the end of the 1950s with a next to bottom finish seeing Millwall become founder members of Division Four for the 1958/59 season. After four seasons in the basement division, they won the title in 1962 under the management Ron Gray. The later Imps boss was still in charge when Lincoln City paid their first visit to The Den for 30 years in a League Cup third round game in November 1963. The Imps were in mid-table in the Fourth Division at the time but with Millwall struggling in the bottom four of the Third a 1-1 draw was perhaps not a shock result.
The game was notable for the first team debut of promising 18-year-old defender Jim Grummett, given a game in midfield with recent signing John Milner cup-tied. After defender Dick Neal scored with a free kick the Imps withstood continual pressure from Millwall and it was mainly thanks to goalkeeper Terry Carling that they only conceded one goal to hold out for a replay. This was won by Millwall, but three games later, after losing to non-league Kettering in the FA Cup Ron Gray was succeeded by former Nottingham Forest player Billy Gray. Unable to prevent relegation to Division Four he saw Millwall immediately go back up again the following season. This included a visit from the Imps in a league game at the beginning of January 1965. The promotion-challenging home side were sixth in the table at the time with City 18th and on the back of six away league defeats in a row at a time when, although manager Bill Anderson was still nominally in charge, the team was being selected by the directors.
Another debut-maker for the Imps in this fixture was 18-year-old right winger Roger Barton. City missed an opportunity to take the lead when goalkeeper Alec Stepney, later to win the European Cup with Manchester United, saved a penalty taken by right back Alf Jones and in the end lost out to a last-minute ‘fluke’ goal. Left winger Jimmy Fell had equalised a Millwall goal in the second half, but City were beaten by a last-minute goal deflected into the net.
The two teams then went their separate ways again for several years as Millwall went straight through the Third Division to return to the second tier for the first time since 1948. It was during this rise that Millwall set a new Football League record of 59 home games without defeat which stood until broken by Liverpool between 1978 and 1981.
In 1974, Fulham were the visitors when Millwall hosted the first Football League game ever to be played on a Sunday. This was due to restrictions on the use of electricity following the declaration of a state of national emergency for reasons related to conflict in the Middle East together with industrial action by power station workers and coal miners.
Later in 1974 the club was able to buy the now-disused railway lines adjacent to the Den and access was improved to the Main Stand with a small car park constructed.
Millwall were relegated to Division Three in 1975 but were back up again a year later for three undistinguished seasons in the second tier before returning to the third in 1979. It was in this year that it was announced the club had agreed a £12m deal with Asda to redevelop The Den and the adjoining site of the New Cross greyhound stadium, previously only separated from the Den by a railway line and which had been demolished in 1975. The stadium would have 25,000 seats and be part of a complex to include a Leisure Centre, ice rink, two cinemas and a large supermarket. Planning permission was granted the following year but nothing happened due to problems related to land ownership, the £400,000 cost of diverting a gas main, and the economic recession. Plans were revived towards the end of 1981 when it was announced the development would include a new West Stand complex with accommodation for 4,100 and a new North Stand with 7,600 seats. With a total ground capacity of 22,000 construction was expected to be completed by the end of the 1982/83 season.
Lincoln City were back at The Den at the beginning of February 1982 after promotion to the Third Division under Colin Murphy. Both teams were in mid-table at the time, but City were three games into a long unbeaten run that would see them up to first place by mid-March. Falling behind to an early own goal by defender Trevor Peake a second half equaliser came from midfielder George Shipley.
At the end of the 1981/82 season City missed out on promotion by a single point with Millwall in mid-table, so they were back at The Den in April 1983. City had led the table until the end of January, but off-field upheaval had caused a fall to sixth place although just three points off a promotion place. A trip to third from bottom Millwall seemed to offer a chance of making up that deficit, but although Gordon Hobson equalised an early Millwall goal an in-and-out performance with too many missed scoring opportunities ended in a 2-1 defeat. The Imps again missed out on promotion, finishing well back in sixth place while Millwall under the management of former Arsenal star George Graham improved to finish clear of relegation,
Late in 1983 planning permission was still being sought for Millwall’s new ground development but this was refused early the following year with the reason given that the scheme was ‘badly designed.’
Both Lincoln City and Millwall had rather indifferent 1983/84 seasons, and with both around mid-table it was not surprising that just 2,825 spectators, the lowest ever to see a match between the two sides on the ground turned up to see City achieve their second win there at the beginning of May. Goals from strikers John Thomas and Gordon Hobson secured a 2-0 scoreline which owed much to some defensive solidity with 20-year-old Gary Strodder outstanding.
The new ground saga continued later that year with further proposals incorporating an expanded site but in mid-1985 it was blocked by the Greater London Council on the grounds that the Asda superstore would have a detrimental effect on the smaller shops in the area.
Meanwhile, both City and Millwall had finished in mid-table in the 1983/84 season so the Imps were back at The Den for what would prove to be the last time in October 1984. City had made a poor start to the season and were outside the relegation zone only on goal difference. A 2-0 defeat put them into the bottom four and sent Millwall to the top of the table as they went on to finish as runners-up to return to the Second Division.
With no rebuilt stadium forthcoming the club now had to carry out expensive safety improvements to the existing ground including the updating of crush barriers and repairs to the terracing. An improvement was the installation of a covered family seating section at one end of the North Terrace. But the capacity of the ground was required to be reduced from 35,000 to 16,000
After George Graham returned to Arsenal to achieve great success as a manager, he was replaced at Millwall by former Brentford boss John Docherty who guided the Lions to promotion to the First Division for the first time in 1988. However, they were back down again after two seasons.
Meanwhile, another scheme for a new ground developed in January 1989 with a proposal from Lewisham council to relocate the club to a new ground on nearby parkland called Senegal Fields. Although the club were initially still in favour of improving the Den with plans for a new multi-level stand on the north side of the ground incorporating executive boxes, they came to accept the move to what would be a new sports complex. This was because of the cost of improving the Den to comply with the new requirement for all-seater stadiums following the Taylor report.
The new ground was to hold 25,000 spectators all seated and would feature five-a-side pitches, indoor sports facilities, and up to 21,000 square feet of offices and workshops. Due to escalation of costs the capacity was reduced to 20,146 and, initially named The New Den, it was completed in time for the start of the 1993/94 season. Opened by Labour party leader John Smith on 4 August 1993, it was the first all-seater stadium to be built in England after the Taylor report on the Hillsborough disaster.
With The Den sold for £5.2m to a housing developer the last game there took place on 8 May 1993 with a 3-0 defeat to Bristol Rovers. In the following days local teams were allowed to hire the pitch and there was a sale of turnstiles, gates and signs. The seats from the family section were sold to Peterborough United and its roof to Salisbury City. The ground was quickly demolished to make way for an estate of houses and flats with the only reminder of its existence being a plaque on Cold Blow Lane.
Lincoln City’s record at The Den was fairly moderate with five out of the nine games there being lost. On only two occasions did they manage to score more than one goal at the ground and they only managed twice to prevent the home side from scoring. Top scorers for City at the ground were ‘Pip’ Rippon and Gordon Hobson with two each, Rippon being the only player to score twice in the same match.
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