# Dallow Lane

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**Dallow Lane** was a [football](/source/Association_football) ground in [Luton](/source/Luton), [England](/source/England). It was the home ground of [Luton Town](/source/Luton_Town_F.C.) from its formation in 1885 until a move to [Dunstable Road](/source/Dunstable_Road) in 1897.

## History

The first organised match of [association football](/source/Association_football) in [Luton](/source/Luton) took place at Dallow Lane on 23 October 1880 – a fifteen-a-side match between Excelsior and Luton Rovers.[1] Excelsior, a local works team, emerged as 2–0 victors and remained at the ground until the merger with Luton Town Wanderers in 1885 to become [Luton Town Football Club](/source/Luton_Town_F.C.).[1][2] The new club decided to base itself at Excelsior's Dallow Lane.[2]

Dallow Lane, also known as the Excelsior Ground,[2] had a capacity of about 7,000[3] – most spectators would simply stand behind a rope close to the pitch,[4] and there was a seated [grandstand](/source/Grandstand) constructed in 1894. The stand was "120 feet long, 18 feet high, 13 feet deep and [had] five tiers of seats".[5] Due to Dallow Lane's close proximity to the Luton to [Dunstable](/source/Dunstable) railway line, players claimed to have trouble playing due to smoke from the engines.[4] The club made a damaging financial loss during [1896–97](/source/1896%E2%80%9397_in_English_football) and was forced to sell the ground to stay afloat.[6] Luton Town left Dallow Lane in April to play at Dunstable Road.[7] The Dallow Lane grandstand remained on the site until the mid-20th century, used as a store shed.[4]

## References

1. Bailey, Steve (December 1997). *The Definitive Luton Town F.C*. Soccerdata. p. 7. ISBN 1-899468-10-2.

1. Collings, Timothy (1985). *The Luton Town Story 1885–1985*. Luton Town F.C. pp. 1–2. ISBN 0-951067-90-7.

1. Bailey, p90

1. Collings, pp. 3–4

1. Collings, p8

1. Collings, p11

1. Collings, p12

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Dallow Lane](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dallow_Lane) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dallow_Lane?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.