Star Exhibits
4. The 1886 tender for the building of Anfield detailing all the specifications including those for the stand and fence.
Beginning their playing days at Stanley Park followed by a stint at Priory Road, Everton soon moved on to Anfield.
Although only leased to Everton by local brewers the Orrel Brothers, the pitch crafted out of what used to be a pasture, had to be turned into a real football ground. So in 1886, plans were put in place to build a grandstand for the new Anfield Football Ground.
The Collection includes two original handwritten tender documents submitted by local firm Armstrong and Dobson, outlining the construction of Anfield in September 1886. They detail the building of the grandstand and perimeter fencing at Everton's ground, and one tender informs the reader that the grandstand was to be made from spruce. The tender also includes costs of £74.50 for the grandstand and £34.62 for the fencing, which was later reduced to £34.30.
Anfield is now one of European football's most celebrated cathedrals of football - and this original evidence of its actual construction is a unique historical artefact. Even more astonishing are the circumstances in which David France came across the unique document. "I discovered the Anfield documents by chance during my quest to secure an elusive Everton programme." he explained.
"The vendor insisted that I also purchase a grubby box of seemingly worthless memorabilia including a dog-eared scrap book. At first I was delighted to discover the scrapbook included the bonus of a couple of signed photographs from the pre-War era. Further investigations confirmed the rest of the book was littered with discoloured newspaper cuttings dating back to Everton's participation in the 1906 FA Cup Final. Also revealed were two more old pieces of paper which had been stuck onto the pages. They turned out to be handwritten documents for building the stand and also for constructing hoardings around the Anfield ground.”
