In the sleepy village of Chapeltown a few miles to the north of Bolton in the churchyard of St Anne’s Parish church is the grave of JJ Bentley. He was one of the original driving forces behind the football movement and in his time was a player for Turton FC and manager of Bolton Wanderers, Manchester United and latterly Turton FC.
Turton FC was where he made his playing debut in 1878, their ground is situated in the same village a few hundred metres from the church. Remarkably it is still being used and now is the home ground of Old Boltonians.
At the time of visiting the Church yard, the gravestone was still readable but the sandstone was crumbling.
Although i am sure it would be hotly contested, a proud spokesman for the club claims that this is the oldest football ground in the country. With a heritage that extends back to the 1850s there cannot be many grounds that are older. It has hosted teams such as Nottingham Forest and Everton in the FA Cup who would all have changed to play in the local pub the Chetham Arms.
This truly is a little gem and well worth sparing the time to take a look.
