[2] It was opened on 25 August 1923 by the fourth annual Crittall Sports and Show, which had previously taken place the club's old ground on Panfield Lane, with an attendance of 6,000.

[2] A 400-seat grandstand was opened in December 1924 and the ground became the regular venue for the Essex Junior Cup, with a record football crowd of 6,000 attending for the 1926 final between Rayleigh Athletic and Saffron Walden.

This was equalled in the 1928 final between Leigh Ramblers and Wimpole Road Wesleyans and an Essex Senior Cup semi-final between Chelmsford and Colchester Town in 1931.

A record attendance for the home club was set during the 1935–36 season when 4,000 watched an Essex Senior Cup match against Barking;[3] this was equalled on 8 May 1952 when they played Tottenham Hotspur in a friendly, with Spurs winning 8–1.

In the mid-1970s the ground had fallen into a state of disrepair and the club was forced to play at other venues for a time due to problems with the pitch.