Hermit Road Hermit Road Hermit Road was a stadium located in Canning Town in London, England. It was the first home ground of football club Thames Ironworks, the works team of the Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company. The club would later be reformed as West Ham United. The ground was used by Old St Luke's from 1892 and continued to be used after the club merged with Castle Swifts to become Old Castle Swifts, the first professional football club in Essex, for the 1894–95 season. Thames Ironworks took over the tenancy of the ground from Old Castle Swifts in the summer of
1897–98 Thames Ironworks F.C. season 1897–98 Thames Ironworks F.C. season The 1897–98 season was Thames Ironworks' third season after the club's formation in 1895. Thames Ironworks' new venue, the Memorial Grounds, was opened on Jubilee Day, 1897, to coincide with the sixtieth anniversary of Queen Victoria on the throne. Thames' new home had cost £20,000 of Arnold Hills' money to build. It was situated close to where West Ham station now stands. Aside from a football pitch, the stadium contained a cycle track, a cinder running track and one of the largest outdoor swimming pools in England. It was said at the time that the