Book Review – Pilgrims’ Patch: The football grounds of…LINCOLNSHIRE by Steven Penny
Some sectors of the media would have you believe that football only started in the 1992/93 season with the formation of the Premier League, and that the only places the game is played are Liverpool, London and Manchester.
Thankfully as thousands of fans know there exists the rest of the professional game and the hundreds of clubs that are part of the National League System and their respective feeder leagues up and down the country.
Fortunately too there are writers out there who are willing to explore and promote the game in all its locations and levels. One such is Steven Penny, who includes amongst his previous books, The Mont: 125 years of the Mexborough Montagu Hospital Charity Cup – 1897-2022, Soap Stars and Burst Bubbles: A season of Yorkshire football, Towering Tales & a Ripping Yarn: Yorkshire Football’s Grassroots Legends and Island Hopping – The football grounds of…LANZAROTE
His latest addition Pilgrims’ Patch: The football grounds of…LINCOLNSHIRE, is identical in format to Penny’s Lanzarote offering, so readers will be treated once again to a book which at its core provides a colourful guide to the various clubs, not though this time in the sunny climes of the Canary Islands, but the more temperate fields of England’s second largest county. This major part of the book is organised according to the various teams place in the football pyramid starting with Lincoln City (Step 3) all the way through to Clubs at Step 12 and below, illustrating the depth and range of Clubs within the region. The information contained on the respective clubs, and which as many Groundhopper’s will testify is vital to their hobby, includes a location map of the venue, ground address, entry price, club badge and home shirt as well as a number of images of the venue itself. However for the section of Step 12 Clubs and below, there are just ground images.
Aside from the club listing section, there is so much more to enjoy, with a handy guide to the football pyramid, a brief history of football in Lincolnshire, a section on lost teams and grounds within the county, various programme covers and a page dedicated to various Lincolnshire football related facts in Did you know? My favourite from that section being, “the main (East) stand at Grimsby Town is the oldest in the Football League. It was built in 1902 and flaps leading to pigeon lofts in the roof can still be seen. The birds were used to ferry score updates to the local paper.”
Of course with this type of publication (i.e. data driven), some of it is out of date as soon as the book is released (in this case ahead of the 2022/23 campaign). However, this should not detract from what is a great reference guide for fans within the county and any visiting the plethora of Lincolnshire based teams.
(Publisher: Penny for Your Sports Publications. August 2022. Paperback: 166 pages)
Buy the book here: Pilgrim’s Patch