Wortley’s Wembley: Tom Vernon Harrison to be recognised with blue plaque 

By Katherine Turner

Leeds Civic Trust have announced that the founder of the TV Harrison Sports Ground in Wortley – Thomas Vernon Harrison – and the much-loved ground itself will be recognised with a prestigious blue plaque.

The plaque will be placed at The Queen public house, on Oldfield Lane, Wortley. This will be the 203rd plaque for the city of Leeds and the fifth in Leeds 12.

The event will take place on Saturday, 6 September from 10.45am at the TV Harrison ground. On the day there will be guest speakers, including former football players and campaigners and the unveiling of the plaque.

As previously reported in WLD, the TV Harrison Sports Ground was originally privately owned by the local Ingham family and was used for sports from around 1850. In 1928 headteacher Tom Vernon Harrison discovered that the ground was due to be sold to developers.

Harrison, along with two colleagues, launched an appeal to purchase the ground. Being a supporter of school sports, he had covenants put in place to ensure it would always be used by the school children of Leeds.

After Harrison died, the ground was named after him and the Leeds School Sports Association was formed. In later years the ground was referred to as “The Wortley Wembley” after it became the home ground of Leeds City Boys, where future Leeds United stars played, including David Batty, Alan Smith, Noel Whelan, Brian Deane, Paul Madeley, Paul Reaney, Rod Johnson and David Harvey.

Sadly the ground suffered from vandalism and became abandoned and overgrown. In 2006 the LSSA opted to sell the ground and Leeds City Council started the process to change the site’s designation to housing. The local community were alarmed at this change of use and an action group was formed in 2019.

This group transformed the grounds and brought it back to life, where it is now used for regular football matches and for the community to use this green space. After a long series of High Court battles the ground was designated as an “Asset of Community Value” to give it additional protection and the council later formally withdrew its planning application.

More recent developments have seen Leeds United Football Club purchasing the ground, more detailed plans will become available when they apply for planning permission. It is expected to be used for junior or women’s football.

The blue plaque will be the icing on the cake after such a long battle to retain its use for the local community and a permanent sign of the importance and great history of this iconic sports ground. 

Tickets for the event are free, but to find out more and register your attendance please follow this link. More information about the TV Harrison campaign can be found here.

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