As Crystal Palace moved into their home at The Nest in 1918, they were sure it was likely to be a short-term arrangement.
The Glaziers had leased the ground from the London & Brighton South Coast Railway, but now that the First World War was drawing to a close, Chairman Sydney Bourne and secretary and manager Edmund Goodman had no doubt that peace time would mean a continuation of the company’s ambitious electrification programme, and their stay would come to an end.
Palace remained in situ, however. Nonetheless, the search for a new long-term home continued. In 1921, the club announced they had no intention of returning to The Crystal Palace, which meant looking for a new location.
One immediately presented itself, and how different Palace’s history might have been?
