Rushden Town Football Club amalgamated with
Irthlingborough Diamonds and played at Nene Park.

The buildings	and a sign at the entrance

As the 2016-17 football season drew to a close in the UK, the former home of Rushden & Diamonds, and for a short troubled and amusing time, Kettering Town FC was now relegated to heaps of rubble. This once proud local footballing icon was built up over several years, and at a cost of around £30 million was the envy for all the visiting fans and clubs. Yes it had everything, training grounds, a gymnasium, there were numerous bars, restaurants, sporting events that were even shown on TV, plenty of car parking, there was mooring for boats on the river Nene, even buses transported the fans for free, everyone was more than happy.

But all this was sadly reduced to rubble within weeks by HDC demolition, and was completely raised to the ground over the week starting 24th April, 2017.

Demolition begins

The notion of league football being played eternally at Nene Park was the stuff of dreams. But I presume that was what everyone had hoped for at Rushden & Diamonds, including their former chairman Mr Max Griggs? The Griggs family were prominent with their involvement with the colourful and trendy "AirWair" brand of footwear, now based over at Cobbs Lane, Wollaston.

At the time the Diamonds were sparkling and only going in one direction, and that was higher and higher, through the football league pyramid. Then things seemed to take a turn for the worse, and Max Griggs decided that his beloved football club was ready to be passed into different hands, and he decided to break his ties with his creation at Nene Park.

Yes the Diamonds still stayed on at the ground, but the glory days of playing Leeds Utd in the FA cup, and having several full houses against Luton Town and the Cobblers in the league were now all but a memory. Rushden & Diamonds left Nene Park in 2011, which saw a full house packed with 6,441 fans in a fantastic stadium.

In due course the former Ipswich and Arsenal player and very successful manager Mr Brian Talbot was lured away to Lancashire, to help guide Oldham Athletic.

A fan takes a photo - and the plant working

The final kick on the shins for the Rushden & Diamonds faithful came when arch foes the "Poppies" from Kettering fancied getting their hands on Nene Park; this was definitely not a match made in heaven. They went from bad to worse, and also left the football stadium, but not without egg on their faces in 2012. After remaining empty for about five years the facility was deemed for demolition! The then Conservative MP for Corby and East Northamptonshire, Tom Pursglove, revealed that the demolition of Nene Park was to be temporarily halted while a meeting between himself, the site's owner and other interested parties was arranged. The bulldozers were about to move onto the site in Irthlingborough in February of 2017, after the owners said it was a fire hazard. Mr Pursglove had raised the issue of the stadium, which has been empty since 2012, in the Commons and also wrote to East Northamptonshire Council. In the reply from the authority the chief executive, Mr David Oliver, said he had spoken to the owner of Nene Park, Keith Cousins, and he had agreed to a meeting and the work on the site would be halted until then. Mr Oliver also said the council had been working with AFC Rushden & Diamonds to find a permanent home for the club for the following season.

As we wrote this article they had played their final home matches in Wellingborough at the Dog and Duck. Demolition finally started at the end of February on the 28th, 2017; this was undertaken by HDC from Wellington, Herefordshire.

It would seem that the four floodlight pylons which had stood in each corner of the ground had been removed prior to any other work being carried out. Some supporters of AFC Diamonds were permitted to remove seating and a team dug out furniture in mid February, 2017. We also heard in February that AFC Rushden & Diamonds were to make a permanent return home to Hayden Road in Rushden. This would be on a ground sharing basis with Rushden and Higham Utd, members voted overwhelmingly in favour of the move.

In the meantime AFC Rushden & Diamonds would have to play their home games over at Kempston; this temporary move was needed to allow ground improvements to be made at Hayden Road in Rushden.

First to go at Nene Park was the Dale Roberts Terrace, formerly the "Peter De Bank" Terrace, next to the A6 road. It was estimated that it would take about 4 months to complete the work. By the end of March, 2017 there were was just the "AirWair" stand awaiting its fate. This was being levelled at the back end of April, 2017, and ironically the last corner to be flattened was one with flags displaying a player kicking a ball, this was next to the Nene Park Health Clinic. So all the euphoria has gone, and it is a sad sight to witness the final blow of the whistle down at Nene Park. There certainly was much interest in the demolition gangs, and I was not alone taking the final shots down at the ground that was one of the best in the football league. 

AFC Rushden & Diamonds had been ground sharing with the "Doughboys" down at the Dog and Duck in Wellingborough for five years. Now in 2017 they are managed by former Hayden Road favourite Andy Peaks. So Rushden are coming back home, yes it has all gone full circle on what was to be a dream, and no doubt fans will always have personal and very mixed feelings to draw on, as who won, or lost the most down at Nene Park over the years?