How The Shed was named

The naming of the famous Chelsea landmark can be traced back to a fan’s letter published 50 years ago today. Season ticket holder Tim Rolls tells the story…

Chelsea’s matchday programme, twice winner of the Programme of the Year award in the mid-1960s, introduced a letters page in 1964, the first to do so. Over the next couple of years, along with complaints about ticket touts and suggestions for club songs, a number of letters were published on the need to improve the atmosphere at Stamford Bridge. These included a couple from legendary Chelsea supporter Mick Greenaway, now sadly deceased but fondly remembered as a cheer-leader by many supporters of that generation.

In the 1965/66 season Chelsea manager Tommy Docherty had upset many supporters by claiming there ‘are about 200 who follow us home and away… who are worth their weight in gold’ but that ‘the rest are a waste of time. Useless’. Atmosphere at Stamford Bridge was variable but at Fairs Cup games against Roma, Milan and Barcelona that season it was excellent. Among the 200 home and away supporters praised by The Doc were Greenaway and his friends.

Fan culture was changing. Singing and chanting were becoming more common and many clubs had a terraced ‘end’ where like-minded supporters could get behind their team. Blues supporter for over 50 years, David Collis, remembers that at the start of the 1966/67 season a few supporters discussed the need for Chelsea to have its own end to enhance the atmosphere. Clifford Webb, a passionate Chelsea supporter, came up with the name ‘The Shed’ (apparently derived from Leeds’ Scratching Shed south terrace) for the area at the back of the Fulham Road End, the only covered terrace area in the ground. He wrote a letter to the Chelsea programme advising that that end should thus be renamed, and that ‘fanatics’ should congregate under The Shed, looking to make it as fanatical an end as The Kop at Anfield.

Webb’s letter (a copy of which is shown below) was printed in the Leicester City programme on 7 September 1966, exactly 50 years ago. In those days around 80 per cent of match-going supporters bought a programme so most of the 29,760 crowd would have noted the name, and also the request for like-minded supporters to congregate there. The letter had a definite impact. Increasing numbers of supporters stood, sang and chanted in The Shed. The atmosphere at Stamford Bridge significantly improved, though its distance from the pitch, because of the dog track, meant some of the noise was inevitably lost.

The Shed became home for those who wished to chant, sing, sway and get behind their team for the next 28 years, until it was demolished in 1994. It is fondly remembered by a whole generation of Chelsea supporters. The name was retained in the rebuilt, all-seater stand and it is to be fervently hoped that it will be used if a Stamford Bridge redevelopment does go ahead. It was named by a supporter, unlike most ends which were named by their club after roads, locations, compass directions or club luminaries. The Shed is an integral part of Chelsea’s history and should be recognised as such.

Below is Clifford Webb’s letter as it appeared in the match programme in 1966, with comment from programme editor Albert Sewell at the bottom.

 

 

Thank God Cliff Webb came up with that name & not The South Bank or Stand for example!. Just wouldn't have had the same aura.

On TV gold this evening saw an old only fools and horses "chingford bus route" or something like that the episode was called, and del boy is trying to impress one of Rodney's birds by going all arty farty about art and culture, Rodney turns round to her and says, del is the cultural secretary to the Chelsea shed!!! 

13 hours ago, The Leigh Limpet said:

Thank God Cliff Webb came up with that name & not The South Bank or Stand for example!. Just wouldn't have had the same aura.

Or even The Kop !

Great article.

Interesting, I never knew that. I always assumed the name was much older than that for some reason.

Top fella is Cliff Webb, he lives on my manor, his brother Pete another well known face at ours sadly died a few years ago.

Likes of Cliff should have been given the VIP treatment at our centenary celebrations in The Butchers Hook in 05 instead of the so called celebs who only discovered our club in 2004.

Rant Over.

It was originally called 'Leitch's Folly' when it was originally built on the 1930s.

After Archibald Leitch, who was then still in charge of The Bridge construction work.

This is in the History section.

I'm working on a way we can honor Cliff with some type of banner recognizing the name of the Shed, hope to figure it out in the next few months. For the display on Friday night, there was a longer history left on a card on every seat in the stand that mentions his naming of it, and the whole history.

Just had another read of the original article.

A good and interesting read.

@Upsetter Thanks for posting that interesting article.

Going to a shed 50th anniversary do tomorrow night where Cliff Webb will be in attendance. It's also a fundraiser for Wurzal.

 

Edited February 9, 20178 yr by Carshalton Blue

Had a great night with some of our infamous faces, £1,500 was raised for Wurzals family, who were also in attendance.

We always look after our own, makes me proud to be Chelsea.

On 11/02/2017 at 20:23, Carshalton Blue said:

Had a great night with some of our infamous faces, £1,500 was raised for Wurzals family, who were also in attendance.

We always look after our own, makes me proud to be Chelsea.

I'm so glad a decent amount of money was raised for that lovely man's family.