Sir Patrick Stewart helps unveil Blue Plaque marking Huddersfield Town’s birthplace
- First meeting of Huddersfield Town at The Albert Pub
- Blue Plaque unveiled by Sir Patrick Stewart to mark event
- Quotes from Huddersfield Town CEO Jake Edwards
Huddersfield Town have teamed up with fans, community groups, and Sir Patrick Stewart to mark an important milestone in the Club’s history.
Earlier this morning, Wednesday 25 October 2023, a dozen or so people - including Town CEO Jake Edwards - packed into an unassuming room on the second floor of The Albert pub on Victoria Lane, where Huddersfield Town Football Club was founded some 115 years earlier.
They were there to witness Star Trek leading man Sir Patrick Stewart unveil an 18 inch cast aluminium blue plaque bearing a simple but significant inscription:
“The first public meeting of Huddersfield Town Association Football Club was held at The Albert on 25th June, 1908. The club went on to become the first Thrice Champions of England.”
The plaque — which will be mounted on the pub exterior in the coming weeks — is a joint initiative between Huddersfield Town, the Huddersfield Town Supporters’ Association (HTSA), Huddersfield Civic Society and Huddersfield Modernist Society.
It forms part of a wider campaign to commemorate the Club’s rich history and heritage, from a comprehensive online archive to the recent purchase of 1920s player Tom Wilson’s medal collection.
Go behind-the-scenes at The Albert with HTTV below to get a new insight on the events!
Attending the event, Huddersfield Town CEO Jake Edwards commented:
“We’re incredibly proud to be officially marking a landmark occasion in the history of the Club alongside our Huddersfield Town Supporters’ Association, the Huddersfield Civic Society and the Huddersfield Modernist Society.
“Paying homage to our proud history has always been a key pillar of what Chairman Kevin Nagle wants to achieve, especially during the anniversary of such a wonderful achievement as we look back on our Thrice Championships.
“It was also brilliant to welcome Sir Patrick Stewart to The Albert alongside us, and we thank him for his time in helping us to unveil the plaque today.”
Speaking after the ceremony, Sir Patrick Stewart added:
“Friends who are aware I’m a football fan will all ask ‘who do you support? Manchester United? Chelsea?’ And I’ll say ‘no, Huddersfield Town’, and they will invariably go ‘...ah…’. I say, ‘oh, let me tell you! They are actually one of the most famous historical clubs in the United Kingdom. As it says here on the plaque, they were the first team to win three consecutive championships.
“Huddersfield has always been my Club. I watch every match, usually 24 hours later. Thanks to iFollow I can sit in my garden and watch the previous day’s game, which gives me so much pleasure, and I am trying to keep abreast of it.
“I am always so proud to be acknowledged as being a Huddersfield Town supporter. They figured massively in my childhood, and now there are people I have met all over California who I’ve talked to about Huddersfield Town Football Club because I drone on on and on and on!”
A spokesperson for Stonegate Group, which owns The Albert, said:
“The Albert, which has long been a community favourite, now proudly displays a blue plaque to mark the birthplace of Huddersfield Town Football Club.
“Our Craft Union pubs across the country are renowned for their fantastic array of sports, and providing and a fun, social setting to view all the latest sporting action and it is great to see The Albert pub is rightfully recognised for its connection to the sporting world.”
A spokesperson for the Huddersfield Town Supporters’ Association noted:
“In the words of the great Herbert Chapman, ‘The record of Huddersfield Town is truly a marvellous one.’
“We are proud to have played a part in celebrating that record—which includes an FA Cup and three consecutive first division titles—through joint initiatives such as this plaque and our Heritage Project.”
David Wyles, chair of the Civic Society, commented:
“Huddersfield Civic Society is delighted to have helped coordinate the production of this special plaque.”
A representative of the Huddersfield Modernists said:
“Professional football left an indelible mark on 20th century Huddersfield. We’re pleased that residents and visitors alike can now see where it all began.”
