The Cobblers had played at the site since our formation in 1897 and our admittance to the Midland League the year after. A small Main Stand was constructed prior to the First World War with terracing to either side. In 1924 a new Main Stand was constructed that ran the full length of the pitch, but this was mostly destroyed by fire in 1930 and had to be re-built. This covered stand had seating to the rear and terracing to the front. The stand survived until 1985, but following the Bradford City Disaster, it was deemed to be unsafe and then demolished, leaving only the terracing behind. At both ends of the ground were terraced areas. The Hotel End was covered after the Second World War, whilst the other end the Spion Kop, remained uncovered until the ground was finally closed. A small temporary Main Stand was erected in 1986, which sat astride the half way line.
Tuesday, October 12th 1994, saw the last ever league match to be played at the County Ground. This saw a 1-0 defeat for the Cobblers, at the hands of Mansfield Town (attendance 4,993)
The ground was unusual in the respect that it was situated on the edge of a cricket ground. The Club shared the site with Northamptonshire County Cricket Club. This meant that one side of the ground was completely open, giving you good views of the cricket pavilion. For popular games, such as FA Cup ties, temporary seating was erected along this open side. Because the ground had only three sides and with the loss of the Main Stand in the mid 1980's there really wasn't much to it. At one end was the Spion Kop, which was a small open terrace, which was given to away supporters. The other end, the Hotel End, was a small covered terrace for home fans. Opposite the open side was a very small covered seated stand, that was nicknamed the 'Meccano Stand' by the fans, because of the visible scaffolding that surrounded it. The ground also had imposing looking floodlight pylons at each corner.
Did you know?
New floodlights were installed at the beginning of the 1980-81 season. However, when they were first used, for the match against Southend United, they failed. The match had to be abandoned!
The then lowest ever Football League attendance was recorded at the County Ground during the 1984-85 season. Only 942 supporters turned up to watch the game against Chester City.
