Archibald Leitch

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Archibald "Archie" Leitch (April 27, 1865 – April 25, 1939) was a Scottish architect, most famous for his work designing football stadiums throughout the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.

Born in Glasgow, Leitch's early work was on designing factories in his home city, with the sole survivor being the Sentinel Works at Jessie Street, Polmadie (Grade A Listed). He moved into stadium design when he was commissioned to build Ibrox Park, the new home ground of Rangers, in 1899. Leitch's stadiums were initially considered functional rather than aesthetically elegant, and were clearly influenced by his early work on industrial buildings. Typically, his stands had two tiers, with criss-crossed steel balustrades at the front of the upper tier, and were covered by a series of pitched roofs, built so that their ends faced onto the playing field; the central roof span would be distinctly larger, and would incorporate a distinctive pediment.

His first project in England was the design and building of the John Street Stand at Bramall Lane, which provided 3,000 seats and terracing for 6,000 and was dominated a large mock-Tudor press box.

The Johnny Haynes stand at Craven Cottage, home of Fulham Football Club.
The Johnny Haynes stand at Craven Cottage, home of Fulham Football Club.

Even after the Ibrox disaster of 1902, when 26 people were killed when a bank of terracing collapsed, Leitch was still in demand. Over the next four decades he became Britain's foremost football architect, and he was commissioned to design part or all of over 20 major stadiums, including:

Many of his works have since been demolished for redevelopment (especially in wake of the Taylor Report and the move to all-seater stadiums), most notably the Trinity Road Stand at Villa Park, considered one of his best works, which was demolished in 2000. The main stand and pavilion at Craven Cottage, and the facade of the Main Stand at Ibrox (although the stand itself has been remodelled) still survive to this day; both are now listed buildings. He also came up with the formula that for every one person seated, two can stand.

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