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Victoria Road
(Dagenham and Redbridge)
Address: Victoria Road,
Dagenham,
Greater London,
England,
RM10 7XL
Capacity: 6,078 (2,200 Seated)
You could argue that away fans get the best seats in the house here.
The Victoria Road name comes from the street based right to the southeast of the ground, but it is currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Chigwell Construction Stadium.
The site has been in use for football since 1917, then being home to Sterling Athletic who were the works team of an adjacent factory. Briggs Motor Bodies, who later became Briggs Sports Football Club, later used the ground until 1955 when they moved to Rush Green Road.
In there place came Dagenham Football Club from the Dagenham Arena, who reseeded the pitch and turned Victoria Road into a fully enclosed stadium.
Little had changed by the 1990s when Redbridge Forest began to share the ground with Dagenham. Forest would pay for the construction of a new stand in one corner and to replace the grass banking with concrete terracing that was common at the time.
In July 1992, Dagenham FC and Redbridge Forest FC would merge to form Dagenham and Redbridge Football Club, a team that has remained at Victoria Road ever since.
Alongside the Daggers, Victoria Road has been used for games involving West Ham United’s U23 Team.
The West Ham United Women’s Team have also played their games here during the 2020-21 season.
Location and Getting There
Victoria Road is located in Dagenham, around 13 miles east of the Centre of London. Central Park in Dagenham is around 0.7 miles away to the north, the White Hart Lakes are around 0.8 miles away to the northeast, and Parloes Park is around 0.9 miles away to the west.
As with most London-based football grounds, I would not recommend coming to Victoria Road by car. There is no car park available at the ground itself, and it is difficult to tell exactly how far you would need to go in order to find free, legal parking.
Getting to Victoria Road by rail requires you to use the London Underground.
The nearest station to the stadium is Dagenham East, served by both the District Line and the Hammersmith & City Line. The station is within 0.5 miles to the southeast and walking from here takes under 10 minutes along first Rainham Road South (A1112) and then left onto Victoria Road that leads up to the football ground.
Dagenham Heathway to the southwest is also on the District and Hammersmith & City Lines. It is much further away from Victoria Road however, with the route taking between 15 and 20 minutes on foot.
Dagenham East is the certainly the station I would recommend heading to instead.
Outside the Ground
If you are approaching Victoria Road from along the street of the same name, you will enter the ground’s vicinity by passing under an overhead sign. This will bring you to the South Stand which is better known for sponsorship reasons as the Carling Stand.
Its exterior has a simple design that consists of a lighter-coloured brickwork base with dark grey corrugated iron and red trim higher up. A large part of the corrugated iron exterior protrudes outwards, and inside here is the Club House that includes the Main Entrance, Club Offices and the Main Ticket Office. You can find a Programme Shop and the entrance to the Supporters Club Office along the brickwork base next to the Club House.
Turnstiles for the Carling Stand itself can be found near to these two entrances, inside a small brick building.
If you head further along the southern side of the stadium, past the Club House, then you will come to what is known as the Barking College Family Stand.
It is a smaller, detached part of the southern side, but still has an exterior that uses a lighter-coloured brickwork base with grey corrugated iron higher up.
The stand has a perimeter fence around it that creates an outer concourse, and the turnstiles can be found in a brick building along this perimeter fence.
Victoria Road’s Car Park is out beyond the southern side of the ground, and at the west end of this is a gate and footpath which leads you through Pondfield Park and out onto Wartz Road.
In a clockwise direction from the Barking College Family Stand is the West Stand. It is currently known for sponsorship reasons as the SD Samuels Stand.
With industrial buildings behind it, access is very limited. You are only able to see part of its brick, corrugated iron and red trim exterior from outside as a result.
Turnstiles for the SD Samuels Stand are housed on the southern side of the stadium, near to the ones that are used for those in the Barking Family College Stand. You enter through these and then head left to the stand’s interior.
The space immediately behind the SD Samuels Stand partly holds a grass bank and is often used as a private car park.
The North Stand at Victoria Road is even less accessible than the adjacent SD Samuels Stand.
It has several industrial units right up behind it, and so it is not possible to walk right alongside its red corrugated iron exterior.
The turnstiles for the North Stand can be found at the end of Bury Road on the eastern side of the football ground.
If you are on the southern side of the ground, you will need to head back on yourself, along Victoria Road, turn left onto Rainham Road South (A1112) and then take the first left onto Bury Road. Head all the way up and you’ll reach the North Stand Turnstiles, where a footpath brings you round past the northeast corner and to the space immediately behind the stand’s interior.
The East Stand at Victoria Road is known as the Bury Road End after the street out beyond it.
With houses and industrial units right up next to it, accessibility is limited, and you are unable to walk right alongside its whole exterior.
Its turnstiles can be found in two places, one set being located at the end of Bury Road that is also used by those housed in the North Stand, the other set being located next to the Carling Stand on the southern side of the ground.
It can be a fair walk round from one set of turnstiles to the other, so be sure to check your ticket so that you know exactly where you need to go.
Inside the Ground
The Carling Stand consists of a single tier of red seating, although the outer column of each block is blue in colour instead. This seating area is elevated above ground and accessible via small staircases down at the front, though there are also some lower down rows of seats for disabled supporters to use. These lower down rows again have the outer seat in each block coloured blue rather than red. There is a set of executive boxes up at the back, with the stadium’s dugouts and substitute benches right down at the front by the pitch.
Your view from anywhere inside the Carling Stand is perfectly clear as there are no supporting pillars coming down from the roof above.
The end of the Carling Stand next to the southeast corner has a windshield in place that provides good protection to the elevated seating area. The other end of the stand is open because it is based right next to the Barking College Family Stand.
The Barking College Family Stand is slightly smaller in height than the Carling Stand.
It is a single tier of entirely red seating that is elevated above ground and accessible via small staircases down at the front. The space in front of this seating area does have a couple of seats in place however and is available for disabled supporters to use.
There are four supporting pillars coming down along the front of the stand and one coming down at the side. These will likely cause some form of restriction to your view regardless of where you are based inside.
A windshield at the end next to the southwest corner provides good protection to the elevated seating area. The other end of the stand is open because it is based right next to the Carling Stand.
The SD Samuels Stand consists of a single tier of red seating with the letters DAGGERS spelt out in white across the central blocks. This seating area is elevated above ground and accessible via small staircases down at the front. There are also flat platforms for disabled supporters to use at either end of the stand. These are accessed via ramps at either end of the stand’s exterior.
Despite the ground’s dugouts being housed on the southern side of Victoria Road, the tunnel is housed left of centre in the SD Samuels Stand, with the changing rooms located inside. The tunnel has awning that is pulled outwards a long way when the tunnel is in use, and this can restrict accessibility between one side of the stand and the other. You will likely have to wait until the awning is retracted again before being able to walk along the path in front of the seating area.
Your view from anywhere inside the SD Samuels Stand is perfectly clear as there are no supporting pillars coming down from the roof above.
Large windshields are in place at either end that provide good protection to the elevated seating area.
The North Stand has been affectionately by some Dagenham and Redbridge fans as ‘The Sieve’ because it was once famed for its roof that leaked.
The stand nowadays consists of a single tier of covered standing terrace, though the roof does not cover the very front of the stand. Inside are two rows of red metal bars running along that fans can lean on. Atop the roof and slightly left of centre is a covered gantry that holds the matchday camera.
Supporting pillars come down at regular intervals along the front of the stand and these will likely restrict your view somewhat if you are stood behind them. Your clearest view will come if you are stood right at the front in the gaps between each pillar.
Windshields are in place at either end that provide good protection to the covered terracing inside.
The Bury Road End includes the stadium’s northeast corner and consists of entirely uncovered standing terrace.
This terraced area is split into two sections by an access path that leads to the turnstiles and further out to Bury Road itself. The terracing ends down at the ground’s southeast corner where there are toilets, refreshment facilities and a Dagenham and Redbridge Club Shop. This corner also has a large electronic screen in place overhead.
Your view from inside most of the Bury Road End is clear, but the pole that holds the northeast floodlight can restrict the view for those stood behind or around it.
Protection from any wind or rain is minimal on this side of the stadium as well, with no roof overhead and just a back wall being available to offer protection for those housed inside.
Away Fans
Away fans are housed behind the goal in the SD Samuels Stand.
This is a single-tiered stand with an elevated seating area that offers perfectly clear views from any seat, windshields at either end, and ramps that lead up to the flat platforms that disabled supporters can use.
Some might say that the SD Samuels Stand is actually the best of the four at Victoria Road, so it seems a little odd that Dagenham and Redbridge would offer that to away supporters as opposed to home ones.
The turnstiles for the away section are not that well signed, and it can be tricky to find them if you are coming to Victoria Road for the first time. The trick is to head to the southern side of the ground where the Main Entrance can be found, and head west past both the Carling Stand and the Barking College Family Stand.
The Away Turnstiles can be found in the southwest corner, which then lead round to the SD Samuels Stand itself.
One other notable thing about this away stand is that it holds the tunnel and changing rooms, despite the dugouts being based in front of the southern side. The tunnel has awning that is pulled outwards when in use, and it will block the path at the front of the stand when like this. You will have to wait until the awning is retracted before you can make your way from one side of the stand to the other again.
Matchday Pubs
Pubs available to supporters on a matchday include:
-The Daggers Clubhouse at Victoria Road itself (Home and Away Supporters) (50p Entry Fee)
-The Barking Dog (61 Station Parade, IG11 8TU) (A JD Wetherspoon Pub, Typically Home and Away Supporters) (Located very close to Barking Station)
-The Cross Keys Pub (27 Crown Street, RM10 9UH) (Typically Home and Away Supporters)
-The Eastbrook (835 Dagenham Road, RM10 7UP) (Home and Away Supporters)
-The Lord Denman (270-272 Heathway, RM10 8QS) (A JD Wetherspoon Pub, Typically Home and Away Supporters) (Located near Dagenham Heathway Station)
-The Pipe Major (1 Yew Tree Avenue, RM10 7FN) (Popular with Away Supporters) (Located near Dagenham East Underground Station)
Overview
Victoria Road is a football ground that offers something for everyone. There is covered terracing, uncovered terracing and covered seating, including its large West Stand which interestingly is given to away fans despite it arguably being the best place to be on a matchday.
Its location very close to industrial units massively restricts its accessibility across all but its southern side and would also further limit any potential expansions that may take place in the future.
It’s still a good place to watch football matches though, and certainly worth coming to check out.
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