After the rather macabre end to their spell at Pleasington Cricket Ground, Rovers were about to move up in the world. They had finally found themselves a ground worthy of their team. Alexandra Meadows will be more well-known to most Rovers fans as the current home of East Lancs Cricket Club, just off Duke’s Brow close to the town centre of Blackburn and bordering Corporation Park. Back in 1877 it was also the home of the cricket club and it was they who Rovers rented the ground from. Unlike their previous dwellings the ground was enclosed, although nearby hillsides offered a rather cheaper view for the less squander-friendly supporter. The ground also had a pavilion. Rovers finally had a ground rather than just a pitch.

It was during the years at Alexandra Meadows that Rovers became the major team which their ambitions demanded. At this ground was launched their first ever campaigns in the Lancashire Cup and, more importantly for the future, the FA Cup. The first game at the ground was played against the quality Scottish side Partick Thistle. Thistle weren’t complete strangers to the Lancashire football scene, having defeated Darwen the previous season. They weren’t to repeat their success. A brace from Dick Birtwhistle gave Rovers a famous 2-1 victory. For the first time in their history, Rovers had caused shockwaves outside their own provincial area. It was to prove a catalyst, as attendances soon topped six thousand. The game was also notable for the debut of Albert Hornby, an awesome sportsman sportsman who as well as going on to captain Rovers, played almost 300 matches for Lancashire County Cricket Club before going on to represent his country at both football and cricket. The game also saw the first appearance in Blackburn of another Rovers great of the future, Fergie Suter. Suter was playing for Partick on that day but would soon be back to feature for Rovers in FA Cup finals.

The most amazing of all the games played at Alexandra Meadows was against Accrington on 4th November 1878. Forty foot scaffolds were erected at both ends of the ground and a lamp placed at each end throwing out 6,000 candle power. The lights worked and the first Rovers game to be played under floodlight passed off happily with a 3-0 win for the home side. Despite a large crowd of 6,000, many others watched for free on the adjoining hillsides. Rovers began to look for a fully enclosed ground. A second experiment with artificial lighting took place against Darwen in another 3-0 home win. It was to be the last time Rovers would host a match under floodlight until 1958.

Despite being the home from which Rovers first entered meaningful competitive competitions, the ambition of Rovers had by now outstripped Alexandra Meadows. They did not wish for any freeloaders.

Alexandra Meadows was also the place where football hooliganism began. The visit of Darwen in November 1881 in a grudge match was attended by 10,000 fans. There was no love lost at the time and in the second half there was a pitch invasion and acts of vandalism. The players had to be carried off the pitch shoulder-high by their own fans. Later, the changing room of the Darwen team was the scene of more vandalism. Among other things a window was smashed. That should surely have meant seven years of bad luck, yet the next seven years were to see Blackburn dominate British football. So much for clichés then.

In 1881 Rovers left Alexandra Meadows after an amazingly eventful three years. The area still exists as the sporting site of East Lancs CC. The ground had seen floodlights, rioting, FA Cup ties and giant killing acts. All connected to Rovers must have been a little bit sad to leave the place, for all Rovers had outgrown it.

Streetmap overview of the area - The ground still exists and is next to Dukes Brow.