GROUND DESIGNS BY MARTIN PEACH

Martin Peach is a structural draughtsman turned illustrator and fellow stadium nostalgia fan. These prints are beautifully coloured, often cryptic interpretations of many a loved football ground.

"My obsession with football grounds began on Christmas Day 1984 when Santa dropped off a copy of Simon Inglis' seminal "The Football Grounds of England and Wales" book, and I vowed to visit every one of the 92 characterful homes detailed inside.  The journey began early the following year in the salubrious surroundings of Saltergate for a glamorous encounter between Chesterfield and Scunthorpe."

"The idea for Ground Designs came about a coupe of years ago, when I was reading another, more recent, Simon Inglis book about the great football ground engineer Archibald Leitch, in which I found out he had also started his working life as an apprentice draughtsman.  There were several beautiful old structural drawings featured inside and, just for fun, I decided to dust down my old pencil and set square, and set about recreating the famous criss-cross balcony steelwork from the Bullens Road Stand at Goodison.  It developed from there, through a very laborious process, until eventually I had my first proper design in a digitalised format."

What's great about his designs is that they tap into the niche or nostalgic element of stadiums and clubs, which fans will resonate with. They also make great pieces of wall art. Over 30 years later, he received recognition from Simon Inglis himself, his original muse and inspiration, which Peach says will do for him. He also sells his prints in his store here.