Another unsigned compliment slip accompanied the information sent to me from Burnley FC. Thank you, whoever you may be who answered my letter. The badge has changed since. (PIC 1) However, the elements in the new badge are all covered by the original piece I wrote due to the fact both badges, old and new are comprised of heraldic symbols from the Burnley coat of arms, so I have just left it as is. Burnley Rovers, as they were first known, were founder members of the football league. Burnley Rovers started life as a rugby club, but soon realised that football was a far more skilful and fun game, so they changed the shape of their oddly shaped ball and stopped picking it up. So good were they that in 1882 Burnley Rovers became Burnley Football Club. Shortly afterwards the cricket club were so impressed they invited Burnley FC to play at Turf Moor and they became neighbours.
The previous Burnley FC badge was introduced in the 1970s. (PIC 2) Elements of the badge being taken from the Burnley and Padiham coat of arms. In the club’s badge, the lion represents royalty, Turf Moor being the first ground to be visited by a Monarch. Unfortunately which monarch is not in the Burnley identity booklet that I was sent. The bee represents the busy town and the Bee Hole End of the ground as it was called in days gone by. The knight’s helmet represents the two families in Burnley, the Townleys and the Shuttleworths of Gawthorpe. The shuttle between the bee and the helmet represents Burnley’s cotton industry. 1882 is the year the club was formed. The red roses are that of Lancashire and the hand represents the town of Burnley’s motto “HOLD TO THE TRUTH”. Underneath in the scroll lies the club’s name.
In the town’s coat of arms, the shield retains the former Burnley County Borough pattern of the red chevron on gold or yellow, with three Lancashire roses. (PIC 3) The river Brun is represented by the black wavy lines on the chief. In the chief are two bees showing the industrious area of Burnley and the cross wheat the rural part of the former Burnley Rural District. The stork stands on a hill surrounded by cotton plants. One of the stork’s claws rests on the family arms of De Lacy who held Burnley in medieval times. The supporters are the purple lions of the De Lacy arms and the collars around the necks of the lions have the black stars from the shield of the Townley family, and each lion rests a foot on a shuttle from the Shuttleworth family. The shuttle as mentioned also represents Burnley’s cotton industry.
The name of Burnley stems from the Anglo-Saxon name of Brun or brown, as it is today, and is the name given to the river Brun and Lea meaning meadow, so Burnley is a meadow by the brown river. Burnley’s nickname “The Clarets” come from their famous strip of claret and blue. Turf Moor has a capacity of 22,546 which may increase if Burnley manages to purchase the cricket ground from the neighbours who so kindly invited them there in the first place. Burnley’s rivals include Blackburn who were also held by the De Lacys in medieval times, also Preston, Bolton and Blackpool are Lancastrian rivals. To uncover more about “The Clarets” uncork a bottle and pour your way to www.burnleyfootballclub.com
