In 1907, following a meeting at the Central Council Office in Fleece Street, Rochdale Association Football Club came into existence. Rochdale has continued to use the same badge on the club’s shirts since its beginning, which I think is the only club to do so, as I have not found any others that have the same amazing record. (PIC 1) It is in a blue roundel of the club’s colours with the club’s name, and below the shortened version of Rochdale “The Dale”, the club’s nickname. The images on the badge are based on the arms granted to the borough in 1857. (PIC 2) In the shield is a Woolpack, encircled by two branches of the cotton tree, with eight martlets on the outside. The word martlet is heraldic, and is derived from the bird known in this country as the martin, with the addition of the diminutive suffix-let, meaning little martin. On the crest or top of the arms is a fleece representing the source of the wool found in the woolpack. Which is apt, as the club was founded in Fleece Street. The fleece is suspended from a band, and hangs over the iron centre of a millstone, known in the trade as a millrind. The arms are based mainly on the coat of arms of the Rashdale and Derden families. The Deardens, came into possession of the Rochdale Manor in 1823. The motto “CREDE SIGNO” is based on that of Lord Byron of Rochdale, and translates as, Believe In the Sign. The arms also reflect the industries of this milling town.
The people of Rochdale will no doubt know that this crest is no longer the official crest of the town. It was replaced by the towns Metropolitan Borough Council, when it took over from the County Borough Council and five other District Councils. Rochdale AFC, however, decided to stick with the old crest when the new one was introduced in 1974. The new arms are made up of a green shield with a white wave running down the middle, on which is a Roach, the fish possibly being a pun on the town’s name, representing the Roch Valley. (PIC 3) Six red roses in the border suggest the six authorities, along with the red rose being the Lancastrian emblem. In the crest are some of the details of the old town crest. The fleece and millrind on a woolsack are surrounded by cotton plants. The fleece is also an emblem of Milnrow a district of Rochdale. The supporter on the left is a golden eagle and it represents the area of Littleborough and its Roman occupation. This connection is also on the base, with the Roman Road over Blackstone Edge on which the shield stands. On each side of the road is a symbol of the Pennine moorland on which the whole arms stand. The eagle has a ram’s head hanging from its neck, the emblem of Wardle. The right-hand supporter is a falcon, from the arms of Heywood, and from the arms of Middleton hangs a pierced black star. I would like to thank the Commercial Department at Rochdale AFC for their help and reply to my request for information, and the Manager Richard Wild.
The name Rochdale comes from the River Roch and an open valley known as a Dale. The ground the Dale plays at is called Spotland and holds 10,249. Bury are the local rivals. Spotland is at the moment called the Crown Oil Arena, the name of the present sponsors, but the supporters will always refer to it as Spotlands. To discover more about Rochdale AFC just cotton on to www.rochdaleafc.co.uk
