The first football club in Rotherham formed in 1870, under the name of Rotherham Town, and seven years later Thornhill formed a club that in 1905 changed its name to Rotherham County. In 1925, Rotherham Town and Rotherham County united to form, Rotherham United. Are you still with me? Good. The football club started sporting a badge in the early 1950s, and like most clubs at the time they used the borough coat of arms. (PIC 1) The arms were granted in October 1947, but unofficial versions go back to the start of the century. The green background on the shield, the silver mitre, and the gold stags are derived from the arms and insignia of Thomas of Rotherham, Archbishop of York. He founded Jesus College, Rotherham, and built part of the Church of All Saints. The bridge represents the ancient bridge at Rotherham. It also refers to the old Southwark Bridge, built by Rotherham ironmasters, and the Bailey bridge, invented by a Rotherham man. A Bailey bridge is a mobile bridge, used mainly in wartime to cross rivers. The two silver wavy bars are for the River Rother and the River Don, at the junction of which the town is situated. The white roses indicate the county of Yorkshire. The man’s hand naturally coloured and holding Mercury’s golden staff represents commerce. The black chains around the stags necks, give reference to the town’s chief industries of iron and brass founding. The black colour of the small shields is an allusion to the fact that Rotherham is the centre of a coal-mining district. The golden bees on the black shields symbolize industry in the town, and this is reflected in the motto “SIC VIRESCIT INDUSTRIA”, when translated from the Latin means, Thus Industry Flourishes.
In the 1970s it was fashionable to have the initials of the club used as a crest, and usually in a fancy font, and Rotherham was a dedicated follower of fashion. (PIC 2) The 1980s saw the first nod to the club’s ground Millmoor, but the badges displayed the date 1884, the year Dr John Harvey Kellogg patented Corn Flakes. I don’t know why I mentioned that, but little else happened in the world that year to warrant it being on a football badge. Anyway, the date was done away with and no one speaks of it now. (PIC 3) Due to money falling through holes in some pockets, in 2006 Rotherham faced financial embarrassment, lost some points, got relegated and eventually left Millmoor, and had to relocate to an athletic stadium called the Don Valley in Sheffield. In 2012, to celebrate their return to Rotherham, the club wore the new coat of arms.
Granted in 1983, there are some similarities to the older arms, so please forgive me for repeating myself. The new coats of arms is made up of a green shield, and within are two white roses, these are symbolic of York, the white rose is also known as the Yorkshire Rose. (PIC 4) The mitre between the roses is for Thomas Rotherham, Archbishop of York from 1480 to 1500. A native of Rotherham and founder of Our Lost College of Jesus, Rotherham, as well as a benefactor to the church. The white wavy line is a symbol of the River Rother, from which the town gets its name, ham meaning village or home of. The black wavy line refers to the coal industry in the area. The cogwheel is a general representation of industry. On the crest is a demi shire-horse, supporting a cogwheel. The supporters are a golden buck from the arms of the Archbishop Rotherham and the County Borough Council. The other supporter is a golden griffin, from the arms of the Marquise and Earls of Rockingham, and Wentworth families. The wavy black bars on the necks of the supporters once again allude to the coal industry. The town motto is on the banner beneath “BY INDUSTRY AND HONOUR”.
The present badge still has a nod to the old ground of Millmoor, and has been in use since 2005, although back then it had the name Rotherham United FC above and below, as in picture three. The badge is made up of a red shield and the club’s other colours of black and white. The badge is a representation of the town’s flour mills, and a windmill which once stood close to the Millmoor ground. So, what looked to me like a US railroad crossing sign turned out to be a windmill incorporating the club’s initials in the sails, and fittingly has an old type of panelled football at its foundation. The like of which nearly broke many a neck on rainy days of yore. (PIC 5) I would like to thank, Gerry Somerton, Media and Communications Officer at Rotherham United FC, for his help and for answering my letter to the club requesting any information on offer.
As mentioned Rotherham got its name from the Rother River. Rother is a Gaelic word for a main or chief river, and Ham is an Anglo-Saxon word for a homestead or village. There could only be one nickname for a club that has a windmill for an emblem and that is “The Millers”, and the home of the Millers is New York, no, not the Big Apple, but the area of Rotherham the ground was built on. The New York Stadium opened in July 2012 and holds 12,000 fans. The Millers rivals are Sheffield Wednesday and United. For moor on “The Millers” grind your way to www.themillers.co.uk
