Braintree Town FC

Braintree Town FC

Next up in the History of Sports Badges and what they can teach us – is Essex National League team, Braintree Town FC . #GetTheBadgeIn @braintreetownfc, @BraintreeTownSS, @TheIronChat

With the Vanarama National League now being covered by DAZN this has allowed me to watch a lot more NL than I ever had previously. I have a soft spot for Forest Green Rovers (I like Dale Vince, the owner) and I also have half an eye on Barnet (great badge – but also their keeper, Nick Hayes, is an Ipswich academy product). So ,it was a few days ago that I began watching some Braintree Town FC games, thinking that they’re about as local a National League team as there is to Ipswich. I also really like their third strip with the badge printed in large in the background. That’s a belter. I was even more interested when I saw their nickname was The Iron.

Maybe a true rival to those ‘orrible hammers down the A12. I also enjoy their stadium sponsor name – the Rare Breed Meat Co Stadium. Now that’s a name. A bit more digging and I stumbled across a really interesting story, and sadly one that is set in Britian’s long-lost industrial past.

The club began as a company team, Manor Works FC on 24 September 1898, serving as the works team for the Crittall Window Company, a firm known for its pioneering steel-framed windows. The nickname “Iron” stems from this connection, as Crittall was a major player in the iron and steel industry, even supplying windows for renowned buildings like the Houses of Parliament and the Tower of London, as well as the famous RMS Titanic. During both World Wars, Crittall factories shifted production to support the war effort. Women workers made munitions and crucial war supplies, including Bailey bridges, wing spars for planes and windows for military buildings. I wonder if there is a war memorial anywhere for the efforts of both the women - and many of the men/club's players who undoubtedly served?

The badge of Braintree Town FC reflects this heritage. Designed in 1987 by Paul Claydon and Jon Weaver, the crest captures elements of the Crittall legacy. The centrepiece is an image of a factory, modelled after the Crittall Garage that once overlooked the club’s Cressing Road ground. This garage’s distinctive roof design is echoed in the badge, along with a factory chimney on one side and a floodlight pylon on the other, symbolising both the club's industrial heritage and its football ambitions.

Between the chimney and floodlight hovers a football. Even though Braintree Town FC no longer maintains a formal link with Crittall Windows, Braintree Town FC’s badge and nickname serve as enduring reminders of a time when sport and industry were closely intertwined, and they continue to connect the club to its unique past as “The Iron” of Essex.