The Golden Penny. Dec 3, 1898.

[handsofclay]

A few weeks ago I made mention of an occasion when I was assisting David Woods in the mid 1980s with his City history books where I came across a piece in the Bedminster Public Advertiser in 1898 which mentioned an article about Bristol City in the national publication called The Golden Penny. I have since located a photocopy of the article that appeared on pages 548 to 549 of The Golden Penny for Dec 3, 1898. It is too long to type out here but I will produce the first paragraph and a later paragraph. The later paragraph I include in full because it proves that Bristol City should have 1894 on its badge and not 1897.

NOTED FOOTBALL CLUBS

XXXIV - BRISTOL CITY

Photographs by Tom C. Burchill, Bristol.

In no town in the kingdom has Association Football made such rapid strides of late years as in Bristol. Only two or three years ago there was not a first-class "socker" eleven in the West, and Bristol could not boast of a club of any pretentions, but today there are three or four really good clubs in Bristol, the best of which is the one we have chosen for this week's Noted Football Club. Probably never in the history of the game has a club had such a phenomenal rise as this Bristol club. Most of the clubs whose careers we have already traced started as small organisations dozens of years ago, but Bristol City have only been in existence four years altogether.

Later paragraph subhead The Club Floated.

It was decided at a meeting of the guarantors of the South End Club held in June, 1897, that the club should be turned into a limited liability company, and five directors were elected. At the same meeting Mr. W. B.Hodgkinson was unanimously elected Secretary and Mr E. J. Locke financial Secretary. The capital of the company was £2,500 in £1 shares, of which 1,400 were offered to the public. At the same time it was decided to ALTER the name of the club to its present title - Bristol City.

I changed the word alter into capitals. This article was written less than 18 months after the change of name in 1897. We are stated to be four years old at that point, not 18 months old. Bristol South End simply changed their name in 1897. The same directors, club set up and ground were in place. Just as in 1982 when another change of name occurred.

[nathredwood]

Just imagine what Mr E. J. Locke would make of our annual accounts now!!!

[reddogkev]

Exceptional research, as always.

With your dedicated passion for the club and appreciation of history, you should apply for a role at the new Ashton Gate Museum as the curator.

[handsofclay]

10 minutes ago, reddogkev said:

Exceptional research, as always.

With your dedicated passion for the club and appreciation of history, you should apply for a role at the new Ashton Gate Museum as the curator.

With my age I am more likely to be used as an exhibit!

[Kingswood Robin]

It's always been 1894. I remember doing a school presentation on City in 1984 and it was 1894 then.

[spudski]

I recall reading that the 1997 centenary was just a money spinner for Scott Davidson?

I seem to remember someone saying it was his doing.

Why no one contested it I don't know...or why it wasn't celebrated in 1994.

Open to correction...but i'm sure that's what I understand of it.

[handsofclay]

You are spot on Spudski, there was a different board in situ in 1994 who could not spot a marketing opportunity if they fell over it. They did promote a book about the centenary in the club shop but that was about the sum of their efforts. When Davidson came in a little later it was too late to promote 1994 as the centenary so he and his board pounced on the opportunity afforded by the club changing its name and turning pro in 1897 to falsely associate that date with our formation to enable a marketing exercise to take place including the production of a centenary video 1897-1997 presented by Tony Robinson. The cunning plan of Davidson and his fellow directors worked because this date has erroneously been linked to our formation date ever since.

The proof of the pudding is in the fact that prior to about 1996, every single written account of Bristol City would have placed their formation as 1894. There was not one that would state it as 1897. Every piece of club merchandise pre 1996 would have 1894 listed as the formation date. Football programmes the length and breadth of the nation listed that date as our formation. 

Most clubs change their name, Leicester City were Leicester Fosse until after WWI, Orient seem to change theirs every couple of decades. But unlike us they still keep their original formation date regardless of what they were called at the time as it is still the same club. Rovers were originally the Black Arabs in 1883, they did not become Bristol Rovers for more than a decade and a half later, yet they, rightly, state their formation date as 1883.

[Red Skin]

I'm buying it.  Only another 78 years to the next big knees up!!  

[KernowRed]

 

It would appear that it was on the change to 'Professionalism' that the name change to 'Bristol City'  from 'Bristol South End'[ ie formed in 1894.]

 

This extract from the Swindon newspaper 15th May 1897 below indicates that fact.

 

 

 

 

 

Swindon Advertiser and North Wilts Chronicle 15 May 1897

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Rudolf Hucker]

21 hours ago, handsofclay1909 said:

A few weeks ago I made mention of an occasion when I was assisting David Woods in the mid 1980s with his City history books where I came across a piece in the Bedminster Public Advertiser in 1898 which mentioned an article about Bristol City in the national publication called The Golden Penny. I have since located a photocopy of the article that appeared on pages 548 to 549 of The Golden Penny for Dec 3, 1898. It is too long to type out here but I will produce the first paragraph and a later paragraph. The later paragraph I include in full because it proves that Bristol City should have 1894 on its badge and not 1897.

NOTED FOOTBALL CLUBS

XXXIV - BRISTOL CITY

Photographs by Tom C. Burchill, Bristol.

In no town in the kingdom has Association Football made such rapid strides of late years as in Bristol. Only two or three years ago there was not a first-class "socker" eleven in the West, and Bristol could not boast of a club of any pretentions, but today there are three or four really good clubs in Bristol, the best of which is the one we have chosen for this week's Noted Football Club. Probably never in the history of the game has a club had such a phenomenal rise as this Bristol club. Most of the clubs whose careers we have already traced started as small organisations dozens of years ago, but Bristol City have only been in existence four years altogether.

Later paragraph subhead The Club Floated.

It was decided at a meeting of the guarantors of the South End Club held in June, 1897, that the club should be turned into a limited liability company, and five directors were elected. At the same meeting Mr. W. B.Hodgkinson was unanimously elected Secretary and Mr E. J. Locke financial Secretary. The capital of the company was £2,500 in £1 shares, of which 1,400 were offered to the public. At the same time it was decided to ALTER the name of the club to its present title - Bristol City.

I changed the word alter into capitals. This article was written less than 18 months after the change of name in 1897. We are stated to be four years old at that point, not 18 months old. Bristol South End simply changed their name in 1897. The same directors, club set up and ground were in place. Just as in 1982 when another change of name occurred.

This is fascinating. Is there any chance of the photocopy you have being uploaded in some way (scanned or photographed)@handsofclay1909 so that it may be preserved for posterity as it is clearly an important historical record? I'd love to read it.

The Golden Penny must have been some publication if mention of this is on pages 548-549! Presumably it was a book rather than a magazine?

[handsofclay]

2 minutes ago, Rudolf Hucker said:

This is fascinating. Is there any chance of the photocopy you have being uploaded in some way (scanned or photographed)@handsofclay1909 so that it may be preserved for posterity as it is clearly an important historical record? I'd love to read it.

The Golden Penny must have been some publication if mention of this is on pages 548-549! Presumably it was a book rather than a magazine?

I will see what I can do. The photocopy itself is not great, particularly the pictures, as it was the 1980s when photocopies were not that great. I would guess that The Golden Penny appeared weekly but collected into a volume or volumes. I will try first to photograph it and upload it to this site.

[Rudolf Hucker]

Please don't go to enormous trouble but it really is a fascinating subject which should make us all realise the we're custodians of our club with a duty of care to preserve it for generations to come.

[handsofclay]

Here are some pics of the article.

[handsofclay]

Actually, it hasn't turned out too bad and if you can enlarge the screen the whole article is readable. For the sake of authenticity I have also recreated it so that it can only be read if one tilts one's head to an angle of 270 degrees. Back in Victorian times most working class people tilted their heads at an angle of 270 degrees because they were used to looking up chimneys to keep an eye on their kids.

[Rudolf Hucker]

5 minutes ago, handsofclay1909 said:

Actually, it hasn't turned out too bad and if you can enlarge the screen the whole article is readable. For the sake of authenticity I have also recreated it so that it can only be read if one tilts one's head to an angle of 270 degrees. Back in Victorian times most working class people tilted their heads at an angle of 270 degrees because they were used to looking up chimneys to keep an eye on their kids.

Charging their iPads, back in those days, must have taken some time.