Brigg Britannia
Full nameBrigg Britannia Football Club
Nickname(s)Swifts[1]
Founded1877
Dissolved1914?
GroundBritannia Recreation Ground

History

Brigg Britannia F.C., also known as Britannia Recreation, was an English association football club from Brigg in Lincolnshire; the club was the winter occupation of members of a cricket club founded in the summer of 1877.[2] The earliest known match for the club was a draw with Lincoln Albion F.C. in March 1878.[3]

In November 1878 the club was the first opponent of Grimsby Town, then called Grimsby Pelham, Britannia winning 2–0.[4]

The club gained its biggest win against the Crowle club in a friendly in February 1880, winning 8–0 at home.[5]

The club entered the FA Cup three times. In 1880-81 the club was drawn to play Turton F.C. and won the toss for choice of grounds. Turton threatened to scratch the tie because of the expense of travelling to Lincolnshire,[6] but did turn up and won easily. The match ended early because of a dispute over the final goal; given that the goal made the score 5–0 to the visitors, and Britannia did not have a single shot all match, the score was allowed to stand.[7]

The club was a founder member of the Lincolnshire Football Association in 1881,[8] and entered the FA Cup a second time. Britannia again lost heavily in the first round, 8–0 to Sheffield F.C. at Bramall Lane, in front of a crowd of 70–80, reduced by rain and a match so one-sided that Sheffield swapped out their goalkeeper after the fifth goal.[9] The club was forced in that match to play William Asling in goal; he was the club's usual right-back, who joined Grimsby Town in 1883 to play at the right-back position.[10] Later in the 1881–82 season the club lost to Barton Town in the first round of the first Lincolnshire Senior Cup.[11]

The club's final FA Cup entry was in 1882–83, but, drawn to face Nottingham Forest and facing a heavy defeat,[12] the club scratched. Britannia remained in existence as an amateur club until the outbreak of World War 1, playing in the Lincolnshire Shield for amateur clubs and the Barton & District League, and fixtures are reported until September 1913.[13]

Honours

  • 1887-88: winners of the Lincolnshire Shield.

Ground

The club played at the Britannia Recreation, on a pitch notable for its small size.[14] It was also a training ground for runners from Sheffield, and as a result players from The Wednesday often turned out for Britannia.[15]

Notable players

References

  1. ↑ "Gainsbro' Charity Cup". Sheffield Independent: 6. 5 December 1887.
  2. ↑ "Cricket". Hull News: 8. 12 May 1877.
  3. ↑ "report". Lincolnshire Chronicle: 9. 22 February 1878.
  4. ↑ "Football". Hull Packet: 7. 8 November 1878.
  5. ↑ "Football". Retford and Gainsborough Times: 7. 2 April 1880.
  6. ↑ "Notes by Free-Kick". Blackburn Standard: 2. 9 October 1880.
  7. ↑ "Brigg Britannia 0-5 Turton". Sheffield Daily Telegraph: 4. 18 October 1880.
  8. ↑ "New Lincolnshire Association". Nottinghamshire Guardian: 12. 23 December 1881.
  9. ↑ "Sheffield 8-0 Brigg Britannia". Sheffield Independent: 4. 7 November 1881.
  10. ↑ Triggs, Les (1989). Grimsby Town: A Complete Record. Breedon Books.
  11. ↑ "Lincolnshire Challenge Cup". Sheffield Independent: 7. 2 February 1882.
  12. ↑ The only other Lincolnshire club entered was Lincolnshire Challenge Cup champions Spilsby F.C., who lost 12-2 at The Wednesday.
  13. ↑ "Retford Rovers". Retford and Worksop Herald: 3. 2 September 1913.
  14. ↑ "Football". Hull Packet: 7. 7 December 1877.
  15. ↑ "Great Days of Albion". Lincolnshire Echo: 6. 15 October 1932.
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