Brymbo Institute
Head to Head

  1. Home
  2. Head to Head
  3. Brymbo Institute

Formed: 1887 (Folded:1922)
Ground: Institute Recreational Ground
Nickname: The Institute



Head to Head Statistics

First Team Competitive Matches
Venue Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst
Home 2 1 1 0 5 2
Away 3 1 1 1 11 8
Neutral 3 1 1 1 9 6
Total 8 3 3 2 25 16
First Team Friendly Matches
Venue Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst
Home 0 0 0 0 0 0
Away 1 1 0 0 5 2
Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 1 1 0 0 5 2
Reserve & Youth Team Matches
Venue Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst
Home 9 7 1 1 34 13
Away 6 0 2 4 7 14
Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 15 7 3 5 41 27

When the Cumberland-born John Wilkinson took over the family ironworks business in Bersham in the early-1870s, few could have foreseen the impact he would have upon the industrialisation of North East Wales. The subsequent purchase of the Brymbo Hall estate (c.500 acres) in 1792 gave Wilkinson access to rich deposits of coal and iron ore and led to the establishment of a new ironworks on the site.

The ironworks went into decline after his death and production ceased for over a decade before Scottish engineer Henry Robertson identified an investment opportunity. He recognised that by linking the site to the fledgling railway network, the improved transport links would once again return the ironworks to profitability. Robertson recruited brothers William and Charles Darby to manage the site and the two talented industrialists quickly set about reopening the site in 1842.

Success duly followed but Robertson was not content with this; he believed that steel was the future of iron and encouraged the brothers to trial steelmaking at the Brymbo plant. In June 1884 the Brymbo Steel Company was duly formed and within six months they had produced the first basic open-hearth steel in Britain.

A great supporter of the temperance movement, William Darby was keen to look after the welfare of his growing workforce and he established the Brymbo Institute and Reading Room in 1882. Renamed the Brymbo Workman’s Institute in 1887 and funded by the company, the ‘Institute’ encouraged various sporting pastimes with cricket and football sections amongst those formed.

The Annual General Meeting held in September 1888 noted that the football team had won 10 of its 11 matches during the previous season. They also recorded that: “Through the kindness of the Brymbo Company, a good piece of land had been placed at their disposal, and a considerable sum spent upon it to adapt it in every way for the game.”

With teams changing at the Mount Hotel, the players had a half-mile walk to the ground but that didn’t stop the side from becoming one of the leading teams in the area. In September 1890 they joined the Football Association of Wales and they ended the season by recording their first £10 gate for a friendly with Wrexham, the visitors winning 5-2 at the Institute Recreational Ground. Admitted to the Welsh League in 1893, they defeated Druids and Bangor to reach the semi-final of the Welsh Cup in 1894-95 only to once again lose to Wrexham in a one-sided encounter at Stansty Park.

That proved to be the highpoint for the “Institute’ as by September 1896 they found themselves in the Wrexham County Court for non-payment of invoices. Charles Davies, a carrier from Moss, had taken the Brymbo players to several matches in horse-drawn brakes but a dispute had arisen over his charges. Club secretary Thomas Dodd, a former FAW committee member, stated that the agreement had been based upon so much per head whereas Davies stated it was so much per journey according to the length of it. In the end, Davies received the princely sum of £10 including costs.

Brymbo Institute’s woes continued and they eventually resigned from the Welsh League in early 1897, their record being expunged from the competition. The Institute's demise saw several other clubs emerge in the area, most notably Brymbo United and Brymbo Victoria, the latter reaching the Welsh Amateur Cup Final in 1908.

The Institute title briefly re-appeared with a team bearing that name in the Wrexham & District league for two season (1907-09) before the revived club entered the more prestigious North Wales Alliance in 1913. Brymbo Institute became founder members of the Welsh National League (North) in 1921 but the increased financial burden of travelling to teams such as Bangor and Holyhead proved too much. Ahead of the League's AGM in July 1921, it was announced that Brymbo Institute had decided not to run a team and that their place would be taken by Division Two champions and local rivals Brymbo Green; the two clubs amalgamating to form Brymbo & Green United with home games being played at Brynmally Park.

Past Meetings

Jump to: First Team Competitive Matches | First Team Friendly Matches | Reserve & Youth Team Matches

First Team Competitive Matches
1914-15
25/01/1915 Welsh Cup  (A)  6 - 2
1895-96
13/04/1896 Denbighshire & Flintshire (Soames) Charity Cup  (N)  3 - 4
30/03/1896 Denbighshire & Flintshire (Soames) Charity Cup  (N)  2 - 2
28/03/1896 League  (A)  2 - 3
04/01/1896 League  (H)  2 - 2
07/12/1895 League  (A)  A - A
1894-95
09/03/1895 Welsh Cup  (N)  4 - 0
15/12/1894 League  (H)  3 - 0
29/09/1894 League  (A)  3 - 3
First Team Friendly Matches
1890-91
07/02/1891 Friendly  (A)  5 - 2
Reserve & Youth Team Matches
1921-22
29/04/1922 Welsh National League (North)  (A)  0 - 1
17/04/1922 Welsh National League (North)  (H)  4 - 0
29/03/1922 Denbighshire & Flintshire (Soames) Charity Cup  (H)  3 - 1
06/03/1922 Denbighshire & Flintshire (Soames) Charity Cup  (A)  1 - 1
24/12/1921 Welsh League Cup  (A)  2 - 3
1920-21
23/04/1921 North Wales Alliance (Division One)  (A)  0 - 3
11/09/1920 North Wales Alliance (Division One)  (H)  6 - 2
1895-96
28/03/1896 Denbighshire & Flintshire League  (H)  3 - 0
21/09/1895 Denbighshire & Flintshire League  (A)  ? - ?
1894-95
06/04/1895 Denbighshire & Flintshire League  (H)  6 - 0
29/12/1894 Denbighshire & Flintshire League  (H)  2 - 1
1893-94
14/04/1894 Welsh League  (H)  2 - 2
31/03/1894 Welsh League  (A)  3 - 3
17/02/1894 Welsh League  (A)  P - P
1892-93
25/03/1893 Welsh League  (H)  0 - 2
11/02/1893 Welsh League  (A)  1 - 3
1890-91
28/03/1891 Reserve Friendly  (H)  ? - ?
07/02/1891 Reserve Friendly  (A)  ? - ?
1889-90
05/10/1889 Reserve Friendly  (H)  8 - 5

Head to Head Records (Competitive Matches Only)



Most Appearances

1. William Ball - 6 Apps

2. Ted Ellis - 6 Apps

3. Billy Harrison - 6 Apps

4. Edward Samuel - 5 Apps

5. John E. Jones - 3 Apps


Top Goalscorers

1. Billy Harrison - 3 Goals

2. Bert Goode - 2 Goals

3. Abel Hayes - 2 Goals

4. Alfred Williams - 2 Goals

5. Bobby Davies - 1 Goals