Gloucester Rugby is an English rugby union club based in Gloucester, founded in 1873. The club’s visual identity has undergone several distinct phases, moving from the Gloucester city coat of arms to a trademarkable club crest, and most recently to a shield-based design introduced in 2018.
Design and History
For much of its early history, Gloucester Rugby used the Gloucester city coat of arms as its crest. The club was forced to abandon this approach in 2007 because the city crest could not be trademarked, allowing anyone to produce merchandise bearing it. The 2007 logo was described by the club as a “hybrid of the city crest with some rugby references added in,” a design the club later admitted “doesn’t do either job: it isn’t the City crest and it doesn’t have any real identity or stand out from the crowd amongst its peer group.”[1]
In May 2018, Gloucester Rugby unveiled a new crest following an almost year-long review that included interviews with staff and players.[1] The new logo consists of the club name at the top, a shield shape, cherry and white hoops, a lion, and the year 1873, which denotes the club’s founding.[2] The design features a stylised lion’s head formed in the club’s cherry and white colours, with the date of founding inscribed within the crest.[3]
CEO Stephen Vaughan explained the reasoning behind the change: “It became clear that our current logo did not fully portray our ambition for the club and we needed a more contemporary logo that reflects the traditional elements of Gloucester Rugby.”[2] The club also noted that the previous logo was “not easy to use commercially or digitally” as social and digital media had grown.[1]
The rollout of the new logo and identity, which also encompassed a new home kit and redesigned club website, was expected to be completed by the start of the 2018-2019 season.[1] The club offered to pay for fans with tattoos of the old crest to have them re-inked with the new design.[4]
Meaning and Symbolism
The lion has been a recurring symbol in Gloucester Rugby’s identity. The club explained that “the Lion is a symbol that has been part of the Gloucester Rugby logo for some time,” noting it appears on the Gloucester City crest, which the club used before developing its own logo in 2007.[5] The club also pointed to longstanding local connections with lions, including a bar called the Lion’s Den at Kingsholm and the club mascot, a lion named Kingsley.[5]
The cherry and white hoops in the crest reflect the club’s traditional playing colours, which remain a defining element of its matchday identity. The 1873 date commemorates the year Gloucester Rugby was officially formed.[6]
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