Seasons 1888-1900

Although rugby was played in Briton Ferry for several years prior to 1988,there were a number of teams in the area such as The Crusaders , Melbourne, Village Boys and Giant’s Grave, it was in that year that the Briton Ferry RFC was formed creating a great deal of interest within the local community. From the beginning steelworkers formed the backbone of the Ferry teams, which were later strengthened by the arrival of a number of players from close neighbours the Melyn Barbarians club. In the early years the club flourished, with a local public house-The Grandison as its headquarters, the donation of a set of jerseys in his racing colours of royal blue, gold and white hoops by the local estate agent on behalf of the Earl of Jersey, gave the club an identity which survives to this day.

 There were early signs that the Ferry would have some influence on Welsh rugby when a local Doctor E.V.Pegge, was capped at forward at the time with Wales against England, he was a Neath player at the time, they were considered to be well off at the time and this proved to be the case when he missed the departure of the team for their tour of Devon in 1887, so he chartered a special train to catch up with the team! He was also voted on to the Welsh Union committee in 1892 along with Gavin Henry of Llanelli as representative for the West Wales region.

The Ynysymaerdy ground was originally acquired from the Earl of Jersey as a permanent home for cricket in 1887, he acted as a generous benefactor, providing facilities free of rent to the cricket team as well as fencing the ground and taking steps top ensure the wicket improved, he also ensured that a number of former County players were hired as professionals or grounds men, this made the Briton Ferry Town C.C. one of the top sides in the area at the time.

The Earl of Jersey was appointed as president of the WFU IN September 1881and this was seen as a drive for respectability by the union, as he was considered at the time to be one of the greatest peers of the realm. Victor Albert George Child-Villiers, the 7^th Earl of Jersey (1845-1915), was educated at Eton and Balliol, he was a grandson of Robert Peel, and a descendant of Henry VII, the founder of his line, the first Earl, had distinguished himself in the civil war during the 17^th century and he was probably fighting on the side of Oliver Cromwell! He owned 19,400 acres, a half of which were in Glamorgan his estates provided him with annual income of £18,000, but as mentioned earlier he was a generous benefactor of both the Briton Ferry and St Thomas areas, where he spent £60,000 in providing a variety of public amenities from roads to libraries and sports facilities again as mentioned previously, but his favourite sport was amateur athletics! He reigned as president from 1881 to 1885, he later became the Paymaster- General of the Salisbury Conservative government in 1889 and Governor-General of New South Wales from 1890-93.