West Ham Crest History: Compare Design Changes

The short answer

The West Ham United crest has passed through three broad phases. The first relied on crossed hammers, a reference to the club’s origins as the works team of the Thames Ironworks shipyard. The second placed those hammers in a shield with a castle, long associated with the club’s former home at the Boleyn Ground in Upton Park. The third is the redesign introduced for the club’s 2016 move to the London Stadium, which removed the castle, made the hammers the dominant element and added the word “London” beneath the club name. This guide covers the main club crest only. Kit-specific badges, anniversary marks and standalone wordmarks fall outside its scope.

No source documents were supplied for this article. The history below is therefore limited to widely reported milestones. Exact dates for intermediate versions, designer credits and official colour specifications are not confirmed here and are listed as open questions at the end.

How the crest developed

Crossed hammers: the industrial origin

The club began in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and became West Ham United in 1900. According to the club’s own long-standing account, the crossed hammers represent the riveting hammers used by shipbuilders at the ironworks. The same origin explains the club’s nicknames, “the Irons” and “the Hammers.” This is the best-supported piece of symbolism in the crest. It links the motif directly to the club’s founding workforce rather than to later interpretation.

The castle shield: a tie to Upton Park

The castle is generally identified with a building near the Boleyn Ground known locally as Boleyn Castle. Local tradition linked that building to Anne Boleyn. That connection is folklore rather than established history, and it should not be presented as the club’s stated intent for the design. When the castle first entered the crest, and how many redrawn versions followed, cannot be confirmed from the material available here. Across the castle-era versions, the shield, lettering and the relative size of the castle and hammers were adjusted over time. Treat any specific year as something to check against dated club publications or matchday material.

The 2016 redesign: hammers forward, castle removed

The current crest was unveiled ahead of the move to the London Stadium and came into use with that move in 2016. The club said the redesign followed consultation with supporters. It presented the change as a crest for the club’s new era and home. Three changes stand out. The castle was dropped, which fits the fact that it referred to a ground the club was leaving. The hammers were enlarged to become the central device. The word “London” was added under the club name, which the club framed as strengthening its identity, especially for audiences outside the UK. The addition of “London” and the loss of the castle drew criticism from some supporters. Who designed the 2016 crest is not established in the material available here.

Comparing the three versions

The table compares the phases on shared criteria. The rows covering structure and content describe features you can observe. The rows on small-size behaviour and editing are editorial assessments based on how detailed artwork usually behaves. They have not been tested on specific files. For your own visual judgments, compare official specimens at the same size, against the same background and in the same colour mode.

Criterion | Crossed hammers phase | Castle shield phase | 2016 crest

Primary symbol | Crossed hammers | Castle with crossed hammers in a shield | Enlarged crossed hammers in a shield

What it references | Thames Ironworks shipbuilding (club account) | Ironworks origin plus the Upton Park area | Ironworks origin plus the London location

Detail density | Low | High, because the castle has small architectural details | Moderate; the hammers carry most of the visual weight

Text | Varied by application | Club name in the shield | Club name plus “London”

Small-size behaviour (untested) | Likely robust | Fine castle details at risk of filling in | Likely clearer than the castle version

Vector editing (untested) | Few shapes | Many small paths and overlaps | Fewer, larger shapes than the castle version

The main tradeoff is between narrative and reduction. The castle shield carries more local story, but its fine details make it harder to reproduce at favicon, embroidery or single-colour sizes. The 2016 crest is more reducible, but it gives up the Upton Park reference and adds a word that some supporters dislike. Which version suits a project depends on what it needs to represent.

Practical next steps for working with the assets

• Match the version to the context. Use the 2016 crest when representing the club as it is today. Use an era-appropriate castle or hammers version for historical content, and label it with its period.
• Check the geometry itself, not the file extension. A file named .svg, .eps or .ai can contain an embedded raster image. Open it in a vector editor and check for editable paths and clean anchor points before relying on it.
• Tell official artwork apart from redraws. Many circulating vector crests are fan recreations whose proportions, curves or lettering differ from the official mark.
• Confirm colours from club brand guidance. Official colour values were not available for this article, so do not sample them from screenshots or kit photos.
• Secure permission before reuse. The crest is the club’s trademark, and finding a downloadable file does not grant the right to use it.

Open questions this guide could not confirm

• The year the castle first appeared on the crest, and the dates of each castle-era revision.
• Designer or agency credits for any version, including the 2016 redesign.
• The club’s full stated rationale and the details of its supporter consultation for the 2016 crest.
• Official colour specifications and approved artwork for each version.