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Royal Shrovetide Football
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The Royal Shrovetide Football Match occurs annually on Shrove Tuesday
Shrove Tuesday
Shrove Tuesday is a term used in English-speaking countries, especially in Ireland, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Philippines, Germany, and parts of the United States for the day preceding Ash Wednesday, the first day of the season of fasting and prayer called Lent.The...

 and Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday, in the calendar of Western Christianity, is the first day of Lent and occurs 46 days before Easter. It is a moveable fast, falling on a different date each year because it is dependent on the date of Easter...

 in the town of Ashbourne
Ashbourne, Derbyshire
Ashbourne is a small market town in the Derbyshire Dales, England. It has a population of 10,302.The town advertises itself as 'The Gateway to Dovedale'.- Local customs :...

 in Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...

, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. It has been played since at least the 12th century, though the exact origins of the game are unknown due to a fire at the Royal Shrovetide Committee office in the 1890s which destroyed the earliest records. However, one of the most popular origin theories suggests the macabre notion that the 'ball' was originally a severed head tossed into the waiting crowd following an execution.

Overview

The game is played over two days on Shrove Tuesday
Shrove Tuesday
Shrove Tuesday is a term used in English-speaking countries, especially in Ireland, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Philippines, Germany, and parts of the United States for the day preceding Ash Wednesday, the first day of the season of fasting and prayer called Lent.The...

 and Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday, in the calendar of Western Christianity, is the first day of Lent and occurs 46 days before Easter. It is a moveable fast, falling on a different date each year because it is dependent on the date of Easter...

, starting each day at 2.00 pm and lasting until 10.00 pm. If the goal is scored (in local parlance, the ball is goaled) before 5.00 pm a new ball is released and play restarts from the town centre, otherwise play ends for the day. Despite the name, the ball is rarely kicked, though it is legal to kick, carry or throw it. Instead it generally moves through the town in a series of hugs, like a giant scrum in rugby, made up of dozens if not hundreds of people.

The two teams that play the game are known as the Up'Ards and the Down'Ards. Up'Ards traditionally are those town members born north of Henmore Brook, which runs through the town, and Down'Ards are those born south of the river. There are two goal posts 3 miles apart, one at Sturston Mill (where the Up'Ards attempt to score), the other at Clifton Mill (where the Down'Ards score). Although the Mills have long since been demolished part of their mill stones still stand on the bank of the river at each location and indeed themselves once served as the scoring posts. In 1996 the scoring posts were replaced once again by new smaller mill stones mounted onto purpose-built stone structures, which are still in use to this day and require the players to actually be in the river in order to 'goal' a ball, as this was seen as more challenging.

The actual process of 'goaling' a ball requires a player to hit it against the mill stone three successive times. This is not a purely random event however, as the eventual scorer is elected en route to the goal and would typically be someone who lives in Ashbourne or at least whose family is well known to the community. The chances of a 'tourist' goaling a ball is very remote, though they are welcome to join in the effort to reach the goal. When a ball is 'goaled' that particular game ends.

The game is played through the town with no limit on number of players or playing area (aside from those mentioned in the rules below). Thus shops in the town are boarded up during the game, and people are encouraged to park their cars away from the main streets. The game is started from a special plinth in the town centre where the ball is thrown to the players (or turned-up in the local parlance), often by a visiting dignitary. Before the ball is turned-up, the assembled crowd sing Auld Lang Syne
Auld Lang Syne
"Auld Lang Syne" is a Scots poem written by Robert Burns in 1788 and set to the tune of a traditional folk song . It is well known in many countries, especially in the English-speaking world; its traditional use being to celebrate the start of the New Year at the stroke of midnight...

 followed by God Save the Queen
God Save the Queen
"God Save the Queen" is an anthem used in a number of Commonwealth realms and British Crown Dependencies. The words of the song, like its title, are adapted to the gender of the current monarch, with "King" replacing "Queen", "he" replacing "she", and so forth, when a king reigns...

. The starting point has not changed in many years, although the town has changed around it; as a consequence, the starting podium is currently located in the town's main car park, which is named Shaw Croft, this being the ancient name of the field in which it stands.

The game has been known as Royal since the then Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII
Edward VIII of the United Kingdom
Edward VIII was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth, and Emperor of India, from 20 January to 11 December 1936.Before his accession to the throne, Edward was Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay...

) turned-up in 1928. The Prince suffered a bloody nose. The game received 'Royal Assent
Royal Assent
The granting of royal assent refers to the method by which any constitutional monarch formally approves and promulgates an act of his or her nation's parliament, thus making it a law...

' for a second time in 2003, when the game was once again started by the Prince of Wales, in this instance HRH Prince Charles. On this occasion, the Prince threw the ball into play from a raised plinth.

The game is played with a special ball, larger than a standard football, which is filled with Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

 cork to help the ball float when it inevitably ends up in the river. It is now hand-painted by local craftsmen specially for the occasion, and the design is usually related to the dignitary who will be turning-up the ball. Once a ball is goaled it is repainted with the name and in the design of the scorer and is theirs to keep. If a ball is not goaled it is repainted in the design of the dignitary that turned it up and given back to them to keep. Many of the balls are put on display in the local pubs during the game for the public to view; traditionally these pubs are divided by team (The Wheel Inn being a popular Down'Ard base for example).

Roll Of Honour

Since 1891 a "Roll of Honour" has been kept documenting both the turner-up and scorer of each game played. It can be seen from the list that the event has only been cancelled twice during that time, once in 1968 and again in 2001, both times due to the outbreak of Foot-and-mouth disease
Foot-and-mouth disease
Foot-and-mouth disease or hoof-and-mouth disease is an infectious and sometimes fatal viral disease that affects cloven-hoofed animals, including domestic and wild bovids...

. Even during both World Wars the games were played; indeed, the Ashbourne Regiment even played a version of the game in the German trenches during the First World War.

Visitors to Ashbourne can view the full list at The Green Man Hotel where it is displayed on a series of wooden plaques that are updated yearly.

The Rules

There are very few rules in existence. The main ones are:
  • Committing murder
    Murder
    Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...

     or manslaughter
    Manslaughter
    Manslaughter is a legal term for the killing of a human being, in a manner considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is said to have first been made by the Ancient Athenian lawmaker Dracon in the 7th century BC.The law generally differentiates...

     is prohibited. Unnecessary violence is frowned upon.
  • The ball may not be carried in a motorised vehicle.
  • The ball may not be hidden in a bag, coat or rucksack etc.
  • Cemeteries, churchyards and the town memorial gardens are strictly out of bounds.
  • Playing after 10 pm is forbidden.
  • To Score a Goal the ball must be tapped 3 times in the area of the Goal.

Local Dialect

The following are words and phrases you'll likely hear if ever you attend the game, with a brief explanation of their meaning:

Turner-up
The person who starts that day's game

Hug
The scrum like formation that naturally forms as the Up'Ards and Down'Ards battle for the ball

Break
When the ball is released from the hug and play moves quickly

Runners
Players that wait on the outside of the hug for the ball to break in order to collect the ball and cover as much ground as possible in the direction of their team's goal. There are selected runners for each team and they train regularly throughout the year, usually by running from goal to goal.

River Play
As the name suggests, this is a reference to the sections of the game played in the river; as with runners there will be members of the team that specialise in river play. It is possible for the entire game to be played solely in the river.

Clifton
The Down'ards goal location

Sturston
The Up'ards goal location

Duck
Local colloquialism
Colloquialism
A colloquialism is a word or phrase that is common in everyday, unconstrained conversation rather than in formal speech, academic writing, or paralinguistics. Dictionaries often display colloquial words and phrases with the abbreviation colloq. as an identifier...

 used as a friendly greeting, for example "Do you know where the ball is, duck?" Comparable words from other regions would include "mate" or "pet'".

The Green Man
Name of the pub/hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...

 where the pre-game dinner is hosted and speeches given; the public can view this event on TVs outside. When it is time to start the game the players enter the venue and hoist the turner-up in the air and carry them to the starting post.

Shrovie
Slang for the term Shrovetide

"Down wi' it"
A term often shouted by many onlookers supporting the Down'ards, mainly women.

The Anthem

The anthem is sung at a pre-game ceremony in a local hotel. It was written in 1891 for a concert held to raise money to pay off the fines ordered for playing the game in the street.

There's a town still plays this glorious game

Tho' tis but a little spot.

And year by year the contest's fought

From the field that's called Shaw Croft.

Then friend meets friend in friendly strife

The leather for to gain,

'And they play the game right manfully,

In snow, sunshine or rain.



Chorus



'Tis a glorious game, deny it who can

That tries the pluck of an Englishman.



For loyal the Game shall ever be

No matter when or where,

And treat that Game as ought but the free,

Is more than the boldest dare.

Though the up's and down's of its chequered life

May the ball still ever roll,

Until by fair and gallant strife

We've reached the treasur'd goal.



Chorus



'Tis a glorious game, deny it who can

That tries the pluck of an Englishman.

Films and Media

The game attracts a large audience from around the world. The event is often attended by reporters and documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...

 makers from several Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

an Countries, along with those from the USA and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

.

Recent appearances on UK television include Blue Peter
Blue Peter
Blue Peter is the world's longest-running children's television show, having first aired in 1958. It is shown on CBBC, both in its BBC One programming block and on the CBBC channel. During its history there have been many presenters, often consisting of two women and two men at a time...

, where the presenters experienced the game for themselves, and gameshow They Think It's All Over
They Think It's All Over (TV series)
They Think It's All Over was a British comedy panel game with a sporting theme produced by Talkback Thames and shown on BBC One. The show's name is taken from Kenneth Wolstenholme's famous 1966 World Cup commentary quotation, "they think it's all over...it is now!" and the show used the phrase as...

, where it was featured as the "Unusual Sport" and later in the show some local Down'Ards appeared on the "Feel the Sportsman" round.

The 2006 games were attended by a Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

 film company acquiring footage for the upcoming docu-film being produced and co-directed by Peter Baxter called Wild In The Streets. The Internet Movie Database now lists it for a 2012 release.

See also

  • Knattleikr
    Knattleikr
    Knattleikr is an ancient ball game played by the Vikings of Iceland.-How the game was played:Today no one knows the game's exact rules but there is some information.We know that:*Players were divided into teams....

    , a Viking ball game.
  • Caid
    Caid (sport)
    Caid is the name given to various ancient and traditional Irish football games. "Caid" is now used by people in some parts of Ireland to refer to modern Gaelic football.The word caid originally referred to the ball which was used...

    , an early Irish ball game.
  • La soule
    La Soule
    La soule, also known as choule, is a traditional team sport that originated in Normandy and Picardy.The ball, called a soule, could be solid or hollow and made of either wood or leather. Leather balls would be filled with hay, bran, horse hair or moss...

    , a norman ball game also played in Brittany and Cornwall.
  • Medieval football in Europe.

External links


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