The Sedgefield Ball Game is a
mob football
Medieval football is a modern term used for a wide variety of the localised informal football games which were invented and played in England during the Middle Ages. Alternative names include folk football, mob football and Shrovetide football. ...
game played every
Shrove Tuesday
Shrove Tuesday (also known as Pancake Tuesday or Pancake Day) is the final day of Shrovetide, which marks the end of the pre-Lenten season. Lent begins the following day with Ash Wednesday. Shrove Tuesday is observed in many Christian state, Ch ...
across the town of
Sedgefield in
County Durham
County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...
, England.
According to tradition, the parish clerk is obliged to furnish a football on Shrove Tuesday, which he throws into the market place, where it is contested for by the mechanics against the agriculturists of the town and neighbourhood. More recently, however, it is a secret group of local residents who organise the game, provide the ball and choose who will start the game off.
WHELLAN, F. (1894) History Topography, and Directory of the County Palatine of Durham. Second Edition. Great Britain: Hanson & Co.
Gameplay
At 1.00 p.m, the game's leather ball is passed three times through a bull ring in the centre of the village. The object of the game used to be to "ally" the ball at two goals at either end of the village. However the ball can not be allied until 4.00 p.m.. due to the expansion of the village it now has only one "ally", which has been slightly moved from its original setting. The ally is a beck at the south of the village. Until 4pm the ball is played around the surrounding villages, and it is a great privilege to get even a kick, as it can get quite physical. The first person to get the ball to any of the local pubs by tradition receives a free drink.
Once the ball has been allied it must be returned to the bull ring in the centre of the village and passed through it three times. The whole task is quite difficult as this is an individual and not a team game.
Winners
A plaque displaying winners can be found in The Golden Lion pub.
The game was cancelled in 2021 due to the
COVID-19 Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
.
See also
*
Royal Shrovetide Football in the town of
Ashbourne in Derbyshire, England.
*
Scoring the Hales at
Alnwick
Alnwick ( ) is a market town in Northumberland, England, of which it is the traditional county town. The population at the 2011 Census was 8,116.
The town is south of Berwick-upon-Tweed and the Scottish border, inland from the North Sea ...
a small market town in north Northumberland, in the north-east of England.
*
Cornish hurling
Hurling () is an outdoor team game played only in Cornwall, England, played with a small silver ball. While the sport shares its name with the Irish game of hurling, the two sports are completely different.
Once played widely in Cornwall, the ...
at
St Columb Major
St Columb Major is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Often referred to locally as ''St Columb'', it is approximately southwest of Wadebridge and east of Newquay
Ordnance Survey: Landran ...
in Cornwall
References
{{Reflist
External links
A report and photographs from the Ball Game in 2005.Shrovetide shenanigans
a special Report from the BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
, (February 24, 1998)
Hundreds take part in Sedgefield Ball GameDelivery driver wins annual Sedgefield ball game
*http://www.futureproofphotography.co.uk/sedgefield-shrove-tuesday-ball-game.html
Sport in County Durham
Traditional football
Sport in England
Northumbrian folklore
County Durham folklore
Sedgefield