Atherstone Ball Game
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The Atherstone Ball Game is a "
medieval football Medieval football is a modern term used for a wide variety of the localised informal football games which were invented and played in Europe, England during the Middle Ages. Alternative names include folk football, mob football and Shrovetide fo ...
" game played annually on
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 ...
in the English town of
Atherstone Atherstone is a market town and civil parish in the North Warwickshire district of Warwickshire, England. Located in the far north of the county, Atherstone is on the A5 national route, and is adjacent to the border with Leicestershire which ...
,
Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...
. The game honours a match played between
Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...
and Warwickshire in 1199, when teams competed for a bag of gold, and which was won by Warwickshire. At one time similar events were held in many towns throughout England, but Atherstone's is now one of at least three such games that are still played each year at
Shrovetide Shrovetide is the Christian liturgical period prior to the start of Lent that begins on Shrove Saturday and ends at the close of Shrove Tuesday. The season focuses on examination of conscience and repentance before the Lenten fast. It includes ...
, the others being the Royal Shrovetide Football match held in Ashbourne,
Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...
, and The Alnwick Shrovetide Football Match in Alnwick, Northumberland.


Overview

The game is an annual event played in Atherstone each Shrove Tuesday. Shops in the town are boarded up in preparation for its staging, while local children are allowed to leave school early on that day. The two-hour game is played in the town's main street, Long Street, and sees groups of players compete for possession of a giant ball that is specially made for the occasion. The match is usually started at 3.00pm on Shrove Tuesday by a celebrity guest, usually someone associated with the area, who is invited to throw the ball from the upstairs of a building on Long Street. The Atherstone branch of
Barclays Bank Barclays PLC (, occasionally ) is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services ...
was used until its closure in 2019; the
Conservative Club The Conservative Club was a London gentlemen's club, now dissolved, which was established in 1840. In 1950 it merged with the Bath Club, and was disbanded in 1981. From 1845 until 1959, the club occupied a building at 74 St James's Street where ...
(known locally as the Connie) was then selected as a replacement venue to start the game, beginning in 2020. The upstairs window of Mark Webster's Estate Agents was used in 2024.
The game itself has few rules, two being that play is restricted to Long Street and participants are not allowed to kill anyone. The winner is declared at 5.00pm, the title going to the person who has possession of the ball when the whistle sounds. Ahead of the game itself, sweets and pennies are thrown to local children. The ball is decorated with ribbons before the game, and prizes are also awarded to anyone who gets hold of one, as well as to the person who gets the golden penny, thrown into the crowd shortly before the game commences. The ribbons are usually red, white and blue to represent the colours of the
Union Flag The Union Jack or Union Flag is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. The Union Jack was also used as the official flag of several British colonies and dominions before they adopted their own national flags. It is sometimes a ...
, but other coloured ribbons have appeared from time to time.A black ribbon was added to honour George Cheshire, whose family won the game at least 12 times during the 1930s and 1940s, and who died in 1941; and in 1995 to honour Bertie Ford, a chairman of the Ball Game Committee, who had recently died. A gold ribbon was added in 1999 to celebrate the game's 800th anniversary. Gameplay can become quite intense as players compete to keep hold of the ball, with clothes torn off and occasional violence. The ''
New Zealand Herald ''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation in New Zealand ...
'' has described it as "combining all the best aspects of the
UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The larg ...
,
volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...
and Gloucester's famous cheese wheel chase". The event is policed by officers from
Warwickshire Police Warwickshire Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing Warwickshire in England. It is the second smallest territorial police force in England and Wales after the City of London Police, with 1,126 regular officers as of Ju ...
, while members of
West Midlands Ambulance Service The West Midlands Ambulance Service University NHS Foundation Trust (WMAS UNHSFT) is responsible for providing NHS ambulance services within the West Midlands region of England. It is one of ten ambulance trusts providing England with emergenc ...
are on standby to treat any injuries. Famous people who have started the game include those from the worlds of sport, acting and television. Among those to throw the ball out to the crowd are rugby player Wally Holmes in 1953, actor
Sid James Sidney James (born Solomon Joel Cohen; 8 May 1913 – 26 April 1976) was a South African–British actor and comedian whose career encompassed radio, television, stage and screen. Noted for his distinctive laugh, he was best known for numerou ...
in 1963, comedian Jimmy Tarbuck in 1968, comedian
Larry Grayson Larry Grayson (31 August 1923 – 7 January 1995), born William Sulley White, was an English comedian and television presenter. He hosted the BBC's Saturday-night peak-time TV game show ''The Generation Game'' in the late 1970s and early 1980s, ...
in 1976, former
Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...
manager Brian Little in 1985 and 2019, soul-singer
Edwin Starr Charles Edwin Hatcher (January 21, 1942 – April 2, 2003), known by his stage name Edwin Starr, was an American singer and songwriter. He is best remembered for his Norman Whitfield-produced Motown singles of the 1970s, most notably the num ...
in 1994, footballer
Gordon Banks Gordon Banks (30 December 1937 – 12 February 2019) was an English professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, he made 679 appearances during a 20-year professional care ...
in 1995, television newsreader Llewella Bailey in 2000, and actress
Annette Badland Annette Badland is a British actress known for a wide range of roles on television, radio, stage, and film. She is best known for her roles as Charlotte in the BBC crime drama series '' Bergerac'', Margaret Blaine in the BBC science fiction se ...
in 2017. Singer
George Formby George Formby, (born George Hoy Booth; 26 May 1904 – 6 March 1961), was an English actor, singer-songwriter and comedian who became known to a worldwide audience through his films of the 1930s and 1940s. On stage, screen and record he ...
was also pictured at the game in 1937. The 2020 game had two personalities to launch proceedings, former
Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Coventry, West Midlands. The club plays in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club is nicknamed The Sky Blues after the sky blue colou ...
footballers Dave Bennett and Kirk Stephens. The 2024 game was started by comedian Josh Pugh, himself a native of Atherstone.


History

The original medieval football game honoured by the annual event was held in Atherstone in 1199, during which teams from Warwickshire and Leicestershire competed to win a
bag of gold A money bag (or money sack) is a bag normally used to hold and transport coins and banknotes, often closed with a drawstring.
offered as a prize by King John. This original "Match of Gold", as it became known, was won by Warwickshire. The Ball Game was once one of many such games held in towns throughout England, but is presently one of three that continue to be held over Shrovetide, the other two being the Royal Shrovetide Football match in
Ashbourne, Derbyshire Ashbourne is a market town in the Derbyshire Dales district in Derbyshire, England. Its population was measured at 8,377 in the 2011 census and was estimated to have grown to 9,163 by 2019. It has many historical buildings and independent sho ...
, and Scoring the Hales in
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 ...
, Northumberland. Medieval football matches were more common before the 20th century, but their violent nature led the government of the time to pass the
Highway Act 1835 The Highway Act 1835 ( 5 & 6 Will. 4. c. 50) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was one of the Highway Acts 1835 to 1885. Most of the Act has been repealed; , only three sections remain in force. Parish boards The Highway ...
to prevent it being played in the streets, although games continued to take place in Atherstone. In 1901, an attempt by police and local authorities to also have the Atherstone game banned was rejected by parish councillors. The game continued throughout
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
and
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, even though shopkeepers had difficulty sourcing wood to board up their premises, and leather for the ball was difficult to obtain. The Cheshire family, who won the game during World War II, filled the ball with cigarettes and tobacco to send to British troops of the Eighth Army, who were stationed in the
Sahara desert The Sahara (, ) is a desert spanning across North Africa. With an area of , it is the largest hot desert in the world and the list of deserts by area, third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Ar ...
. Before the 1970s the game was played throughout the town, but was restricted to Long Street because the ball frequently ended up in the
Coventry Canal The Coventry Canal is a navigable narrow canal in the Midlands of England. It starts in Coventry and ends to the north at Fradley Junction, just north of Lichfield, where it joins the Trent and Mersey Canal. It also has connections with the ...
. In 1986, a public meeting was held to determine the game's future after that year's event got out of hand. The outcome of this meeting was the formation of a Ball Game committee, which now has responsibility for organising the event. The 2001 foot-and-mouth outbreak almost led to that year's game being cancelled, but it was given the go-ahead at the last minute, becoming the only such game of its type to be held in 2001 as the Ashbourne game did not take place. The 2005 game marked the first occasion on which money was raised for charity, with funds donated to the Indian Ocean Tsunami Appeal. In 2012, and following cuts to policing that would reduce the number of officers present at the game, a new company was formed to help the game comply with health and safety regulations. An 18-year-old competitor from the nearby town of
Nuneaton Nuneaton ( ) is a market town in Warwickshire, England, close to the county border with Leicestershire to the north-east.OS Explorer Map 232 : Nuneaton & Tamworth: (1:25 000) : Nuneaton's population at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 censu ...
was also treated in hospital after being knocked unconscious during the final minutes of the game. Violence broke out at the 2019 game and committee chairman Rob Bernard later suggested those responsible for the violence threatened the game's future, stating: "In the past, when things have got out of hand, we've put it out there that the future of the Ball Game is under threat and it calms down a bit the following year... But then it comes back again. It is the nature of it." Following the 2019 game, a clip of participants fighting received 3.4 million views on
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, and a report in the ''
Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily Tabloid journalism, tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1903, it is part of Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), which is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the tit ...
'' newspaper claimed that a man's ear had been ripped off during the fracas. However, no such casualties were reported either by police or ambulance officials. The 2020 game, held on 25 February of that year, was abandoned around halfway through the match when a steward was taken ill, having collapsed from a
heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...
at the town's Conservative Club. He was treated at the scene by first responders – special constables and
paramedic A paramedic is a healthcare professional trained in the medical model, whose main role has historically been to respond to emergency calls for medical help outside of a hospital. Paramedics work as part of the emergency medical services (EMS), ...
s from
West Midlands Ambulance Service The West Midlands Ambulance Service University NHS Foundation Trust (WMAS UNHSFT) is responsible for providing NHS ambulance services within the West Midlands region of England. It is one of ten ambulance trusts providing England with emergenc ...
– before being airlifted to hospital, where he underwent medical procedures. A
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page was subsequently established to provide financial help for his family. In 2021, the game was cancelled for the first time in its 821year history due to the ongoing
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 ...
. It returned in March the following year. The 2023 game was reported to have been the scene of a number of violent incidents, including a mass brawl where several kicks and punches were thrown, and during which damage was caused to a William Hill bookies. This prompted Warwickshire Police to issue a warning prior to the 2024 game that "Levels of violence witnessed last year will not be tolerated".


Ball manufacturer

For several years the ball was made by the sportswear manufacturer
Webb Ellis William Webb Ellis (24 November 1806 – 24 February 1872) was an English Anglican clergyman who, by tradition, has been credited as the inventor of rugby football while a pupil at Rugby School. According to legend, Webb Ellis picked up the bal ...
. Prior to this Alan Johnson the local saddler from Market Street was the maker from the 1950s. Following the 2017 game, Webb Ellis cancelled their contract to make the ball. As a consequence, Atherstone upholsterer, Pete Smith, was commissioned to produce the ball for the 2018 game. This marked the first occasion the ball had been made in the town since 1982. Smith based his design on an original cardboard template made by local craftsman Brian Brown.


Media coverage

Coverage of the game was first heard on
BBC radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927. The service provides national radio stations cove ...
in 1934, and footage of it was first shown on television in 1958. The game was featured on a 2018 edition of
BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...
's ''
The One Show ''The One Show'' is a British television magazine and chat show programme. Broadcast live on BBC One weekdays at 7:00 pm, it features topical stories and studio guests. It is currently co-hosted by Alex Jones, Roman Kemp, Ronan Keating ...
'', drawing criticism from both users of social media because of the game's rough nature, and from Atherstone residents because of the negative way the event had been portrayed by the programme.


Legacy

In 2011, the ''
Coventry Telegraph The ''Coventry Telegraph'' is a local English tabloid newspaper. It is published by Coventry Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Reach PLC Midlands Ltd, along with a number of other local publications. Publication history It was founded as ' ...
'' reported that a new housing development in Australia which shares its name with Atherstone was keen to host a version of the ball game, and forge links with its UK counterpart. The article quoted Bob Turner, a local councillor from the
City of Melton The City of Melton is a local government area in Victoria, Australia, on Melbourne's western rural–urban fringe. It covers , and as of the , Melton had a population of 178,960. It is governed by the Melton City Council. The seat of local ...
, who said: "It would be great to import the game when we have a main street built. It could be a good way to launch the main street and the development. But we would probably have to find out the rules involved first!" Harold Taft, a long-term member of the Ball Game Committee who had recently stepped down from the role, said he would be willing to offer the new town some advice, but would not want them to create an exact replica of the game.


Notes


References

{{reflist Football in Warwickshire Traditional football Warwickshire folklore English traditions Atherstone 1199 establishments in England