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Madhatter
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Karma: 18 |  | Atherstone Ball Game
« Thread Started on Jul 14, 2006, 9:41pm » | |
Atherstone ball game is played every year on Shrove Tuesday. The main street, Long Street, is closed from Station Street at the North end To North Street at the south end . The shops windows are boarded up, the crowds gather, and at 3pm a large over sized leather ball weighted with water and decorated with 3 ribbons is thrown from the window of Barclays bank. There are no teams, no goals and few rules. The ball is played from roughly the white bear public house(The Clock) to the Old swan inn Public House(Formally White Swan), women and children get invited to 'kick' the ball along route inbetween the strong men booting it high above street level along the main street. Sometimes it ends up on the roofs, and this is the reason for it being weighted with water. From 4.30 the ball may be legitimately deflated or hidden to help the winner keep hold of the ball. The winner is the person holding the ball at 5pm. The persons that manage to grab the ribbons get prizes. The people that manage to grab the ribbons when the ball is first thrown out get prizes.
The game is reputed to have originally been played between Warwickshire and Leicestershire. Now played 807 years the ball game is a famous Atherstone tradition. The origin of the game, in the reign of King John, is thought to have been a 'Match of Gold' that was played between the Warwickshire Lads and the Leicestershire Lads on Shrove Tuesday.
The 'ball' used is specially made each year and is thrown out by a prominent sporting or show business personality, nowdays it's from Barclays bank, but it been thrown out from various premises over the years. One was cooke and ryders sports and toys at 125 Long Street(Formally Kinghorns), however when the shop closed during the 80's a new window had to be found.
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arkad
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« Reply #1 on Jul 14, 2006, 9:50pm » | |
I was a steward once. Old friend got me the job. It meant I got a yellow jacket and a free pint in the Angel 
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Madhatter
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« Reply #2 on Jul 14, 2006, 10:19pm » | |
You're brave. You'd need the pint to calm your nerves, and that was from just going in the Angel 
Now I've got a Question, well a few actually.
Why do historians think it was played between Leicestershire and Warwcikshire, and if it was why would that have changed?
Did we infact have TWO ball games, one played on Shrove Tuesday and one played on carnival day?
(edit to correct spelling)
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arkad
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« Reply #3 on Jul 15, 2006, 11:54am » | |
Must admit, I enjoyed it immensly. It meant that I could just pull people off the pile and throw them aside to see who was at the bottom to take the next kick. I lost count of the amount of times someone raised their fist to punch me, then saw the yellow jacket and held themselves back!
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Madhatter
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Madhatter
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« Reply #5 on Sept 25, 2006, 10:18pm » | |
Sourced the picture, need to check I can use it. The Atherstone carnival has in fact featured a ball game in the past, butchers n bakers v publicans. This is a GIANT ball though too big to kick from what I can see.
Also does anyone know what year Dave 'Boney' Smith won the Atherstone Ball Game.
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ht
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« Reply #6 on Feb 16, 2007, 9:55am » | |
Dave (boney) Smith won the ball in 1991, the ball was thrown out by Atherstone Golfer Paul Broadhurst.
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Madhatter
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« Reply #8 on May 3, 2007, 6:28pm » | |
Any old pictures, postcards, videos of the ball game will be greatfully recieved. I'd like to build up a section on it for the main pages of the site. Thanks.
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