As the dust settles on Ashbourne Royal Shrovetide Football 2024, Richard Bradley captures the essence of a world-famous event.
A CALL TO ACTION
A player in front of protective shutters on St John Street roars encouragement to teammates during the 2019 Ash Wednesday game. Derby once staged a similar match until the town authorities quashed the custom in 1846. A physical reminder of the custom in Derby are some similar external shutters located on a house on Friar Gate.
THE RULES OF ENGAGEMENT
The ‘pitch’ of Ashbourne Shrovetide football is essentially the whole of the town between the two outlying goals (Clifton Mill and Sturston Mill), with certain exceptions: the play must not enter churchyards, cemeteries or places of worship. Here, a child’s climbing frame has been strategically repurposed during the 2017 Shrove Tuesday match.
MAKING A SPLASH
Whether your allegiance lies with the Up’ards or Down’ards depends which side of the Henmore Brook you were born. Players frequently enter the chilly waters during the game as players try to push their team towards victory, such as here in 2017.
DAMAGE LIMITATION
The atmosphere in Ashbourne at Shrovetide leading up to the 2pm start of the game resembles a scene from a spaghetti western movie with a sense of impending drama. The town’s handsome Georgian shopfronts are barricaded with wooden boards to protect them from the mayhem to ensue.
BALLS OF THE PAST
A handful of places in the UK still stage Shrovetide football matches, other examples being Atherstone in Warwickshire and Alnwick, Northumberland. One aspect unique to Ashbourne is the balls are painted beforehand, as chronicled in the 2022 book A Load Of Old Balls. Balls from previous years are displayed around town during Shrovetide, including here in the Wheel Inn.
A STEAMY HUG
The rugby-scrum-like clamour of players is known as the ‘hug’ and is encircled by a much larger outer layer of spectators, many of whom are sent fleeing in panic once the ball breaks cover. During cold conditions, the hug can often be seen emanating a cloud of steam.
DAY TWO: WEDNESDAY
After a potential eight hours’ gruelling gameplay on Shrove Tuesday – the townsfolk do it all over again on Ash Wednesday. Tuesday’s match tends to attract more spectators and tourists, hence you are more likely to see the ball being kicked on Ash Wednesday as per a conventional game of football.
A HISTORIC VICTORY
Shrovetide Football has a long and proud pedigree in Ashbourne, although no one is quite sure how long it has been played. A fire at the Shrovetide Committee headquarters in the 1890s destroyed historical records, but a 1683 poem by local man Charles Cotton seems to make reference to the game. This photo from around the 1920s shows the Up’ards goaling the ball at Sturston Mill.
TURN UP AT THE START
It is a great honour for locals chosen to ‘turn up’ or throw the ball into the expectant crowd of players to begin the game. Here, local firefighter Paul Holmes is paraded through town with the ball before the 2019 Ash Wednesday Game.
PRESERVING OUR TRADITIONS
Ashburnians are fiercely passionate about their tradition. These boards recording scorers and turner uppers over the years previously hung in the Green Man Inn where the pre-match meal was held. After the pub closed in 2012 the boards were transferred to the town’s library and the meal now takes place in the leisure centre.
SNOWY WEATHER
The date of Shrovetide is linked to the moveable feast of Easter and can fall any time between February 3 and March 9. The 2013 Shrove Tuesday match, on February 12 was played with a light dusting of snow on the ground.
