Hundreds bid to be king of the castle

Feb 6 2008 by Dave Black, The Journal

HUNDREDS descended on sodden land beneath Alnwick Castle yesterday for the town’s annual Shrovetide football match.

Young and old turned out in shorts and T-shirts despite the cold and were soon throwing themselves into tackles in the puddles of the Pastures.

The tradition goes back centuries, with the organising committee’s oldest recorded minutes dating back to 1872.

Chairman Tommy Pickard said afterwards: “It has gone very well, there’s a good turnout of players with conditions not at their best.”

Proceedings started at 2pm when Lord James Percy, brother of the Duke of Northumberland, threw the ball to the waiting crowds from the ramparts at Alnwick Castle.

Players and committee then made their way in procession to the Pastures pitch – a quarter of a mile long and marked at either end by 4ft-wide goals or hales.

Players divided into the parishes of St Paul’s and St Michael’s with the first to score two the winner.

Scorer of the first goal, Steven Temple, 35, of Lindisfarne Road, assistant manager of Alnwick’s Willowburn Sport and Leisure Centre, has taken part in the event for the past 25 years but now plans to retire having notched around eight hales over the years.

The winner came as the second third of play neared an end, 15-year-old Ross Mackenley, of Aydon Crescent, beating off older players to scramble the ball home and make it 2-0 to St Paul’s.

The Duchess High School student had been given the afternoon off to take part along with all other pupils living in Alnwick.

He said: “It is great, I have been playing for years with the lads. It is good crack.”

On the conclusion of the game, prizes were given for good play and to the hale scorers.

The final part of the Shrovetide tradition was then played out with the committee chairman kicking the ball into the River Aln.

Players dived into the freezing water and battled it out for the honour of carrying the ball to the opposite shore.

Lee Pattinson, 26, of Clayport Gardens, emerged victorious – with his job as a swimming teacher at the leisure centre standing him in good stead.