Ancient shrove Tuesday tradition will attract crowds

Feb 24 2009 by Brian Daniel, The Journal

AN AGE-OLD tradition will bring the people of a Northumberland market town together this afternoon. Alnwick’s Shrovetide Football match is an annual event which has taken place in The Pastures beneath the town’s Castle dating back to the 18th Century.

This afternoon’s proceedings begin at 2pm when the Duke of Northumberland will throw the match ball to the waiting hordes from the castle’s barbican.

Players and committee alike then walk in procession to The Pastures.

The game is contested by the two parishes which make up Alnwick – St Michael’s and St Paul’s – with players representing the one they live in.

The pitch is quarter of a mile long and either end is marked by four feet wide ‘hales’, the game’s equivalent of goals.

Teams play until a hale is scored – or for half an hour if not – and then change ends.

The first parish to score two hales is the winner.

Prizes are given for hale scorers and good play before the final part of the Shrovetide tradition is played out.

The ball is kicked into the River Aln and players dive into the freezing water and battle to emerge with it on the far side.

Whoever claims the ball gets to keep it.

This year’s event had been in some doubt until two weeks ago due to the closure of the Lion Bridge which forms part of the procession route.

The bridge was closed after sustaining damage in last September’s floods and the Shrovetide committee had no other means of accessing The Pastures.

With more damage having been sustained to the structure’s foundations after repairs began, the committee was beginning to grow concerned as the game approached and the bridge remained closed.

Organisers passed their fears to highways authority Northumberland County Council, which ensured that the bridge was duly opened two weeks ago.

Committee secretary Bob Bingham said last night: “We are delighted that the bridge is now open so that we can get across it.

“Everything should be open as normal, we just hope for a good turnout.”

The organising committee’s oldest recorded minutes of the event are from 1872.

The match lapsed during the Second World War but was revived in 1953 following an approach by the then Duke of Northumberland to some of the town’s dignitaries.

It has taken place every year since with the exception of one cancellation due to foot-and-mouth disease.