Sedgefield Ball Game: The Shrove Tuesday sport with no teams, few rules and 700 years of history

Jonny Blair braves a visit to Sedgefield to see the annual Shrove Tuesday ball game in action for ITVX

When the clock strikes one on Shrove Tuesday, the men of Sedgefield appear to go into battle.

But this is no fight. It is the centuries-old Sedgefield Ball Game.

The annual event sees mostly men and boys tackle each other, pile into scrums and do whatever it takes to lay their hands on the small leather ball which doubles up as the winner's prize.

"The families who've come from Sedgefield all want to win the ball," one spectator told ITV Tyne Tees this week. "It's kind of the trophy of Sedgefield."

With no teams and few rules - the ball can be thrown or kicked - it is every man for himself.

It tends to last for hours, inevitably making its way down to a nearby beck, before heading back to the starting point at the top of the main street where the winner passes it through an old bull ring.

Scrums are par for the course at the annual Sedgefield Ball Game. Credit: ITV Tyne Tees
The crowd in Sedgefield runs towards the ball as part of the Shrove Tuesday tradition. Credit: ITV Tyne Tees

In Sedgefield traditions "matter tremendously". Photographs of the game date back to 1911 while a record of winners at the town's Golden Lion pub goes back 150 years. But its history is deeper than that.

"About 700 years ago the church, St Edmund's Church, which is very central to this town, had just been completed," said Norma Neal, a member of the Sedgefield Local History Society.

"The builders challenged the local men to a game of football, which wasn't anything like today's football.

"I don't know what they expected it to be. But that's when it started. Back in those days the rector threw the ball from the top of the tower."

People gather in the centre of Sedgefield for the annual Shrove Tuesday tradition.
A snapshot of the tradition from the past.

Adam Dovaston was hailed victorious in 2022 and suggested the game could get a little rough at times. Though at the end, there are usually handshakes and hugs.

"[It] depends where you are," he explained. "If you're up here during the day in the thick of it it's a but more fun. Down the beck it can be a bit more interesting.

"I'd say you don't really think much. It's an instinctive thing. There's not many thoughts going through your head. But it's all fun and games."

Being crowned winner is a particular point of pride when the title has been held by generations of the same family.

The ball game was captured in action by Tyne Tees in 1995

The bull ring in the centre of Sedgefield marks the game's 'finish line'. Credit: ITV Tyne Tees

Adam said winning was the "best feeling" he had had, adding: "Especially when people in your family have won it. My dad won it back in the 90s. It was definitely a good thing to carry on the tradition. Growing up I always thought about it."

It is that pride and the pull of family and tradition that helps keep the game alive.

Historian Norma added: "All of these people could say 'I don't think I'll bother today','it's a bit wet', 'I might damage my boots' or whatever. 'I've got a bit of an ache in my back.' But they don't."

As well as one of the town's pubs, the local history society keeps a record of photos and information from games past.

Embedded firmly in this community, Sedgefield Ball Game is a tradition that looks set to continue long into the future.

A statue commemorates the age-old Sedgefield Ball Game. Credit: ITV Tyne Tees

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