Ashbourne Football Aka Shrovetide Football (1963)

Ashbourne, Derbyshire. Twice a year - on Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday - all the men in the town play football through the streets. There are two teams - those born north of the Henmore Brook are the ’upards’, the others are the ’downards’. C/U road sign to Ashbourne. Shots of the town centre. Shopkeepers are shown boarding their shop windows up in preparation for the game. Shots of 70 year old Percy Chadwick making the ball for the game from shoe leather and cork dust. John Roberts is shown painting the ball with the year and a Union Jack. Various shots of crowd filled streets. The ball is thrown into the crowd and the men scramble for it. M/Ss of children and women watching. Men are shown scraping over the ball as it goes into the brook, under a bridge and through the high street, where a lorry is trying to drive through the throng. Cuts exists - see separate record. FILM ID: A VIDEO FROM BRITISH PATHÉ. EXPLORE OUR ONLINE CHANNEL, BRITISH PATHÉ TV. IT’S FULL OF GREAT DOCUMENTARIES, FASCINATING INTERVIEWS, AND CLASSIC MOVIES. FOR LICENSING ENQUIRIES VISIT British Pathé also represents the Reuters historical collection, which includes more than 136,000 items from the news agencies Gaumont Graphic (1910-1932), Empire News Bulletin (1926-1930), British Paramount (1931-1957), and Gaumont British (1934-1959), as well as Visnews content from 1957 to the end of 1984. All footage can be viewed on the British Pathé website.