Subject(s): Anonymous Sport: Football Location: Mayfield Road, Ashbourne, Derbyshire Unveiled: 13/9/2008 Sculptor: Neil Hawksworth Material: Steel Status: In Situ Inscription(s): Plaque: Ye Olde & Ancient Game. Ashbourne Royal Shrovetide Football. Ashbourne remains one of the handful of towns in the British Isles where street football, or ‘hug’ ball, is still played. The game is the forerunner of football, and England is the country attributed with having the first official teams and leagues. The earliest written account of the Ashbourne Shrovetide game dates from 1683 when Charles Cotton recorded play. It is believed that the game has been played in town since time immemorial. Royal status was granted when an Ashbourne ball was presented to H.R.H Princess Mary (sister of King George V) on the occasion of her wedding in 1922. In 1928 H.R.H. The Prince of Wales (later Edward VIII) ‘turned-up’ the ball, and H.R.H. The Prince of Wales (Prince Charles) honored the game by ‘turning-up’ in 2003. The game is played by ‘Up’ards’ and ‘Down’ards’ on Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday. Allegiance is decided depending of which side of the River Henmore the player is born, with each side having many hundreds of players. The goals were the mill wheels at Clifton and Sturston, the sites of Mills three miles apart on the River Henmore. Today, with the mills demolished, these are represented with purpose built stone goals upon which the ball must be touched three times for it to be ‘goaled’. The game begins at 2pm each day when the ball is ‘turned-up’ from a raised dais in Shaw Croft, formerly a field but now a car park in the centre of the town. The play quickly becomes a heaving scrum test of strength and stamina. Much of the action takes place in and around the river henmore that runs through the centre of the town. Play ends at 10pm or when a goal is scored, if after 5pm. The leather ball is hand made and highly decorated with designs relevant to the ‘turner up’ of the day but always including the Royal Crown and Union Flag. After ratification by the Royal Shrovetide Committee any person who goals a ball is allowed to keep it. In the event of no goal the ball ‘turner up’ retains it. This sculpture and adjacent car park were gifted to the Town in 2008 by Cedar House Developments Ltd, whose Chairman and Asbourian, Mr Peter Gadsby is amongst a select few who have both goaled a ball and had the honour of ‘turning up’. [map of area in which game is played] Links: None