LOCAL DERBY

My neighbour (today) comes from Derbyshire and having bumped into him this morning, it was inevitable that a conversation would involve football. It wasn't about his local league team Derby County or Matlock Town in the Non-League, but we ventured towards the Royal Shrovetide Football match held in Ashbourne (at Shrovetide!) when two huge gangs of sporting lads attempted to muscle a leather ball from one part of the parish to another, aiming towards a land mark in each settlement.

One band of brothers living in and around the north of Ashbourne at St Michael's Church, attempted to get the ball to a "goal" in St Peters Church to the south of the parish. A 1000 bodies or so, joined in this bizarre event, hoping for pancakes I suppose at the end of the day's work, assuming that no participants lost their lives. Some did. Those who didn't survive might have drowned in the local River Derwent or Makeaton Brook which they had to cross.

An individual may have have been lucky and just been crushed by the weight of numbers. The affair, known as an "Upping" began in the city market place. The ball hurled into the awaiting mass was then "scrummed", booted, thrown or whatever one way or another. Giving away possession probably wasn't a good idea. Being brave in the "scrum" was a bit daft too.

The event known as a "Derby" involved two teams from settlements, living close to one another taking part in competition. The Twelfth Century Earl of Derby, in 1780 gave the world, The Derby, when a huge crowd of supporters came to Epsom Down to watch the famous horse race. The local crowd would number 1000s and such local football matches between neighbouring teams would attract similar interest.

Some say that the annual rugby league matches between Widnes RLFC and Wigan RLFC could be regarded as "derbies" since the two towns "neighboured" one another on land owned by the Earl of Derby. The local newspaper, The Widnes Evening News" on March 9th 1889 also mentioned a rugby league derby between the local teams.

The Earl of Derby's estate covered the grounds of Liverpool FC and Everton FC, across Stanley Park, another reason for the reference to the title "Derby" when these two teams met. These days there are "derbies" in many conurbations where two football clubs meet.

One ancestor from the Derby/Stanley lineage in 1892, was Governor General of Canada, who donated the Stanley Cup to the nation for their national ice hockey championship.
The Earls of Derby, Arms of Stanley. from 1139

In my local area, mob games were played in and around Penistone, now the home of Penistone Church FC, more calmly playing in the Toolstation League. Indeed, local, Adam Eyre, writing in 1646, recorded "a coming together of two teams from Penistone and Thurlstone, on Bord Hill", (on the local moorland),  "where the crowd hindered, and nothing was done!" What no ref??!!

John Stones of Manchester City and England fame, was brought up in Thurlstone, but not required in this, a local derby.