Exeter Cathedral, Wrestlers roof-bosses (1286)
The earliest visual evidence of wrestling in Devon is roof bosses at Exeter Cathedral, dated to around the 1280s.
Roof bosses are carved decorative features placed at the intersections of vaulted ceilings in medieval churches and cathedrals. Beyond their structural role in covering joints, they often depict religious scenes, mythical creatures, or glimpses of everyday life.
In Exeter Cathedral, three roof bosses show figures engaged in wrestling. While their exact meaning cannot be proven, they likely reflect the lived culture of the surrounding community. Medieval craftsmen often drew inspiration from familiar scenes, embedding local identity into sacred spaces.
Each boss is actually the same, showing the same position, wherein the wrestlers grip tunics around the waist and collar. Based upon the traces and remnants of colour, it is believed that one was coloured red and the other green. Although not provable, this detail is interesting because in the nineteenth century, wrestlers would wear coloured cockerels on the backs of their jackets. Sometimes those would be black and red, other times they would be green and red. It’s intriguing to think that this perpetuates a practice from the late thirteenth century, but this might also be coincidence.
The position of the wrestlers is also interesting. The wrestler on the left grasps both arms around the opponent’s right arm, grasping the jacket, or tunic, at the lapel. The wrestler on the right is performing a trip, typical in Devon Wrestling. He’s grasping the opponent’s collar with his right extended hand, and holding the jacket at the waist with his left hand. The position is reminiscent of the ‘home-tang’ illustration found in Walker (1840, fig. 36). The wrestler on the right is turning in, ready to perform an outside lock across the opponent’s stance.
The repeated appearance of wrestlers in the Cathedral suggests that the sport held social or cultural significance in the Exeter area during the 1280s. Rather than being purely symbolic, these carvings offer a rare visual record of popular pastimes, indicating that wrestling was an established and recognisable part of life for the local population at the time.
Unfortunately, we do not currently have permission to reproduce the colour photography (which are personal research use only), but there is an online record of them, showing antiquated archive photos:
- Boss 1 (Roof): described as “Two wrestlers in varied foliage: their pose is almost identical to that on Corbel U’. Their grip of each other’s tunics is in West Country style.90 Ham Hill stone. Stone repair in leaf behind bald man.” Location: Presbytery. Available to view here.
- Boss 2 (U’): described as “Two wrestlers; cf. boss 82. Minute traces of green remain on tunic of north wrestler. Their grip of each other’s tunics is in West Country style. Foliage at sides.” Location: South Transept. Available to view here.
Further information about all the bosses, and some contextual information about the Cathedral is available here. The feature image is available at RAMM, from a photo captured in 1907. Magic Lantern Slide: The Wrestlers Boss, Exeter Cathedral, 1907, Royal Albert Memorial Museum and Art Gallery, Creative commons 0.1.0.