The sports at Morice-Town Fair, Plymouth-Dock, last week, afforded much amusement. On Thursday the wrestling matches began, in which 22 standards, comprising the best players in Devon and Cornwall, among others the two Jordans, Jackman, Polkinghorne, Flower, Cann, Cowling, Webber, &c. &c. maintained the character of their respective counties with matchless strength and dexterity. The […]
WRESTLING.—We have before had occasion to advert to the idle stories, which have found their way into the London prints, relative to a challenge given from Cornwall, to back Polkinhorn and Parkin, against the champion A. Cann, and Jordan, to wrestle for 100 guineas,—but we now find the same system of deception is practising nearer […]
WRESTLING.—We have before had occasion to advert to the false stories, which have found their way into the London prints, relative to a challenge given from Cornwall, to back Polkinhorn and Parkin, against the champion A. Cann, and Jordan, to wrestle for 100 guineas. (COPY.) TRULL, 11th August, 1825. SIR,—A challenge having been given by […]
WRESTLING.—The Rival Champions.—The Amateurs of this ancient and truly noble sport, may expect soon to have one of the greatest treats ever experienced in this or any other part of England, in a contest between the renowned Devonshire Champion Abraham Cann, y’clept the Nonpareil, and the no less celebrated Polkinghorn, of Cornwall.—The time and place […]
WRESTLING.—The Rival Champions.—The Amateurs of this ancient and truly noble sport, may expect soon to have one of the greatest treats ever experienced in this or any other part of England, in a contest between the renowned Devonshire Champion Abraham Cann, y’clept the Nonpareil, and the no less celebrated Polkinghorn, of Cornwall. St. Thomas, near […]
WRESTLING.—The Rival Champions.—The Amateurs of this ancient and truly noble sport, may expect soon to have one of the greatest treats ever experienced in this or any other part of England, in a contest between the renowned Devonshire Champion Abraham Cann, y’clept the Nonpareil, and the no less celebrated Polkinghorn, of Cornwall. “St. Thomas, near […]
WRESTLING. To Mr. ABRAHAM CANN, St. Thomas’s, Exeter. SIR, Although you did not answer mine of Sept. 20th, nor accept the proposals with respect to time, place, and amount of stake——I see yours of the 10th inst., in the Devon Freeholder, dated Dec. 2, wherein you now assert your readiness to try the championship of […]
WRESTLING—We this week present our readers with verbatim copies of the answer of Polkinhorne to Abm. Cann‘s letter, inserted in our paper of the 25th instant, together with the rejoinder of the latter:—comment from us is almost wholly unnecessary, the letters will bear pride for themselves; but we cannot avoid the strong impression we have, […]
WRESTLING—We this week present our readers with verbatim copies of the answer of Polkinhorne to Abm. Cann’s letter. To Mr. ABRAHAM CANN, St. Thomas, Exeter. SIR,—I acquainted you that my answer letter of Sept. 26, now near three months past, was laid before the stewards of the Champion Belt, at Bristol, and published in the […]
Lithograph in the British Museum (1943,0410.2111), by Maxim Gauci: Portrait of James Polkinhorn; whole length, standing in three-quarter profile to right, leaning slightly forward, with arms folded, his left foot placed in front, wearing short jacket fastened with cord; impression had been folded for posting. 1826 Lithograph on chine collé © The Trustees of the […]
WRESTLING. THE amateurs of athletic performances were gratified towards the end of last month, with an exhibition of the old national feat of wrestling. Several matches were played between Devonshire and Cornwall men, on the 19th, 20th, and 21st, at the Eagle Tavern green, in the City Road.—The science displayed on the occasion shows, that […]
WRESTLING.—A. Cann, the Champion of England, and Polkinghorne.—Perhaps there never was more evasion practised, or so much idle chaffing as on the subject of a match between these men. “My Dear Sir, In answer to your Letter bearing date the 13th inst I beg to state, that it would have been an agreeable surprise, had […]
The interest excited by the forthcoming wrestling match at Devonport is very great, and it is understood that persons from every part of the two counties and even from a greater distance are preparing to attend it.
WRESTLING.— Grand Match between the Champions at Devonport.—Expectation is wound to its highest pitch for the issue of this match, and the numbers preparing to move towards Devonport from both counties are very great; the Devonporters have entered into the business with an energy that reflects on them the highest credit, and we can most […]
[WRESTLING]. Pair of Hand-Colored Portraits of Famous British Wrestlers who Faced Each Other in the Ring. Including: [CANN, Abraham, subject]. “The Wrestling Champion of England, Abraham Cann. Who challenges all the World for 100 Sovereigns…” [Exeter: Geo. Rowe, Aug. 10th, 1826]. Hand-colored full-length portrait of Cann in profile outdoors, with caption. 12 ¾ x 9”. […]
Line drawing of the wrestling venue for the famous Abraham Cann versus James Polkinghorne challenge match, The Alfred – West of England Journal – General Advertiser, 24th October 1826.
Tamar Green, Devonport, was chosen for this purpose, and the West was alive with speculation. The conditions further provided, that if either party declined continuing the play after having once set to, or wilfully struck his opponent, the stakes should be forfeited. The match was to be for 200 sovereigns, 100 each side, the best […]
Wrestling at Devonport: THE RIVAL CHAMPIONS, CANN and POLKINHORN. Anxious at all times to give the fullest and most impartial intelligence of all public events, our Reporter was sent specially to Devonport to attend the great Match at Wrestling between the Rival Champions at that place,—the following is a correct account of the whole proceedings:— […]
Created by the British engraver Richard Gilson Reeve. The print commemorates the historic, highly-publicised inter-county wrestling match that took place on October 26, 1826, between the Cornish champion James Polkinghorne and the Devonshire champion Abraham Cann. The event drew over 10,000 spectators and remains one of the most famous encounters in the history of traditional […]
WRESTLING.—Cann and Polkinhorn.—The disappointment so generally felt at the withdrawing of Mr. Polkinhorn from the wrestling at Devonport, thereby leaving the match, so long talked of and so long looked for, undecided, might naturally have been expected to give rise to some discussion. “To the Gentlemen who composed Mr. Polkinhorn’s Committee at the late Wrestling […]
The origin and author of these lyrics (also described as a ballad) are unknown. The song was printed in a broadside newspaper in December 1826. Tripp states that it was sung to the tune of The Night I Married Susy, or The Coronation. When Polkinghorne did first agree, And Cann the day did fix, Sir, […]
HONE’s TABLE BOOK Hone, W (1827); The table book: or, Daily recreation and information concerning remarkable men, manners, times, seasons, solemnities, merry-makings, antiquities and novelties, forming a complete history of the year, W. Tegg. DEVONSHIRE WRESTLING. For the Table Book. Abraham Cann, the Devonshire champion, and his brother wrestlers of that county, are objected to […]
WRESTLING. The Annual Grand Wrestling Match took place at Tavistock on Wednesday the 8th instant, and lasted till Friday night. It was allowed to be the greatest match ever witnessed, either in Devon or Cornwall, the former county being allowed on both sides to have the superiority. A. Cann 1st prize. The Cornishmen generally made […]
WRESTLING.—The Tavistock Games.—A statement more entirely opposed to what really took place at Tavistock, was perhaps scarcely ever attempted to be palmed on the public. Polkinhorn was on the spot, and certainly no good reason was assigned why he did not meet Cann in the ring;—there stood his opponent before him. Cann again kept the […]
A modern replica (1996) of a poster believed to be original. The printers were listed as Nicholls & Peowrie, confirmed to be active between 1835-1836. This is currently in the private collection of Matthew Bennett-Nichols, and provided here with express written permission. The poster reads: Devon Wrestling AND SINGLE STICK, May 5th, 6th and 7th, […]
THE WRESTLERS : ——————-a mutual yoke of hands, Dragging with arms and elbow – joints in intertwisted bands; And in their clasp reciprocal they lifted from the ground Each other’s body, snatched in air, descending round and round; A double pleasure thus employ’d th’ Olympian dweller’s mind, Lifting and lifted thus by turns upon the […]
Howitt, W (1838); The rural life of England, Longman, Orme, Brown, Green, & Longmans. WE must not close this department of our subject, without saying a word or two on wrestling. This exercise, which at one time was almost universal, is now, like many others, fallen into general disuse; and is confined almost entirely to […]
CORNISH AND DEVON WRESTLING. The first day’s amusement of the above grand match came off on Monday at the Brecknock Arms, Camden Town. The two celebrated wrestlers, Polkinghorne and Cann, were expected to be there as spectators, but Cann was unable to attend in consequence of illness. On the second day’s amusement the old Devonshire […]
WRESTLING. CANN AND POLKINGHORNE. SIR,—The notice in your paper of last week headed “Old Abraham Cann, the Champion Wrestler,” having caught my attention, I was startled very considerably at its contents, and I cannot allow some of the mis-statements contained in it to remain uncontradicted. I have no desire to disparage the virtues of Cann, […]
The Devonshire Wrestling Society archive has been assembled over more than twelve years of systematic research into the history of Westcountry martial arts. When this work began, the documentary record was sparse and dispersed: sources were few, descriptions were thin, and access required navigating institutional barriers that most researchers would not have the time or resources to overcome. The archive now comprises 421 records — 322 newspaper articles (1778–1947), 35 manuscripts, 11 posters, 48 books, one letters patent, two cemetery inscriptions, and two memorials — spanning approximately one thousand years of history across five defined periods and three core disciplines: wrestling, cudgelling, and pugilism.
The material has been drawn from archives, museums, and libraries at both local and national level, as well as from diaspora communities. Access varied considerably: some holdings were straightforwardly available through public or gated online repositories; others required direct institutional inquiry, formal licensing, or payment. Licence fees for individual items have, in some cases, reached several hundred pounds. Items acquired under licence are retained for private research purposes only and are not published. A small number of items from private collections likewise remain unpublished, pending permission. All records for which publication rights have been secured are made freely and openly available.
The cost of the archive — in time and in money — has been substantial. It is offered without charge because the traditions it documents belong to the communities that produced them, and because those who come after should not be required to repeat the effort already expended.
Every record in the archive was acquired through a consistent five-stage process:
Identification. Awareness of potential sources was established through systematic searches of public and private institutional indexes worldwide, and through direct correspondence with subject specialists already engaged with relevant holdings.
Access. Depending on the institution, access was obtained through online repositories, direct application, or formal licensing. Correspondence was initiated with several hundred institutions over the course of the project. Where institutions confirmed the absence of relevant holdings, this was recorded. Where access was granted, the means of access was documented.
Storage. All acquired material is held in a single centralised repository, ensuring that research access is permanent and that no duplication of acquisition effort is necessary.
Preparation. Every record has been transcribed to render it fully searchable and taggable. Images have been assigned metadata recording provenance, licensing terms, and resolution specifications for publication purposes.
Publication. The publicly available inventory represents all records for which the requisite permissions have been obtained.
In order to ensure consistency and intellectual coherence across the archive, all prospective additions are evaluated against the following criteria, which are applied collectively and in sequence. A record should satisfy the majority of these criteria before inclusion is considered.
Relevance. The record must have a demonstrable and direct connection to the Six Shires (Devon, Cornwall, Somerset, Dorset, Gloucestershire, and Wiltshire) as the location of practice, the origin of practitioners, or the primary institutional context. Records concerning Westcountry practitioners competing elsewhere (in London, the United States, or South Africa, for example) are eligible where the practitioner’s regional identity is explicitly identified in the source. Records documenting the export of Westcountry martial arts beyond Britain are admissible and desirable, consistent with existing holdings relating to California, Japan, New Zealand, and South Africa. The record must concern one or more of the three disciplines in scope: Westcountry wrestling (Devonshire or Cornish style), cudgelling or single-stick as practised in the region, or pugilism and boxing with a demonstrable Westcountry connection. Records documenting the co-occurrence of two or more disciplines are particularly valuable and should be prioritised.
Integrity. The source must be primary or a reliable early secondary record. For newspaper sources, this means a contemporaneous report; for books, a first or early edition, or a verified transcription thereof. Secondary scholarship is admissible where it contains primary-source quotations not otherwise independently accessible, provided these are clearly identified as such.
Balanced representation. The curatorial target is approximate parity — not of record count, which will inevitably reflect the uneven survival of evidence — but of intellectual representation across the three core disciplines. Where any discipline is underrepresented relative to this target, acquisitions in that discipline should be prioritised accordingly.
Material culture. Physical objects — trophies, belts, equipment, and architectural features — are admissible where they carry inscriptions or documentary provenance that independently attest to the practice of a discipline in the region.
Verifiability. The source must be identifiable with sufficient bibliographic precision to be cited in APA format and, where possible, to be independently verified by a reader consulting the original. Oral tradition, undocumented folklore, and secondary paraphrases without citation do not meet this standard. Where a source is available online, a direct URL must be provided.
