A personal account of a combat between Richard Peeke (Tavistock, Devon), and three Spanish rapiermen. The event happened on 15th November 1625. Peeke documented his account in July 1626. Three-to-One: Being an English-Spanish combat performed by a Western Gentleman of Tavistock in Devonshire, with an English quarterstaff, against three Spaniards [ at once ] with […]
A Play based upon the true-story of Richard Peeke, from Tavistock, Devon. Peeke wrote his story in Three-to-One: Being an English-Spanish Combat (1625). This play appeared in Egerton MS 1994, a folio composite volume of plays. c.1620s-1640s. From the library of Lord Charlemont. Entries: CELM, Wikipedia. It appeared at ff. 30r-51r- HyT 5: Thomas Heywood, Dick of […]
The men of dSurrey, Cheeky Blew and gold, (Which for braue Warren their first Earle they wore, In many a Field that honour’d was of olde:) And Hamshere next in the same Colours bore, Three Lions Passant, th’ Armes of Beuis bould, Who through the World so famous was of yore; A siluere Tower, Dorsets Red […]
Drayton, Michael, et al. (1636), Annalia Dubrensia: upon the yearly celebration of Mr. Robert Dovers Olimpick Games upon Cotswold-Hills, London: Robert Raworth. Available online via Folger Shakespeare Library, and archive.org.
Hyde-Park, May I, [1654.] This day there was a hurling of a great ball, by fifty Cornish gentfemen on the one side, and fifty on the other : one party played in red caps and the other in white. There was present His HIGHNESS THE LORD PROTECTOR, many of his privy council, and divers eminent […]
“The Cornish are masters of the art of wrestling, so that, if the Olympic games were now in fashion, they would come away with the victory. Their hug is a cunning close with their combatants, the fruit whereof is his fair fall or foil at the least.” Fuller, T (1662). History of the Worthies of […]
19th February 1667: I saw a comedy acted at Court. In the afternoone I saw a wrestling-match for £1000 in St. James’s Park, before his Maty, a world of lords and other spectators, ‘twixt the Western; and Northern men, Mr. Secretary Morice and Lo. Gerard being the judges. The Western men won. Many greate sums were betted. Evelyn, […]
John Carey’s fencing manuscript (Brit. Mus. Add. MS. 5540, ff.122-123) is a fascinating window into the kinds of practice which was taking place in England at the end of the 17th century, around Bristol in the South West of England. Despite its potential importance, “It has never been printed…”, commented Aylward (156, 110), “…and it […]
Modernisation: Wrestling is a sport that relies on skill as much as strength. A skilled wrestler can throw an opponent even when they are not the strongest. Like all sports, wrestling has its own terminology, with names for each type of hold, trip, or technique. The main terms are as follows: Terms Used in […]
A Prize Quart Pewter Tankard, labelled: “Won at the Fighting Cocks, Plaistford, As a prize for Back Sword Play. ” The exact date is unknown, however the accredited metal worker, Thomas Easton, was active between 1675-1695, so it must’ve been produced during this period. It’s unknown when it was presented as a prize. Museum Number: […]
RULES The two Gamesters that wrestle shall be fairly chosen by lot. The two Gamesters will wrestle till one of them get three Falls, and that this wrestler will not be allowed anymore to compete for the Prize. It is ordered and agreed that a wrestler who will throw his opponent on two Joints at […]
A copy of the 1727 edition is currently in the collection of thhe Cornish Wrestling Association (CWA). This is core material for the DWS. We have an authoritative edition of Cornish Wrestling manual known as “Progymnastmata: In-play or the Cornish hug wrestler”, published in 4 editions of Sir Thomas Parkyns’ original work (1713, 1714, 1727, […]
TOMBSTONE IN MARY TAVY CHURCHYARD The following may be worth preserving in the Western Antiquary it is copied from a tombstone not in situ but stand ing on its edge by the side of the wall of the church at Mary Tavy The church having been restored the prob ability is that this stone was […]
I find that in the Reign of Queen Elizabeth, we had of both Sorts that were excellent in their Way, and it is hard to say by which of the two we acquired the greatest Fame. Out-play Wrestlers did not shuffle, and dance about, and threaten, bur laid Hold, and never quited till they brought […]
William Somervile (he himself, and most eighteenth-century imprints, used the form Somervile, but an alternative spelling of ‘Somerville’ was also used) was the author of a short Homeric-style poem in celebration of the rural festivals of the period. The poem is a witness to wrestling and cudgelling being staged together at the same festival, which supports […]
THIS is to give Notice to all Gentlemen Gamesters, and Others, THAT on Thursday the 16th Instant, there will be a great Wrestling-Match at the Swan-Inn in Highworth, Wilts, between the Gamesters of Berkshire and Gloucestershire, for Ten Guineas on each Side: To wrestle for Falls; no Files to be allow’d of. Five Men of […]
THIS is to give Notice, THAT Mr. William Saunders, of the Saracen’s-Head at Highworth, Wilts, will give Two Guineas to be wrestled for, by the famous Berkshire Milk-Boy, and four other Berkshire Men, of his Company, against any other five Men in England, on Thursday the 30th Instant, October, for a Fall, or six Foils. […]
Poems on several occasions. By Nicholas James. 1742 “Prudently set the horseman’s habit by; the boot will freedom to thy leg deny, The cumbrous coat retard thy elbow’s sway. And on thy limbs an ill-tim’d pressure lay. Nor let thy vanity itself attest, Gayly expos’d in an embroider’d vest, Nor should the ruffled shirt be […]
THIS is to give Notice to all Gentlemen Gamesters, and Others, THAT there will be Three HATS, of Three Guineas Price, the free Gift of Abraham Golding and Robert Hobbs, at St. John’s-Bridge in Gloucestershire; One Hat, on Monday the 6th of September next, to be play’d for at Back-sword, by Five or Seven of […]
pp. 175 I mentioned before, how much I suspected a cove which had ftood near the manor-house in the north-west part of the knoll : this I would have dedicated to the element of Water, or particularly to the river flowing by, the Isca which I have shewn to be its Celtic name : and […]
MATCH RULES – 9 JUNE 1778 Particulars to be observed by the players at Wrestling for a Hat now to be played for as follows: 1st No persons to play for the said Hat who hath ever gain’d a Prize or share in a prize before. The man who throws the first fall is to […]
Duke Wyllyam gave commaunde, eche norman knights, That been war-token in a shielde so fine, Shoulde onward goe, and dare to closer fyghte. The Saxonne warryer that did so entwyne, Like the nesh bryon and the englantine, Or Cornish wrastlers at a hocktyde game. The Normannes, all emarchailld in a lyne, To the ourt arraie […]
BRADFORD, near TAUNTON, SOMERSET, May 8, 1780. TO BE PLAYED for at SWORD and DAGGER. (Somerset against the World.) On MONDAY, the 22d of MAY, To be PLAYED for at SWORD and DAGGER, at the Black-Lion Inn, in Bradford, near Taunton, Somerset, A Subscription Purse of Guineas. TUESDAY the 23d will be PLAYED for at […]
A tall, stout fish-wife has seized a fashionably dressed man round the waist and lifted him up; his hat and tasselled cane have fallen to the ground. She is neatly dressed, with a flat hat tied over her cap, a checked apron, clocked stockings, and buckled shoes, but she wears a soldier’s coat over her […]
Advertisements from the Western Flying Post; or, Sherborne & Yeovil Mercury and General Advertiser, 2 June 1783. CORNWALL THIS is to give notice, that at the house of Mr. William Fry, the Rose and Crown, in Millbrook, near Plymouth, on the ninth day of June next, being Whitsun Monday, will be WRESTLED for, A Gold […]
Games at Maker Green, near Kingsand and Cawsand WRESTLING, CUDGELLING, &c. On Wednesday the 23d of June, and the two following days, will be held at the said place, GAMES for the purposes aforesaid, free for all gamesters who chuse to attend, and good encouragement will be given to the adventurers. The first day, the […]
Satirical etching: Election Compromise or a Cornish Hug in Westminster. Available to view online at The British Museum. © The Trustees of the British Museum. With grateful thanks to Stephen Curtin for locating it, and bringing to our attention.
(From Tasker’s Miscellanies, lately published.) Pale or wrestling was first introduced into the Olympic stadium in the eighteenth Olympiad: and Eurybatus, a Spartan, was the first who received the wrestlers crown; though, according to Plutarch, Theseus was the first who reduced this exercise into a science. One very remarkable difference between the ancient and modern […]
WRESTLING IN DEVON AND CORNWALL. Richard Polwhele’s Historical Views of Devonshire (1793) constitutes the first modern county history of Devon and provides the earliest sustained account of popular recreations—including wrestling—in the region at the close of the eighteenth century, predating all newspaper sources in the archive by approximately a decade. Polwhele observes that wrestling was […]
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.
