Tuesday.—The spectators were more numerous than on the preceding day, and the single play was renewed with great vigour. On Gaffney making his appearance in the ring, a few persons raised a violent clamour against him, contending that he ought not to be allowed to play after quitting the ring before the time was out […]
And as for the gouging, and “rough and tumble” fighting of America — and especially in Virginia and Maryland, I have only to say that I have resided more than eight years in Maryland; that I have known a multitude of Virginians, and been a good deal over Virginia; and that I have never seen, […]
A copy of the August 26th 1827 edition of Pierce Egan’s “Life in London and Sporting Guide”, with several vignettes of sporting activities as the headings to various news items (1827). Woodcut Content: WRESTLING. The feats of Cann, Polkinhorne, Copp, Gaffney, and the whole of the Wrestlers faithfully recorded. “Now clear the Ring: for, hand […]
Wrestling IN CORNWALL AND DEVONSHIRE. To the Editor. Sir,-The ready insertion given to my letter on the above subject, in the second volume of the Every-Day Book, (p. 1009,) encourages me to hope that you will as readily insert the present, which enters more fully into the merits of this ancient sport, as practised in […]
WRESTLING. The wrestling match between Cann the celebrated Devonshire wrestler, and Gaffney, called the champion of Ireland, took place on Monday at the Golden Eagle, in the Mile-end-road. The match was for 60 guineas on the part of Cann to 50 on that of Gaffney, the first three fair back falls to decide it. After […]
WRESTLING. The wrestling match between Cann the celebrated Devonshire wrestler, and Gaffney, called the champion of Ireland, took place on Monday at the Golden Eagle, in the Mile-end-road. The match was for 60 guineas on the part of Cann to 50 on that of Gaffney, the first three fair back falls to decide it. The […]
A TALE — (PENWARNE.) A Cornish Miner, high in wrestling fame. And Thomas Triggyniggy was his name: To London city Tom would fain be packing; In hardy enterprise no lad was bolder; He threw his trusty staff across his shoulder. And hung his wardrobe on it in a nackin.* The journey was a long […]
This satirical epitaph commemorates Abraham Cann, a celebrated wrestler from Devon, through the conceit of his ultimate defeat by Death personified. Originally published in the Weekly Dispatch, the poem employs mock-heroic conventions to honour Cann’s prowess whilst acknowledging mortality’s inevitability. The verse chronicles Cann’s wrestling dominance, noting his victories over formidable opponents including “giant Jordan,” […]
WRESTLING. The following are the arrangements agreed upon during the past week for the great wrestling match, at Haigh Park, near Leeds, on Easter Tuesday and two following days. The wrestling games to commence the day after the Races, and to be continued for three days. The play to be hand to collar, fair back […]
TO THE EDITOR OF THE LEEDS INTELLIGENCER. SIR,—As far as the prizes and offer to pay the expenses of the wrestlers go, I cannot sufficiently admire the liberality of the promoters of the approaching wrestling at Leeds; but there is a condition of play, which will I think destroy all chance of deciding in a […]
TO THE EDITOR OF THE LEEDS INTELLIGENCER. SIR,—A Correspondent in your last states, that, at the approaching Grand Wrestling Match, at Leeds, it is understood by the Cornishmen, that the players are to be confined to the hold by the collar, and that no other hold will be allowed. This is not the case. The […]
GREAT WRESTLING MATCH, AT HYDE PARK CRICKET GROUND. ON MONDAY next and Two following Days, a GREAT WRESTLING MATCH will take place between the Men of Yorkshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Cumberland, and the surrounding Counties, and a number of picked Wrestlers from London, Devonshire, Cornwall, and Ireland. On commencing, the Men are first to […]
GRAND WRESTLING MATCH AT LEEDS. On Monday last, the whole of the Wrestlers who arrived from London, nineteen in number, appeared on the Race Ground, and excited considerable attention from the commonalty there assembled. On Tuesday the sports commenced, & after three days’ excellent play, the Prizes were thus awarded:—A. Cann 1st, 30l.; James Stone […]
WRESTLING, AT HYDE PARK. On Wednesday, a chosen party of wrestlers, who have been for some days past in this town on their return to London from Leeds, gave a display of the ancient game of Wrestling, in the Hyde Park Cricket Ground. About four o’clock, two Devonshire men (Pook and Pell) handed their hats […]
LEEDS, April 19.—The great wrestling match took place on Tuesday and Wednesday, on a stage erected in the centre of an enclosed piece of ground called “Haigh’s Park,” at Huddersfield. About ten o’clock, Bell and Pook commenced, the latter was thrown; Pyle, one of the Devonshire men from London, then threw in his hat for […]
WRESTLING – In the account given last week of the wrestling which took place at Hyde Park, the best trial of skill, between Finney, an Irishman, and King, a native of Devon, and servant to a respectable spirit merchant in the town, was by accident omitted. Finney, who may be termed a professional, is six […]
TO THE EDITOR OF BELL’S LIFE IN LONDON. Joseph Butler presents his respectful compliments to the Editor of Bell’s Life in London, and begs to correct an error into which he seems to have fallen in his Paper of this week, wherein he (J. B.) is designated as Bull Calf. The person known by that […]
Wrestling. The Devon Wrestlers came back on Monday from the grand Matches at London and Leeds. They have been every where successful and floored every opponent. Cann, though greatly weakened from the effects of the attack of Gout, could not look tamely on, and risked his well-earned Laurels, while in that state at the London […]
WRESTLING. Yesterday a most interesting wrestling match took place in the new ground of the Eagle Tavern, In the City Road. The match was for 20l. aside, between James Copp, a Devonshire man, well known in the wrestling ring, and considered to be the best wrestler from Devonshire resident in London, and Laurence Hanlon, an […]
In Devonshire, early in June, 1828, the Wrestling Match in St. Thomas’s, adjoining Exeter, commenced; at which, Woolaway, Wreford, Simon Webber, Huxtable, Jackman, and Flower, from the North; the Underdowns, Freys, &c. from the east, were particularly noticed. The champion, attended by his brother James, Roach, &c., was on the ground, but not playable—he was […]
In June, 1828, a match took place at the Eagle Tavern, in the City-road, for £20, between the celebrated JAMES CANN, of Devonshire, and a young Cornishman of good repute, of the name of OLVER. After shaking hands, they grappled each other. In a few minutes it was evident that Olver was not only the […]
In the above month, a Wrestling Match took place at the Wellington Ground, Chelsea, between PHILIP GAFFNEY and GEORGE SAUNDERS, a Cornish man, for forty sovereigns. On entering the ring, it was at once seen that Gaffney was not only taller, but also considerably heavier than his antagonist. Betting, 2 to 1 on Gaffney. Saunders […]
Shortly after two o’clock the ground was opened, and lots were drawn to determine which men should oppose each other, there being exactly 13 Cornishmen, 13 Devonshiremen, 1 Irishman, and 1 Cumberland man as double players. The men entered the ring in the following order: Randall and Batstone, the former was quickly thrown; Trewicke and […]
Early in the month of October, 1828, a wrestling-match took place at the grounds of the Eagle Tavern in the City Road, between Olver and Finney, the former a noted wrestler from Cornwall, who has floored all who opposed him since his arrival in London, and the latter an Irishman. Finney accidentally, but fairly, threw […]
A detailed and quite graphic match report published in Australia regarding the match between Cann (Champion of Devon) and Gaffney (Champion of Ireland). The newspaper published the match on Tuesday 27th January, 1829. It demonstrates how reporting of these events was global and garnered international interest. Grand wrestling match between CANN, the Champion of Devonshire, […]
In February, 1829, a Wrestling Match between OLVER and SAUNDERS, both Cornishmen, at the Eagle Tavern, in the City Road, which excited considerable interest amongst the supporters of the above Old English Sport. Olver and Saunders entered the ring, to contend for the first two fair back falls out of three, for thirty sovereigns. It […]
Early in March, 1829, the second Wrestling Match for the season took place at the Eagle Tavern in the City Road. The match was betwixt James Copp, a Devonian, and Francis Olver, of Cornwall. Fifteen sovereigns a-side was the sum to be contended for, the two first backfalls of three, and to be played in […]
At the Eagle Tavern, City Road, in April, 1829, a match took place for £20, between PHILIP PYLE and William ARCHER. In appearance Archer exhibited no superiority over his veteran antagonist, except his youth; but when they grappled his strength was evidently superior. Pyle, who has always been considered a heavy kicker, commenced with some […]
On Good Friday, in 1829, the annual Wrestling and Leaping Matches for ten distinct prizes, raised by Subscription, and only allowed to be played for by natives of Cumberland and Westmoreland, took place at the Eyre Arms Tavern, St. John’s Wood, in the presence of an immense assemblage of spectators. The prizes consisted of a […]
In the middle of July, 1829, the Eagle Tavern, in the City Road, was again the scene of Sporting events for five days in succession. Benjamin Sambell, a Cornishman, and Samuel Steers, a Devonshire man, both of first-rate science, were called on to oppose each other; and from that moment the games became lively, and […]
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.
