Though there are two other mass football celebrations - at Kirkwall in Orkney and at Ashbourne in Derbyshire - Workington's is the only Easter game and is unique in other aspects.
Uppies and Downies does not have any organisers, no rules to speak of, no time limits and no restriction on numbers per side. Uppies were traditionally born above The Cloffocks and downies below.
In the pre-television era, crowds of 30,000 were not unknown, especially for a deciding rubber.
It is rough, sometimes very rough, but rarely violent, though injuries are common and death not unknown.
Four players are known to have drowned but the number is probably higher because newspaper reports of the games only go back to 1775.
A brief history...
Workington is an old market town and seaport situated at the mouth of the River Derwent. Its history dates back to Roman times when during the Roman occupation Workington was the site of a Hadrianic fort which formed part of the Roman Coastal defences. After the Romans had left, Anglian invaders started to harry the coast and the town is said to derive its name from ‘Wyre’ a small stream that flows into the sea at Harrington and ‘Weork’ an Anglian Chieftain.
The area of land between the Hall and the Harbour known as the Cloffocks is the venue every Easter Tuesday for a game known as the Uppies and Downies. Played between the colliers and the sailors, no one knows how the game started, but it is a tradition, which is carried on to day. Hundreds of spectators travelled from the surrounding countryside when at four o’clock a ball was thrown off from the middle of the field. Sailors aimed to take it to the Merchants’ Quay by means of carrying, kicking or throwing. The colliers tried to prevent this and by gaining possession themselves, attempted to convey the ball towards Workington Hall.
Some more info
The somewhat questionable glories of Workington Easter football play have passed away, partly in consequence of the occupation of a portion of the playing ground by railways and works, and not less because of a change of feeling. How long these Easter Tuesday matches between "Uppies" and "Downeys" have gone on no man can tell. Half a century ago it was reported in the Pacquet that the game in 1849 "was played with all the vigour of former days, from times beyond 'the memory of the oldest inhabitant.'" The goals are about a mile apart, one being a capstan at the harbour, and the other the park wall of Workingham Hall. There are no rules except those suggested by cunning and skill, while brute force is of the greatest importance. If the ball is "haled" over the park wall a sovereign is given by the owner of the estate to the winners, and of course it is spent in liquor. The players sometimes number hundreds, and thousands of people attend as spectators.
