Haxey Hood 2026: Big crowds enjoy annual mud, sweat and beers contest

With a thin layer of snow on the ground following snowfall earlier in the week, conditions underfoot were rock solid as hardy villagers from Haxey and Westwoodside did battle in the annual contest which dates from the 14th century.

For those not in the know, the game sees villagers attempt to push the Hood – a cylindrical tube of leather – towards one of four pubs split between the two villages.

And for the first time since 2019, Westwoodside emerged victorious, The Carpenters Arms claiming victory in a bruising and gruelling contest which lasted a little over two hours.

Landlord Marc Roberts touched the Hood from the steps of the pub to end the game and said afterwards: “We honestly cannot describe how absolutely grateful, honoured and over the moon we are that the Hood made its way to us.

"Thank you to everyone who swayed our way – hope you're not too frozen. Lost for words - thank you, thank you, thank you!”

The game, which is said to date from 1359, also saw regulars from Haxey pubs The Duke William, The Kings Arms and The Loco attempt to sway the Hood towards their favoured watering hole.

As always, the spectacular event – held on January 6, the Twelfth Day of Christmas – attracted large crowds for the usual mix of drinking, traditional folk songs and colourful costumes.

Lord of the Hood Phil Coggon – the longest serving Lord on record with 35 years under his belt – was once again joined by Chief Boggin Phil Palmer and colourfully attired Fool James Chatwin who delivered the traditional speech from the Mowbray Stone, as always, wreathed in smoke.

The throwing of the Sack Hoods curtain raiser for children – with a £5 prize up for grabs – kicked things off before the main game got under way at an unusually late time, just gone 4pm.

Westwoodside gained an early advantage when the Hood was tossed in the direction of the village with the opening throw – and villagers made the most, quickly pushing up the hill towards their goal.

Despite some resistance and counter moves from Haxey, it was clear pretty quickly who the victors were going to be – but a sweaty and titanic struggle in the corner of the Hood Field extended the contest as the Sway collapsed again and again.

But eventually, the much sought after prize reached the road – and from then on it was a procession in the freezing rain and breezy conditions as noisy participants sung the Hood to their pub, known locally as the Carps.

With their last winning come in 2019, regulars have had a wait for success, with the Kings Arms and last year’s victors The Loco sharing spoils in recent years, along with two years cancelled due to Covid.

The official story is that in the 14th century, Lady de Mowbray, wife of Isle landowner, John De Mowbray, was out riding towards Westwoodside on the hill that separates it from Haxey.

As she went over the hill her silk riding hood was blown away by the wind.

Thirteen farm workers in the field rushed to help and chased the hood all over the field.

It was finally caught by one of the farm workers, but being too shy to hand it back to the lady, he gave it to one of the others to hand back to her.

She thanked the farm worker who had returned the hood and said that he had acted like a Lord, whereas the worker who had actually caught the hood was a Fool.

So amused was she by this act of chivalry and the resulting chase, that she donated 13 acres of land on condition that the chase for the hood would be re-enacted each year.

Here's 21 things you might not know about the Haxey Hood

1. The contest is always held on the Twelfth Day Of Christmas - January 6, unless the date falls on Sunday when its held on January 5.

2. The rugby style scrum is officially called The Sway.

3. The hood is actually a cylindrical piece of leather.

4. Four pubs compete - The Loco, Duke William and the King's Arms in Haxey and the Carpenters Arms in Westwoodside.

5. The nobles mentioned in the story did exist. Records show that John De Mowbray (29 November 1310 - 4 October 1361), the 3rd Baron Mowbray of Axholme, would be the most likely candidate for the husband of the lady.

6. The Hood is thought to date from about 1359.

7. It has similarities to other village combats, such as Ashbourne's Royal Shrovetide Football, the Shrove Tuesday Football Games in Sedgefield, Durham and Alnwick, Northumberland and the Hallaton Bottle Kicking contest in Leicestershire.

8. Speculation regarding the hood having originally been the head or penis of a sacrificial animal used in a fertility ritual are just that - pure speculation.

9. The songs sung ahead of the contest in the pubs are well-known folk songs including John Barleycorn, Cannons (Drink England Dry) and The Farmer's Boy.

10. The red-coated overseer of proceedings is the Lord of The Hood. He is assisted by the Chief Boggin, ten other boggins and the Fool.

11. The Fool leads the procession between pubs and has the right to kiss any woman on the way.

12. Once at the green in front of the Parish Church, the Fool makes his traditional speech of welcome at around 2.30pm standing on an old mounting block in front of the church known as the Mowbray Stone.

13. During this speech a fire is lit with damp straw behind him. The smoke rises up and around him and this is known as ‘Smoking the Fool’.

14. This is a watered-down version of the earlier custom in which a more substantial fire was lit with damp straw beneath a tree. The Fool was then suspended over the fire and swung back and forth until he was almost suffocated before being cut down and dropped into the fire, where he had to make his escape as best he could.

15. At the end of the speech, the Fool finishes with the traditional words that the crowd chant along with him. They are: "hoose agen hoose, toon agen toon, if a man meets a man knock 'im doon, but doan't 'ot 'im," which translates as: "house against house, town against town, if a man meets a man, knock him down but don’t hurt him."

16. The Lord also carries his wand of office. This is a staff made from twelve willow wands with one more upside down in the centre. These are bound thirteen times with willow twigs and a red ribbon at the top. The thirteen willow wands are supposed to represent the twelve apostles and the upside down one represents Judas.

17. Proceedings start at 3pm with the throwing of twelve Sack Hoods. These are rolled hessian sacks, a prequel to the main game, mainly for children.

18. The Hood, which cannot be thrown or run with, is moved slowly by 'swaying', that is pushing and pulling the Hood and people within the 'Sway' toward the direction of their pub.

19. Nobody parks on the roads where the Sway may go, and for good reason. In 2002, a couple of drivers parked opposite the Duke William. The Sway headed right for them and pushed one of the cars 10 feet down the road and into the other.

20. The game ends when the Hood arrives at one of the pubs and is touched by the landlord from his front step. The landlord then takes charge of the Hood for the year, and is supposed to give everyone a free drink. The winning pub pours beer over the Hood and then hangs it behind the bar (each pub has two hooks especially for this purpose).

21. Last year's winner was The Loco which took the Hood for the second time in two contests, last winning in 2023.