Haxey Hood to return after three year break due to Covid pandemic

The last time the ancient, rugby-style game was played was in 2020, with both the 2021 and 2022 contests in the Isle of Axholme village being called off due to Covid-19.

Bumper crowds are expected for the traditional Twelfth Night contest which will take place in Haxey on January 6.

The event sees the Hood, a leather tube about 3ft long, pushed in a scrum until it reaches one of a number of pubs in Haxey and neighbouring Westwoodside.

Prior to the cancellation of the last two Hood games being called off, the last known time the game was cancelled was in 1915 during World War One.

The game - featuring teams from local pubs - dates back to the 14th century and remains hugely popular, attracting large crowds of spectators.

The folklore surrounding the Hood is based on the story of Lady de Mowbray, a local landowner's wife, who was riding between Westwoodside and Haxey in around 1359 when her silk riding hood was blown off in a gale.

Thirteen farmhands rushed to retrieve it from a nearby field, but the man who caught it was too shy to present it to her, and gave it to one of the others instead.

Lady de Mowbray told the man who handed it back that he had acted like a lord, while the man who had found it was a fool for his reticence.

She then donated 13 acres of land on condition that the chase would be re-enacted every year by the men of the village. It's always held on the Twelfth Day of Christmas according to the Christian calendar - January 6.

The hood itself is a piece of leather and the rugby-style scrum that takes place during the game is called a 'sway'. Players can't throw the hood or run with it - they must push and pull it within the sway towards the direction of their pub.

The contest sees drinkers representing four pubs – The Loco, Duke William and King’s Arms in Haxey and the Carpenters Arms in Westwoodside - attempt to push a leather tube in a rough and tumble game which can last for hours