Results Of The Cheese Rolling In Previous Years

In the past, rolling and chasing a cheese were only part of the Cooper’s Hill Wake.

There are reports, from the early 1800s , of other competitions;

‘dancing for ribbons’
‘wrestling for a belt’
‘grinning (through a horse’s collar) for a cake’
‘dipping in a tub of water for oranges and apples’
‘bobbing for penny loaves smeared in treacle’
‘shin-kicking’!

Later, these events were replaced by a flower show, climbing the maypole, tug-of-war and coconut-shies.

In the early 1900s, ‘children’s sports and scrambling for buns’ were reported. A junior tug-of-war was introduced in the 1970s but this, plus the senior tug-of-war and the children’s races had all been abandoned by 1994.

The only event that continued until the most recent times, apart from the Cheese Rolling races and the uphill races, was the children’s ‘scramble’ for sweets that are scattered at the top of the hill after the main events, sadly that had now been discontinued, to be replaced by a number of "unofficial downhill races", predominantly a controlled way to let aspiring future competitors "have a go" at the cheese rolling.

In the past, pieces of cake or biscuits have been used. It is thought that this is symbolic of a fertility rite, performed in the hope of producing a good harvest.

Tom Windo scattering fruit cake in 1940s
(Photo believed to be by Eric Thomkins)

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