Rediscovering Knurr and Spell - Yorkshire's lost game

The 1972 Knurr and Spell championships were held in Greetland near Halifax

Once a popular pastime across Yorkshire, the miners' game Knurr and Spell has all but disappeared from public knowledge.

The game, also known as Nipsy, Piggy and Northern Spell, was predominantly played in mining communities in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries.

Similar to golf, the game sees players hit a small ball which is launched into the air from a levered wooden stand, known as a spell.

Nicola Harrison, who used to play the game with her grandfather, a former Lofthouse Colliery miner, said: "You had to strike the small ball, or potty as it was called, and hit it as far as you could."

Mrs Harrison, who now volunteers at the National Coal Mining Museum at Overton, said: "I suppose there's kind of a similarity to golf in that the clubs were quite heavy."

Although the game itself may be similar to golf, the equipment for Knurr and Spell was far cheaper.

Nicola Harrison's grandfather, Lawrence Sowden, worked at Lofthouse Colliery

The clubs were often made from whittled branches of trees, but a number of miners were also known to use their pickaxe handles.

Additionally, the ball, or knurr, was smaller than a golf ball and was often made of wood or pottery. Players had to hit the ball as far as possible.

A pair of nipsy sticks are on display at Experience Barnsley

There are many variations of the game, with different types of equipment used in localised versions across Yorkshire, Lancashire and the wider North of England.

In some versions of the game, the ball is placed on a block and chipped upwards before being struck, while in others it is placed within a spring-loaded trap mechanism, known as a spell, which launches it into the air before being hit.

There is also a version more common in Lancashire where the ball is placed in a wooden structure, almost like a catapult, and struck from a static position.

The game often took place on moorland but could be played in any area of green space.

It is not certain when Knurr and Spell first started, and it is even less clear when the last competitive game was held - although the BBC did feature the world championships on Nationwide in 1972.

"I could be one of the last people to have played it," said Mrs Harrison.

"I'd like to see it played again. Purely from the point of view of wanting to see someone do it, I think it would be interesting."

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