Yorkshire fighting.

louie

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From an 1822 source...
YORKSHIRE FIGHTING.
From Mr. RYLEY'S "Itinerant."

At length the company were summoned into
the barn, to witness a battle between two noted
Yorkshire fighters. Amidst the crowd I perceived
two men naked to their waists lying 'on
the ground, grappling each other, perfectly silent,
and sometimes pretty still ; then, as if moved
by one impulse, a desperate scuffle took place ;
soon, however, the one extricated himself, quickly
obtained his legs, and retreating some paces,
returned with great violence, and before his antagonist
could rise, kicked in three of his ribs :
the vanquished lay prostrate, whilst the victor
stamped and roared like a madman, challenging
all around.
Retiring to my seat in the house,
disgusted with Yorkshire Fighting, I determined
to finish my wine, and leave the brutes to the
enjoyment of their brutality, when a laughable
circumstance detained me, and in some measure
made amends for the misery I had suffered. —
There is, I believe, a respectable personage, who
amongst amateurs in sporting, bears the appellation
of a Belward, a gentleman who gets his
livelihood by leading a bear by the nose front
village to village ; such an one now arrived at
this public house, and placing his companion in
the pigsty, seated himself by the fire, and called
for a pint of ale. The Yorkshire warrior, elated
with his victory, and intoxicated with liquor,
went from room to room, and bade defiance to
every one ; on entering the kitchen, he espied
the Belward, who, being a stout fellow, and a
noted pugilist, was immediately requested to
take a turn with himn— " No, no," replied the
stranger, " I dont like Yorkshire fighting; hugging,
biting, and kicking, does not suit me ; but

I have a friend without who is used to them
there things : if you like, I'll fetch, him in ?" "
Ay, ay, dom him, fot him in : I'll fight ony
mon i' th country." The Belward repaired to
the pigsty, and brought forth Bruin, who from
a large sized quadruped, was changed instantly
to a most tremendous biped. In this erect posture
he entered the house, and as it was nearly
dark, the intoxicated countryman was the more
easily imposed upon — " Dom thee," he said, "
I'll fight a better mon than thee, either up
or down," and made an attempt to seize him
round the middle, but feeling the roughness of
his hide, he exclaimed — " Come, come, I'll tak
no advantage ; poo off thy top coat, and I'll
fight thee for a crown."
The bear not regarding this request, cave him
such a hug as 'tis probable he never before experienced ;
it nearly pressed the breath out of
his body, and proved, what was before doubted,
that there was as great a bear in the village as
himself.

Louie
(Kirk, I'll post source details vsoon - unless you find and re-publish it first!):angel:
 
(Kirk, I'll post source details vsoon -
Excellent! I'm looking forward.

unless you find and re-publish it first!)
Hah! No such luck as that. I'm STILL hip deep in Owen Swift and a French fencing text for Jared.

I've only got about 10 pages left of Swift, but I can only do one (or two at the most) per day and maintain sanity. Those fight records, though peppered with great bits of trivia, are mind numbing.

Peace favor your sword,
Kirk
 
I'd be interested to know, if possible, whereabout in Yorkshire this was taking place. Yorkshire was and is divided into three Ridings, North, South and West. The character of each is different due to geography and social conditions. The dialect quoted sounds like no Yorkshire dialect we recognise, my other halfs from West Yorks and we live in North Yorks. It sounds to be honest, Scots or Irish!!
Yorkshire fighting would have been either backhold wrestling or cat as catch can. Even Lancashire or Westmorland wrestling depending or how close people were to respective borders.
 
I'd be interested to know, if possible, whereabout in Yorkshire this was taking place.

Yorkshire fighting would have been either backhold wrestling or cat as catch can. Even Lancashire or Westmorland wrestling depending or how close people were to respective borders.

Sorry Tez3,
I'm not sure exactly where in Yorkshire the description was set...I have found out that Samual Ryley was best known for his "extraordinary autobiographical novel, The Itinerant (1808), which was based upon the experiences of a strolling player in the North".

As to Yorkshire methods of fighting, during this period, apart from the traditional & unrestricted wrestling, they also were known for 'clog-fights' using clogs "till only one combatant was on his feet..."
There's only a few Yorkshire references on the net.... or these books
http://books.google.co.uk/books?ct=result&lr=&q=yorkshire+clog+fights&as_brr=0

A similiar type of clog-fighting was practiced in Lancashire...

"There is, however, still prevailing here, and in some other parts of Lancashire, a species of barbarity which cannot be too much deprecated, and it is matter of astonishment that the good men who devote their sabbaths to the instruction of the rising generation, have not so far civilized their respective towns and neighbourhoods, as to have eradicated this savage and often fatal practice.
At almost every Assizes at Lancaster several individuals are tried for murder or manslaughter, arising out of battles, when, to the astonishment of strangers, evidence is given of parties mutually agreeing to fight " up anil doom," which includes the right of kicking, (or purring as it is called) on every part of the body, in all possible situations, and of squeezing the throat, or " thralling" to the very verge of death. At races, fairs, and on other public occasions contests of this nature are witnessed by crowds of persons who take part on each side, with as much interest as is excited by the regular boxing matches of the South.
That death often occurs in such battles will not be thought extraordinary, especially when it is considered that clogs, or heavy wooden soled shoes,-covered with iron plates, and studded with large nails, are commonly worn iu the districts where this barbarous custom prevails". (1824)

Louie
 
Putting Lancashire and Yorkshire int he same sentence can get you beaten up you know lol!
Clogs were worn by the mill workers more in the West and South Ridings, here in the North it was and still is a very rural community with little population. As I said the charachter of the Ridings is each different and saying Yorkshire doesn't really cover all the circumstances int he county which though it's been restricted now is still the largest in England. We have more sheep than people. The other Ridings had the miners (Maggie Thatcher closed them all) as well as the mills and factory workers. Sheffield had the big steel works, Leeds , Bradford and the other big cities are a very far cry from the cities of Harrogate, Ripon and York in the rest of the county.
 
They'll open back up eventually. The English economy needs it.

Peace favor your sword,
Kirk

The lancashire cottons mills were ruined during the American Civil War when no cotton was exported. They never recovered fully. The wool mills have gone for ever. The coal mines probably won't as nuclear power is on the agenda again and coal can be imported cheaper than mined. It's the same as the steel mils, it's cheaper to import than make now.
 
The lancashire cottons mills were ruined during the American Civil War when no cotton was exported.
I'm pretty sure that Thatcher had nothing to do with that. ;)


The coal mines probably won't as nuclear power is on the agenda again and coal can be imported cheaper than mined. It's the same as the steel mils, it's cheaper to import than make now.
The global demand for coal will force the prices to a point where it is economically viable. Yes, nuke is a good idea. Lots and lots of power, much "cleaner" too but that won't stop it.

Further, the global demand for steel will eventually make it a good bet economically... if England chooses to exploit the opportunity.

Peace favor your sword,
Kirk
 
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