Woolsack Races

Tetbury's Woolsack Races began, like many of these ideas, in the pub.

In 1972 a conversation between the late Jeremy Gahagan and the then landlord of The Crown Inn thought it may be a good idea to organise some races on Bank Holiday Monday for some fun to attach to Tetbury Festival. 

It was decided the course would be from The Crown Inn in Gumstool Hill to The Royal Oak at the bottom of the hill. 

The distance between these two pubs is 280 yards. Oh, and by the way, the hill has a 1 in 4 gradient at its lower end.

And to add a little spice? Yes, the chaps should carry a bag of wool weighing 60 pounds and the ladies 35 pounds.

Anyone over 40 would require a Doctor's certificate to allow them to take part, which is fortunate when being pressed by others.

Prizes in the form of a shield or similar together with small cash awards would be presented preferably by a "personality", failing which the Mayor will do.

Golden fleeces

As with a number of Cotswold towns, wool was a money maker and local sheep were reckoned to have golden fleeces.

How accurate are these races presented? The bags of wool used in the early days were large and bulky and required a packhorse to move them, without preening oneself in front of the ladies.

Tetbury's lack of water meant the Industrial Revolution took away most of the woollen trade and left us with woolcombers who bought the basic material, cleaned it up and combed it with a special tool believed to have been invented here.

Wool taxes paid for many a war.

The 1970s were a time when medieval festivals were popular in towns such as this and it was easy to slip in another item of enjoyment to fill out the programme.

In 1972, for example, Tetbury's Festival provided for a medieval banquet and fayre, flower show, folk concert, craft exhibition and some races for young people fitted in perfectly.

Charities

The races were due to be run in the fortnight at the end of July/beginning of April. The overriding principle was to raise funds for local charities.

The Foot and Mouth outbreak of 2001 meant the races that year were postponed and picked up again a year later in 2002, by which time they were being run at what used to be called Whit Monday. 

Was it a custom to have this sort of entertainment at this time? If Cooper's Hill people can run down steeper-looking hills after a cheese, then why not?

Local sponsorship is a must for this sort of event and there have been many kind sponsors over the years who provide materials as well as cash.

Equally, there would be no races at all if brave young men and women are not prepared to put their bodies at risk to take part.

Fun

These days the event has moved down in age as well and now younger people can take part, with a smaller load and less distance to run.

Teams of four (two down and two up) make a relay team as well as there being individual races.

Some interesting teams have taken part with rugby clubs including Pontpool, Stroud, winners in 1974, our own club fields a side regularly (and wins) and the ladies team Rugby Groupies, forces; teams including one year The Royal Gurkha Rifles, Sir William Romney's School in the unlikely name of Beefcakes and many others. 

It is a fun day in which these races are run which the loudspeaker commentator complements and allows much needed income to clubs and societies.

Our near neighbour, HRH The Prince of Wales, was the official starter in 1998 to which end a plaque has been placed on the two pubs to commemorate the occasion.

Did Lord Berkeley's widow first write about the existence of such fairs in Tetbury in 1253?

This article is an external contribution and expresses a personal opinion, not the views of the BBC.

The event begins at 10am on Monday 25 May 2009 with the races taking place between 2pm-3.45pm. During the day, the History of Tetbury Society is holding an all day exhibition in the Feoffees' Committee Room in the Market Hall