Malcolm Bull's Calderdale Companion : Foldout

Knur & spell

Knur & spell – aka Billeting, Billets, Poor man's golf, and Spell & Trap - was a popular game in the district until the early part of this century.

The wooden, clay or earthenware ball about the size of a golf ball – the knur – was held and released by the mechanism of a spell, or suspended in a loose sling. The word is sometimes spelled knurr or nurr. In some forms of the game, the knur was a knot of wood cut out of a tree. Some newspaper reports specify that the game is

to be played with holly knurs

The knur was then struck with a clubbed stick – known as the buckhead, pummel, or tribbit - the aim being to hit the knur the greatest distance.

The stick was about 4 ft in length, and had a hard wooden head about 6 ins long, 4 ins wide and 1 ins thick.

The longest shot is known as a cut.

The player – or laiker – is supported by a baumer or caddy.

The game is recorded in the 14th century.

The game was regularly played at local venues such as Blackheath Barrow, Gun Club Field, Lightcliffe, Popples Common, Rive Rocks, Todmorden and Spring Rock Inn, Greetland.

The game was frequently accompanied by betting, and often for very high stakes. At Stainland, the winner of the game received a copper kettle.

Shrove Tuesday and Good Friday were popular dates for the game to be played.

On December 26th 1852, Bell's announced a game with James Foster of Northowram and Samuel Carver of Stump Cross.
On 9th January 1869, a match for £100 and the championship was played before a large crowd at the Craven Heifer Grounds, Denholme, between H. Smith, alias Throstle, of Halifax, and John Jackson, alias Jackson's Lad, of Bradford. After a well-contested game, Jackson scored of 304, Smith scored 298 and won the long knock
On 1st October 1870, there were 72 entrants and over 1,000 spectators at a knur & spell match which took place at Roomfield Lane, Todmorden
On Saturday 6th May 1871, 6,000 paying spectators attended Belle Vue Grounds at Halifax for a knur and spell match between John Jackson, the champion, and H. Cockroft of Ovenden. Cockcroft was allowed 8 scores in 30 rises for £50 a side. From the start of the game, Jackson gained, ultimately winning by 23 scores. Jackson scored 304 [in his 30 rises], and Cockcroft [with the 8 scores given] scored 281
On 11th November 1889, a claim to the world record was made at Lightcliffe when Fred Moore of Halifax sent the knur a distance of 372 yards, 1 ft, 18 ins

The name of the game may be derived from the dialect word spell, or from the Middle English knirre spel meaning knot game.

It is said that the game died out because no more clay knurs were being made

See Bottomley Arms, Shelf, Golden Eagle, Halifax, Heptonstall Museum, Lower George, Halifax, Wraggles Inn, Halifax, The Crispin Inn: Shibden Hall, Windmill Tavern, Northowram and Yorkshire Film Archive

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