Year | Champion |
---|---|
2019 | Simon Margetts |
2018 | Richard Cawley |
2017 | Richard Cawley |
2016 | Ashley Cawley |
2015 | Richard Cawley |
2014 | Ashley Cawley |
2013 | Ashley Cawley |
2012 | Ashley Cawley |
2011 | Ashley Cawley |
2010 | Ashley Cawley |
2009 | Richard Cawley |
2008 | Ashley Cawley |
2007 | Gerry Cawley |
2006 | Ashley Cawley |
2005 | Ashley Cawley |
2004 | D Richardson |
2002 | Gerry Cawley |
2001 | Glyn Jones |
2000 | Glyn Jones |
1999 | Glyn Jones |
1998 | Glyn Jones |
1994 | Matthew Deacon |
1992 | P French |
1991 | Gerry Cawley |
1990 | C Udry |
1986 | Fred W Thomas |
1985 | Fred W Thomas |
1984 | Gerry Cawley |
1983 | Gerry Cawley |
1982 | D Henwood |
1981 | Chris Hunt |
1980 | Chris Hunt |
1979 | Chris Hunt |
1978 | K Hawkey |
1977 | John Dorning |
1976 | K Hawkey |
1975 | Rueben Chapman |
1973 | Rueben Chapman |
1971 | Chris Hunt |
1970 | K Hawkey |
1969 | John Venton |
1968 | W J Treglown |
1967 | John Venton |
1966 | Michael S G Roberts |
1965 | K Hawkey |
1964 | K Hawkey |
1963 | Dennis Pashley |
1962 | Dennis Pashley |
1961 | Dennis Pashley |
1960 | Dennis Pashley |
1959 | Dennis Pashley |
1958 | Dennis Pashley |
1957 | Thomas Henry Warne |
1956 | Keith J Menadue |
1955 | Geof J Menadue |
1953 | Michael S G Roberts |
1952 | William Chapman |
1951 | William Chapman |
1950 | T H Warne |
1949 | William Chapman |
1948 | William Chapman |
1947 | William Chapman |
1946 | William Chapman |
1939 | William Chapman |
1938 | William Chapman |
1937 | William A Phillips |
1936 | Francis Gregory |
1935 | Francis Gregory |
1934 | Francis Gregory |
1933 | Francis Gregory |
1932 | Francis Gregory |
1931 | Francis Gregory |
1930 | Francis Gregory |
1929 | Francis Gregory |
1928 | Francis Gregory |
1927 | C Warne |
1926 | C Warne |
1925 | F Richards |
1924 | F Richards |
All posts by Ash
Fixture List 2019
EVENTS AND FIXTURE LIST 2019
JUNE
6 – 8th Royal Cornwall Show.
Twice daily demonstrations.
Sat 22th St.Merryn Tournament. St.Merryn Steam Rally. 2pm
Cornish Lightweight Championship. ( Under 12 stones )
Open Class.
Under 14 Championship ( Under 14 years at 1st May )
Junior Classes: under 10; under 12; under 16; and under 18.
JULY
Sat 6th Bodmin Tournament. Priory Park. 2pm
Bodmin Helliers Championship.
Under 12 Championship ( Under 12 at 1st May ).
Open Class.
Junior Classes: under 10; under 14; under 16 and under 18.
Sun 14th Lostwithiel Tournament. King George V Playing field. 2pm.
Cornish Featherweight Championship ( Under 11 stones )
Open Class.
Novice Class.
Lightweight Class (Regatta Cup).
Junior Classes: under 10, under 12, under 14, under 16 and under 18.
JULY ctd
Mon 15th Stithians Show
Wrestling demonstrations.
Sat 20th St.Mawgan Tournament. 2pm
Open Class.
Novice.
Junior Classes: under 10; under 12; under 14; under 16 and under 18.
Plus local St.Mawgan cups.
AUGUST
Wed 7th St. Columb Tournament. Recreation Ground.7pm.
Cornish Under 18 Championship. ( Under 18 years at 1st May )
Under 10 Championship. ( Under 10 years at 1st May )
Open Class.
Junior Classes: under 10; under 12; under 14; under 16.
Sat 17th St.Stephen Tournamet. King’s Arms Field. 2pm
Cornish Lightheavyweight Championship. ( Under 15 stones )
Men’s Open Class.
Junior Classes: under 10; under 12; under 14; under 16; under 18.
SEPTEMBER
Sun 1st Helston Tournament. Sunken Garden. 2pm.
Cornish Middleweight Championship. ( Under 13 stones )
Cornish Under 16 Championship. ( Under 16 years at 1st May )
Open Class.
Junior Classes: under 10; under 12; under 14 and under 18.
Sat 7th Cornish Gorsedh.
Wrestling demonstrations.
Sun 8th Truro Tournament. Boscawen Park. 2pm
Cornish Heavyweight Championship.
Cornish Ladies’ Championship.
Novice Class.
Junior Classes: under 10; under 12; under 14; under 16 and under 18.
OCTOBER
NOVEMBER
Sun 3rd Lowender Perran, Newquay
Demonstrations.
Fri 8th Annual General Meeting. St.Columba Centre, St.Columb Major. 8pm
Sat 16th Annual Dinner. The White House Inn, Perranzabuloe.
2017 Fixture List
JULY
Sat 15th St.Mawgan Tournament. 2pm
Men’s Open
Novice.
Junior Classes: under 10; under 12; under 14; under 16 and under 18.
Plus local St.Mawgan cups.
Sun 16th Belle-Isle-en-Terre, Brittany. Annual wrestling tournament.
AUGUST
Wed 9th St. Columb Tournament.7pm.
Cornish Under 18 Championship.
Under 10 Championship.
Men’s Open Class.
Junior Classes: under 10; under 12; under 14; under 16.
Fri 4th – Lorient Festival, Brittany
Sun 13th
Sun 20th Guingamp, Brittany. Festival of St.Loup.
Sat 19th St.Stephen, King’s Arms Field. 2pm
Cornish Lightheavyweight Championship.
Men’s Open Class.
Junior Classes: under 10; under 12; under 14; under 16; under 18.
Mon 28th Tournament at Horningtops Steam Rally, near Looe
Men’s Open Class.
Under 12 Championship.
Junior Classes: under 10; under 14; under 16; under 18.
.
SEPTEMBER
Sat 2nd Cornish Gorsedh.
Sun 3rd Helston Tournament. Sunken Garden. 2pm.
Cornish Middleweight Championship.
Cornish Under 16 Championship.
Men’s Open Class.
Junior Classes: under 10; under 12; under 14 and under 18.
Sun 10th Truro Tournament. Boscawen Park. 2pm
Cornish Heavyweight Championship.
Cornish Ladies’ Championship.
Novice Class.
Junior Classes: under 10; under 12; under 14; under 16 and under 18.
November
Fri 10th Annual General Meeting. St.Austell Royal British Legion. 8.15pm
Sat 18th Annual Dinner. The White House Inn, Perranzabuloe.
St Mawgan 2017
Helston 2015 Photos
Results from St Mawgan Tournament 2015
Under 10’s Competition
1st – Jake Hannaford
2nd – George Riley-Flinder
3rd – Olwyn Champliand Tal-e-dot
Under 12’s Competition
1st – Carrie-Anne Allan
2nd -Lily Atrinson
3rd – Jake Hannaford
4th – Corey Keelan
Under 14’s Competition
1st – Dougie Allan
2nd – Jamie Pyne
3rd – Bennath Webster
Under 16’s Competition
1st – Rob Doughty
2nd – Toby Garner
3rd – Joe Cawley
4th – Luke Hannaford
5th – Jamie Hannaford
Under 18’s Competition
1st – Joe Cawley
2nd – Rob Doughty
3rd – Luke Hannaford
Novice Competition
1st – Tim Nicholas
2nd – Steve Nicholas
3rd – Tim Rickard
4th – Clive Mitchell
5th – Phil Riley
Middleweight Open Competition
1st – Toby Garner
2nd – Jamie Hannaford
Men’s Open Competition
1st – Ashley Cawley
2nd – Dougie Allan
St Mawgan Tournament 2014 DVD
Action packed traditional Cornish sport, containing some of the best Cornish Wrestling action of the season.
Recorded in high-quality with slow-motion replays for ‘backs’ and other great throws.
A great learning tool for those interested in the sport.
£5.99 (for UK delivery)
Wordwide shipping is available for an additional £2, if you require international shipping please use the Buy Now button below.
£7.99 (for worldwide delivery)
Please note that international orders may be processed using slimmer packaging and may not contain a standard DVD case as shown above.
Cornish Wrestling – A Living Tradition
Wrestling is a distinct Cornish tradition that survives to the present day.
The history of Cornish Wrestling goes back so far it is lost in the midst of time. The first mention of Celtic Wrestling appears in the ancient book of Leinster, referring to the sport being included in the Tailteann Games which date back to at least 1829 BC. We know Wrestling was established in Cornwall before the Roman invasion and that the Cornish meetings on Halvager Moor were held during the dark-ages.
The Cornish contingent with Henry V at Agincourt (1415) marched under a banner depicting two Wrestlers “in a hitch”. The banner needed no words; the pictures of the wrestlers was enough to let anyone know the men of Cornwall were behind it.
During the famous meeting between Henry VIII and Francis I of France (on the Field of the Cloth of Gold) a team of wrestlers representing the English king defeated the champions of France. This contingent, which humbled the French team, consisted entirely of men from Cornwall. Godolphin the chief wrestler had received the Royal command direct to bring his men to uphold the king’s honour at Calais.
Wrestling is our national sport in Cornwall, a direct living link with our ancestors handed down through an un-broken chain, from father to son, brother to brother and friend to friend for over 3,000 years.
Many times, Cornish Wrestlers have displayed their prowess before a royal audience. King Charles II believed that the Cornish were “masters in the art of wrestling” after attending a tournament at Bodmin while on his way to the Isles of Silly. It was during his reign that Tomas Hawken of Cubert threw Lyttleton Weynorth, who claimed to be the champion wrestler of “all England”.
Richard Carew, famous for his survey of Cornwall (1602) said that at about 1590 even their Breton neighbours did not match the Cornish in the art of Wrestling. Men from all walks of life took part in the sport. One of the best known wrestlers of the 17th century was Richard Stevens, the head master of Truro Grammar school; inventor Richard Trevithick was another. In the 18th and 19th centuries for which information is more readily available, we see records of tournaments that ran for a week to find the standing men to contest the semi-finals and finals on the Saturday and Sunday. With crowds of upwards of 10,000 for such finals or big name challenge matches, large sums of money often changed hands
Royal Cornwall Show 2014
Here are the photos taken by Ashley Cawley at the Royal Cornwall Show 2014.
Cornish Wrestlers perform demonstrations at the Royal Cornwall Show twice a day for all three days of the event down in the Country Side area.
Wrestling Between Devon and Cornwall – 1826
One of the most famous encounters between wrestlers of Cornwall and Devon must surely be the great wrestling bout of 1826. Any match between Devon and Cornwall was most certainly hotly disputed, and always bore a pridely grudge, and this was no exception.
James Polkinghorne was to meet Abraham Cann. James Polkinghorne although born at St Kevern, is usually associated with St Columb for it was there he was landlord of the Red Lion Hotel and from there that he set forth to uphold the honour of Cornish Wrestling against Cann the challenger.
The match was to find the champion of the West of England and took place at Tamar-Green, Devonport on the 23rd of October 1826. The ultimate result of which has never really been agreed and has remained a matter of great controversy ever since.
It was from St Stephens he set off in his gig on the long trip with his brother to Tamar-Green, Morrice Town, Devonport.
From such information as is still available it seems that controversy surrounding the very outset is to be found. In an article in wrestling it’s heyday and decline, especially written in July 1960 for the 150th Anniversary supplement of the West-Briton who had incorporated the royal Cornwall Gazette, the late reverent Leslie Jolly a recognised authority on wrestling, even wondered if Polkinghorne was infact the proper person to meet the rather impudent challenging Cann.
Mr Jolly who’s grandfather of Penscawen, St Enader, was a renowned wrestler during the early part of the nineteenth century, made a case for Parkyn of St Columb Minor who’s reputation had remained unquestioned for 20 years, to have accepted Cann’s challenge and been Cornwall’s representative, even though then Parkyn was 52 and Polkinghorne a mere 38. Parkyn’s claims were upheld by many followers of the sport, even by some at St Columb but never the less it was Polkinghorne who eventually went across the Tamar.
During a long period of negotiations that followed the challenge that, according to the reverent Mr Jolly, Polkinghorne had made his first mistake by consenting to a kind of contest more likely to favour Cann than himself.
Polkinghorne should have insisted on a meeting where each man would have to win through to the final pair in open contest, similar to the way in which Parkyn had defeated Stiffy of St Just the mystery man of wrestling in 1809 in Falmouth.
By this means Polkinghorne, who was a man of great strength but did not have a lot of stamina for the protracted wrestling required by the conditions, would have met lesser men on his way up to the final, or as was perfectly permissible, at that time engaged substitutes to secure his placing.
West Briton’s account of the match, published on October 27th 1826 reported that, Quote “When Cann entered the ring, he went up to Polkinghorne and the competitors immediately shook hands, when they retired to equip themselves for the contest.
To be continued!…