Cheese Rolling at Cooper’s Hill will feature on these great new stamps

It is the event which attracts thousands of visitors from across the globe, and now Cheese Rolling at Cooper’s Hill will feature on a brand new stamp.

In a proud moment for for the team of dedicated volunteers who keep the centuries old tradition alive, Royal Mail has announced that the famous “sport” be getting its own stamp in a new collection.

They revealed the announcement as part of the ‘Curious Customs Collection’, which features eight events from around the country.

The colourful illustrations depict and capture the spirit of well known, and some not so well known, annual customs taking place around the UK.

Including Brockworth’s own annual cheese rolling competition, where contestants run down Cooper’s Hill after a big round wheel of Double Gloucester and the first person to catch it or get to the bottom of the hill first gets to keep it.

Royal Mail worked with award winning folklorist, Steve Roud, on the stamp issue.

 

Cheese Rolling Committee member Candis Phillips spoke of her pride of the stamp and what she now believed would happen because of the acheivement.

She said: “The Royal  Mail contacted me about a year ago to tell us about the stamp and ask if we were okay with it and to have a look at the design for them.

“We were sworn to secrecy because of copyright issues but when we saw the design we thought it was brilliant and so colourful.

“I felt very proud of it. As the oldest member of the committee I could really understand and see how important this is for the heritage and longevity of the event.

“Personally I feel it’s amazing, more than amazing. It’s a staple in British culture.”

 

Candis believes that if Cooper’s Hill is not maintained and taken responsibility of then the hill will erode and the event will have to be stopped.

She said: “The reality will be that it will stop if the hill is not maintained.

“It needs to be left alone for two or three years. Maybe the cheese rolling might have to stop every two years or three years like Glastonbury to allow it to go on long term, and the stamp and collaboration will help that along.”

Some customs are often geared to natural stages of the year, or seasons, while others are linked to religious festivals and saints’ days, sporting events or specific occupations.

 

Due to a remarkable renaissance in the second half of the 20th century, communities began taking renewed pride in their colourful folk heritage. Defunct customs were revived, while others adapted or created events to produce new traditions – for fun and for good causes.

Philip Parker of Royal Mail, said: “Communities throughout the UK have been coming together for centuries to share distinctive traditions and mark key dates of the year.

“These customs continue to evolve, and our new stamps celebrate their diversity and the communities that maintain them.”

To accompany the stamp issue, Royal Mail commissioned a poem by performance poet, Matt Harvey.

Entitled, ‘Customs and Exercise’, the poem celebrates and commemorates the eight UK customs featured on the stamps.

 

Candis has been trying to get the site monumented as a historical site, like Stonehenge. This would mean it was regularly maintained and looked after.

She believes that the hill is man-made, and says it cannot be dated to find out what it’s original purpose was for with the flat top, but that it could date back as far as the 1600s or 1700s.

She continued: “I’m not saying it’s Stonehenge but it is definitely a landmark .Stonehenge wasn’t natural and neither is the hill, the hill has definitely been flattened on purpose, but we don’t know what for, whether it’s cheese rolling or what.

“I believe if we can get it monumented as a historical site it will keep it maintained, like Stonehenge.”

 

Stamp-by-Stamp

Cheese Rolling, Cooper’s Hill, Brockworth

Chasing a large cheese (or similar round object) down a hill was a widespread game at fairs and wakes in the past.

At Cooper’s Hill near Brockworth in Gloucestershire, the fair has long gone, but the rolling game continues every Spring Bank Holiday.

None of the contestants has much hope of catching up with the cheese but the first to reach the bottom of the hill wins the prize.

Burning The Clocks, Brighton

A highly popular community midwinter folk festival in which participants carry paper clock lanterns made of willow wands and figures.

The procession culminates on the beach where the lanterns are set alight and a firework display takes place.

Established in 1994 this is an example of a successful modern tradition.

 

‘Obby ‘Oss, Padstow

Two strange beasts called Osses (but barely resembling horses) swirl and sway through the streets of the Cornish town of Padstow on May Day accompanied by a host of drummers, musicians and dancers. before finally ‘dying’ at midnight.

The first documentary record of this custom dates from 1803.

World Gurning Championships, Egremont

Gurning (or ‘girning’) was a widespread dialect word, from the same root as ‘grinning’, originally signifying ‘snarling’ or ‘baring the teeth in rage’.

However, when it was adopted as an entertainment or competition at fairs, gurning took on the meaning of ‘pulling funny or ugly faces’.

The Egremont Crab Fair in Cumbria was established in 1267, making it one of the oldest fairs in the world.

Each September it holds the World Gurning Championships where each contestant’s face is framed within a large horse collar.

 

Up Helly AA, Lerwick

An impressive and famous fire festival which is more than 100 years old takes place in Lerwick on the last Tuesday of January.

People in dress parade through the Shetland town, carrying blazing torches including the Guizer Squad in full Viking attire.

A full size wooden Viking longship (built over the preceding year) is pulled through the town and is later ceremonially burned as part of the festivities.

Halloween, Derry/LondonDerry

Halloween’s origins are in the Celtic festival of Samhain and a tradition of dressing up and calling at houses for gifts has been common for many centuries.

The world’s biggest Halloween Party is in Derry/Londonderry which now welcomes around 80,000 people.

It involves parades, fancy dress, ghost walks, fireworks and was named as the world’s best Halloween celebration by a poll for USA Today.

 

Horn Dance, Abbot’s Bromley

This famous and ancient custom is unique in Europe.

Six men carrying huge reindeer antlers plus characters dressed as Maid Marian, Fool, Hobby Horse and Bowman, celebrate ancient hunting rites.

They perambulate the Staffordshire parish and at set places perform a dance.

The design of the costumes and the dance have been preserved for hundreds of years, with the earliest reference to the horns dating from the 1630s.

The horns have been carbon dated to around 1000 AD.

 

Bog Snorkelling, Llanwrtyd Wells

First held in 1976 the event involves contestants going across and back through a water-filled trench in a peat bog, with the fastest being the winner.

Competitors from all over the world travel to the Welsh town of Llanwrtyd Wells each August to take part.

Snorkels are essential as participants must remain submerged and only use flippers to propel themselves.

This is an excellent example of a modern calendar custom based on a unique sporting event.

The stamps and a range of collectible products are available now by clicking here .

Or by phone on 03457 641 641 and from 9 July in 7,000 Post Offices throughout the UK.

What do you think of the Cheese Rolling stamp? Do you like the design? Let us know!