the historic 824th atherstone ball game

This game is a 'medieval football' gam played annually on Shrove Tuesday.  The game honours a match played between  Leicestershire and Warwickshire in 1199, when teams competed for a bag of gold, and which was won by Warwickshire. At one time similar events were held in many towns throughout England, but Atherstone's is now one of at least three such games that are still played each year at Shrovetide.