Shrovetide Football in Ashbourne & Atherstone

Working with the communities of Ashbourne (Derbyshire) and Atherstone (Warwickshire), and with artists Kelly O’Brien and Lewis Khan, we are delighted to announce a new photography and heritage project that explores ritual, identity and place-making through the annual and unique Shrovetide Football Game. 

We are delighted to be supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund and to be working in partnership with FORMAT International Photography Festival and Derby Museums Trust to co-curate an exhibition, opening in March 2027 at Derby Museum & Art Gallery.    We are also generously supported by the Derbyshire and Warwickshire Library Services, and the local libraries of Ashbourne and Atherstone, in creating a new Shrovetide archive.

Shrovetide Football is a significant ritual that dates back to the Middle Ages in the UK.   Ashbourne and Atherstone host and look after two of the only surviving games.  In these two distinct market towns the Games are fundamental to local people, pride and place.  In addition to the Games themselves much of the heritage exists in people’s memories, in stories passed down through families and in vernacular photography.  

The project will work with community groups and individuals in the two towns to develop new artwork and to collect oral histories and heritage imagery.  The materials will speak of rural culture and histories blended with folklore and ritual.  They will also bear witness to independence, tradition and survival of an ancient custom.

Working with photographers Kelly O’Brien and Lewis Khan, new photography will be made based on research and socially engaged activities, utilising vernacular photography to explore ideas and themes of class, gender and hidden histories.  Following workshops with a range of community groups, where photographs and oral histories will be shared, we will consider images, memories and stories, create new photography and text together, that represents place making and identity.

The project will identify, protect and save heritage materials, whilst paying credit to the individuals and groups who have retained them, and scanning and digitising content for future generations.  Through the artist’s new work, made in response to the Shrovetide Game, we will explore the themes of the game and its heritage and bring greater understanding to the significance of the event in British folklore and in the understanding of community, identity and belonging today. 

The exhibition will feature the artist’s new work, photography and film, vernacular photography, heritage objects and works from historical collections.  It will be open to the public from March to August 2027 and will feature a number of associated events and activities.

Niamh Treacy, QUAD Exhibitions & FORMAT Producer said, ‘Derby QUAD and FORMAT International Photography Festival are delighted to be part of the Heritage, People & Place project as an exhibiting partner. The Shrovetide game has such deep-seated and important routes in Derby and Derbyshire; to be able to present its heritage through both a historical and contemporary lens to our audiences is a privilege. Sharing this intrinsically local history and heritage through FORMAT’s international stage speaks to the importance of this long-standing traditional game, the people who have played it, the communities that have built it and those who keep its legacy alive.’  

And Dr Alex Rock, Director of Commercial and Operations for Derby Museums said, ‘The FORMAT International Photography Festival is the UK’s most prestigious contemporary photography festival, and at Derby Museums we’ve been longstanding partners. This crucial support by the National Lottery Heritage Fund allows us, alongside our project partners, to continue our work celebrating the heritage of Derby and Derbyshire. Shrovetide is an important part of our region’s heritage and identity, and we can’t wait to present the works of Kelly and Lewis to our audiences’.This project and the exhibition is generously supported by National Lottery players, The National Lottery Heritage Fund, FORMAT International Photography Festival, Derby Museums Trust and Harry M. Stevens Family Foundation Inc.

Image Credit: Atherstone Ball Game, 1948. Image Courtesy of Atherstone Heritage Centre