Knurr and Spell

Knurr and Spell is a pub game once very popular in Yorkshire, England, especially in the 18th and 19th centuries, but which declined rapidly to relative obscurity towards the end of the 20th century.[1][2] The game involves a wooden or pottery ball (the "Knurr") being ejected from a mechanical device with a spring-loaded cup (the "Spell"), and then hit with a shaped stick called a pommel.[3]

Game play

The game is played by a single player at any one time, who uses a stick with a shaped flat end, called a pommel to play. The player strikes a mechanical trap, called a Spell to release the spring-loaded ball, usually ceramic, but sometimes made of wood, and called a Knurr.[3]

The object of the game is to hit the Knurr the furthest out of all people in the competition, with people taking turns to play.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Knurr and Spell". Countryfile. BBC One. 2011-01-30.
  2. ^ "Yorkshire game of 'knurr and spell' rediscovered for TV". BBC News. 2011-01-28. http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/bradford/hi/people_and_places/history/newsid_9379000/9379408.stm. 
  3. ^ a b Holland, Isobel (April 2010). "Tolson Museum Top Ten - Knurrs, spell and pommel". Kirklees Council. 

External Links: OWER BIT BOG OIL (1963-1964) documentary film explaining Knurr and Spell and showing the game being played. (Yorkshire Film Archive Online)