The citizens of London held a yearly public wrestling trial on St James’s Day. In 1222 they met the men of Westminster near St Giles in the Fields with a ram as the prize, and won. The return match on Lammas Day at Westminster ended in a riot started by the bailiff of Westminster, as Strutt recounted from Matthew Paris.
London against Westminster on St James’s Day
25 July · St Giles in the Fields, London
No longer kept
annually upon St. James's day they were accustomed to make a public trial of their skill. In the sixth year of Henry the Third, they held their anniversary meeting for this purpose near the hospital of St. Matilda, at St. Giles's in the fields
From Strutt's Sports and Pastimes, 2nd ed., p. 74. Read the original
Get a copy: Amazon · Bookshop.org · AbeBooks
We may earn a small commission if you buy through these links.
Questions and comments