What is Cooper’s Hill Cheese Roll?
There she rolls!
Hello!
In case you haven’t noticed, I enjoy an obscure celebration in a small town.
Earlier this year, I ventured to Olney, England to watch their annual pancake race.
And while I was planning that trip, I came across another small town celebration in England – where thousands of people gather to watch competitors chase a wheel of cheese down a hill.
Chasing cheese down a hill?
What!?
Of course I was curious!
My quest to see competitors chase a wheel of cheese down a hill took me 100 miles northwest of London to attend the Cooper’s Hill Cheese Roll.
Each year on the spring bank holiday1, residents from the nearby village of Brockworth (and many from further afield) gather to celebrate – and compete for a wheel of cheese.
A Master of Ceremonies stands at the top of Cooper’s Hill, wearing a top hat decorated with coloured ribbons, and signals the start of each race by saying:
One to be ready
Two to be steady
Three to prepare
Four to be off!
When the MC says “three”, an 8-pound Double Gloucester cheese is sent rolling down the hill.
After the MC says “four”, around two dozen competitors are off – running 200 yards down the steep hill chasing after it.
But why do they do this – and where did this tradition begin?
Looking for answers, (and to impress bore my family with trivia), I read Jean Jeffries book, Cheese Rolling in Gloucestershire.
Jeffries notes that a lack of written records makes it difficult to pin down the details, and there are various theories that speculate on the origins of the event.
Some suggest cheese rolling dates back to pre-Roman times, and was a fertility rite heralding the return of spring, while others believe it can be traced back to pagan rituals and ceremonies connected to worshipping the sun.
The first written evidence of Cheese Rolling in Gloucestershire was found in 1826, in a message sent to the Gloucester town crier:
“Cooper’s Hill Weke to commence on Wits Monday per sicily at 3 o’clock
2 cheese to be ron for.”
However, Jeffries suggests that a cheese rolling event (known as the Cooper’s Hill Wake) was happening, at the latest, by the mid-1700s.
And the Wake celebrations had more than just cheese rolling.
Records indicate the Cooper’s Hill Wake also included tug of war between men and women, “dipping in a tub for oranges and apples” and “bobbing for penny loves smeared with treacle.”
There were also children’s sports and “scrambling for buns” – followed by the grand climax of “young fellows willing to risk the danger” of running down the “frightful declivity of a hill after a cheese.”
And Jeffries details how the event has changed over the last century.
“They used to roll as many as nine or ten cheeses,” said local Bert Gregory in a 1937 interview.
Gregory was 57-years-old at the time, and had competed in the race for 25 years, winning more than anyone in the district.
“I never broke any bones at it…It jolly well shakes you up coming down here.”
Gregory’s victories were before World War I, when the event was much different.
“Farmers round the district used to give jars of cider and there was free beer, too.
“Things were much more lively up top here then, I can tell you.”
Bill Brooks, another local who served as the Master of Ceremonies between 1884-1934, echoed Gregory’s sentiments.
“Today the cheese is rolled, and ther’ll be a tug-o’-war an’ such, an’ there be an end.
“But in my young days, every brewery for miles about sent us a barrelfull FREE!
“After the cheese had been rolled, there were donkey races and dancing and gallivanting; and the boys and girls never thought about going home until it were breakfast time in the morning after.
“Happy days!”
For his book Gloucestershire, author Kenneth Hare wondered if cheese rolling could survive World War II.
“Of course,” a local told him.
“Us were Cheese Rolling bevore newfangled vootball an’ cricket were thought on!”
And that local was right.
The Cheese Roll may have changed, but it did survive World War II – even though rationing meant that they had to use a wooden “cheese” instead of the real thing for the events between 1939 and 1945.
Though the war could not stop the event, injuries nearly did.
After the 1997 event, there were 33 competitors treated for injuries, including broken bones, which led to pressure to cancel the event.
Six days before the 1998 race, the Cheese Roll Committee reluctantly concluded that due to safety concerns (and bureaucratic constraints), the event had to be cancelled.
But at 6:30 am on the bank holiday, a small group of people gathered at the hill to roll a cheese (that was ‘chased’ by a ‘handful of people’).
The event was to be banned after that, but the village of Brockworth (and cheese rolling fans) wouldn’t stand for that.
Organizers were determined to bring the event back, and implemented new safety measures before the 1999 race.
They put up orange fencing along the hillside, hired a private medical team, and brought in stewards for crowd control.
But perhaps the smartest thing they changed was the timing of the event, moving it from 6 pm to 12 pm.
Alcohol and the race were not a recent problem, as ‘fighting and ruffianism’ were reported as far back as 1890, but the change in time cut down on the amount of alcohol consumed before the races.
But even with those changes, the event has still been at risk.
As its popularity has grown, the event has attracted more spectators than the area can safely accommodate.
About 15,000 people turned up for the 2009 race – three times the amount the venue is suitable for.
This led to the cancellation of the event in 2010, and organizers scrambled to figure out how to keep the tradition alive – and keep people safe.
In 2011, a new plan was announced: The Cheese Roll would move to June, and become a ticketed two-day event.
Locals were outraged at the idea, and there was so much backlash that the event was scrapped.
But the Cheese didn’t stand alone that year – and the event continued (unofficially) with about 200 people attending.
Former winner Helen Thorpe said:
“No one’s going to stop us doing it.
“They say it’s not official, but we are all Brockworth people and we’re running the cheese today so it is official.
“We strongly believe in it.”
But cheese rolling was forced to halt when Covid hit in 2020.
Both the 2020 and 2021 events were cancelled, though a ceremonial cheese was still rolled to maintain the tradition.2
But the event was successfully held again in 2022 and 2023.
And that brings us to 2024…
The competition wasn’t due to start until 12 noon, but I began my hike to the hill at 9:30 that morning.
On the way, I met two people who were competing that day, and two others who had travelled in – like me – just to see what this spectacle was all about.
I thought I might be among the earliest arrivals, until the path I was on met up with another path (which turned out to be the main path).
My umbrella was no match for the rain that was falling, but as the crowd around me grew, I sensed I was getting closer to the action.
I turned a corner and then I realized the uphill climb I had just finished had only brought me to the base of Cooper’s Hill.
I had seen pictures of the hill online, but standing at the base of it now I couldn’t believe how big – and how steep – it looked in person.
Hay bales and a metal fence were lined up at the bottom of the hill, ready to catch the cheese (and the competitors) after they made their 200-yard dash down the hill.
It was only 10:15 am, but hundreds of cheese fans were already huddled alongside the mesh orange barrier fencing that ran down both sides of the hill.
I dredged through the mud as quickly as I could and made my way to the left side of the hill and began climbing up, bypassing the chance to get a coffee from the small stand by the hillside.
I stopped near a section of metal fence to survey my viewing options.
Should I climb uphill to seek shelter under the trees, or stay closer to the finish line, knowing I would likely get drenched?
The choice was easy.
I hadn’t traveled all this way not to see the action.
Across the hill I clocked a warning sign:
“WARNING: All spectators and participants are here at your own risk.”
The area where I was standing was one of the few sections that benefited from the protection of a taller section of metal gate.
It wasn’t ideal for taking photos, but it was the best protection I could have from an 8-pound Double Gloucester cheese flying down the hill at 80 mph.
I was muddy. I was soaked.
But I was ready.
(To watch, that is).
With the sound system blaring 1980s hits from a-ha and Wham!, there was only one thing left to do – Wait.
As the spectators continued to fill the hillsides, members of the local rugby team huddled by the base of the hill, ready to catch and assist any flying competitors.
“Cheese! Cheese! CHEESE! CHEESE! CHEESE!”
The chants grew louder from the crowd of thousands gathered around me.
At 11:55 am, a voice came over the loudspeaker announcing the first event – a men’s downhill race – would start in five minutes.
I did not hear the MC call the first race, but I saw a white wheel of cheese hurl down the hill – and then two dozen men chase after it.
Some ran, some rolled, and some tumbled down violently – but in mere seconds, it was over.
A competitor named Tom Kopke claimed victory – and promised he’d be back to race again.
“Once [you] start with cheese rolling, there’s no going back.”
-2024 Winner Tom Kopke
The first race may have been over, but now it was the medical team’s time to shine, as they immediately tended to injured competitors.
Injuries continue to be part of the tradition – and while most competitors escape with scrapes and bruises, some leave with more serious injuries.
The downhill race was followed by an uphill race for children under 11, who were aided up (and back down) the hill by the rugby players.
The program then alternated between downhill and uphill races, each run 15 minutes apart.
The seven races that day included three downhill races for men, one downhill race for women3, two uphill races for children, and one uphill race for men and women.
Though the event is clearly strong in the hearts of the people of Brockworth, it now has international appeal – and international competition.
Brockworth local Chris Anderson still holds the record for winning 23 cheeses, but now competitors from New Zealand, the US, and Australia have also taken home the cheese.4
The international appeal of the Cheese Roll was evident, as the first three downhill races at the 2024 event had victors from Germany, Australia, and the US.
Then, just before 1:30pm, the final men’s downhill race was about to begin.
The chants of “CHEESE! CHEESE! CHEESE!” grew louder and louder – and then the cheese was off – followed quickly by the last round of competitors.
The crowd erupted when local resident Joshua Shepherd took home the final cheese for Brockworth – his second career win.
And just when I thought it was over, a sea of people charged down the hill for one last run.
One more thing…
You can find out more about the Cheese Roll in the Netflix series, We Are The Champions.
NOTE: I’m heading to Madrid next week for work, so Curious Minds will be taking a short siesta.
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-Beth
The last Monday in May
This also happened in 2001, when the event was cancelled due to the foot and mouth crisis.
Records indicate the first “village maidens” ran for cheese in 1910.
Customs permitting, that is. 😉
I absolutely LOVED that Netflix series. Although I've seen many old newsreels about the cheese rolling through my day job, I have never been to witness it in person. I HAVE been to the Olney pancake race though - similarly bonkers - though less risk of physical injury - haha. So pleased you got to brave those cheese loving crowds so I don't have to!
This is awesome!! I love that you did this. I especially love Abby’s recursive shirt.