The town of Ramsbottom in Manchester has hosted the World Championships for Black Pudding Throwing since 1984 — but the tradition itself supposedly dates back to the War of the Roses. As the Lancashire Telegraph explained in 2018:
Black pudding throwing is said to date back to the War of the Roses, where legend has it that during the final battle in Stubbins, the troops ran out of ammunition and resorted to throwing food at each other.
Black pudding was thrown by the Lancashire troops, while Yorkshire pudding were thrown by their counterparts.
Sadly, the 2020 competition was cancelled like everything else that is good and pudding-y thanks to COVID-19. But the festivities made a grand return on September 12, 2021, where Andrew Ferrier of Wolverhampton reclaimed the Black Pudding Throwing crown he had previously won in 2018.
How, exactly, does one compete in (and subsequently win) a Black Pudding Throwing Contest? According to Visit Manchester:
In this annual competition the ancient grudge between Yorkshire and Lancashire is played out again – this time by hurling Black Puddings at a pile of Yorkshire Puddings on a 20-foot high plinth. Competitors have three turns in an attempt to knock down as many Yorkshire Puddings as possible (they are arranged in a pile of a dozen) and must throw underarm from a purpose built stand called the oche .
Truly, a remarkable feat of athleticism that pays great tribute to such an important historical conflict.
World black pudding throwing championships back in Ramsbottom [Bury Times]
World Black Pudding Throwing Championships crowns two-time winner [Ashley Pemberton and Thomas Molloy / Manchester Evening News]
How I nearly became world champion at the Black Pudding Throwing Championships [Dean Kirby / I News]
