Playing Conkers

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Playing Conkers

Ignore the "thought police" who have tried to ban games such as this - playing conkers is alive and kicking! Searching for shiny brown conkers has to be one of autumn's highlights and a particularly British thing to do.

Playing Conkers - a bit of history

The game of conkers probably evolved from a game called 'conquerors', which was originally played with snail (conch) shells. A variant of the game was later played with hazelnuts on strings. By the 20th century these earlier games had almost universally been replaced by the version we now know using horse chestnuts.

There are, of course, many regional variations in the rules of the game and it has also been known by different names. In parts of the Midlands around Worcestershire it was known as 'oblionker' (pron. obly-onker) and play was accompanied by such rhymes as 'Obli, obli, onker, my first conker (conquer)'. The word oblionker apparently being a meaningless invention to rhyme with the word conquer, which has by degrees become applied to the nut itself.

The Horse Chestnut Tree

The Horse Chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum) was first introduced to Britain from the Balkans in the late 16th century, but it was not until about 200 years later that the fruits of the horse chestnut trees were used to play "conkers". Before that, "conkers" was played with hazel or cobnuts or snail shells.

The fruits of this tree resemble those of the (Sweet) Chestnut tree. They develop in prickly cases, and are ripe in September and October - the 'conker' season.

The "horse" connection is twofold: (1) Horse Chestnuts were fed to horses in the East as a stimulant and to make their coat shine. (2) The leaf-scars on the twigs have the shape of a horseshoe, including the nail holes.

The National Woodland Inventory of Woodland Trees estimates there are 470,000 Horse Chestnut trees in Great Britain.

Conkers have been carried in the pocket to help prevent piles and rheumatism, and used in wardrobes to keep away moths. Some say that conkers are an effective way to keep spiders out of the house: place conkers in the corners of a room and behind pieces of furniture.

The Camden Conker Championships

The competition is open to everyone. Register online before Thursday 28 September or on the day.

The three age categories are 7 to 11 years, 11 to 15 years and 16s and over. The winners of the three age groups will gain the kudos of being crowned Camden's first Conker Champions, as well as receiving a trophy and entry into the 2007 World Conker Championships to represent Camden.

Heats and final dates

Sunday 1 October 2006
Northeast area heats - 10am, Waterlow Park
Northwest area heats - 2pm, Kilburn Grange Park

Sunday 8 October
Central area heats - 10am, Cantelowes Garden
South area heats - 2pm, Russell Square

Sunday 15 October
Camden's Conker Championship Final - 12 noon, Cantelowes Gardens

Note that only contestants who have played in the heats will play in the final. The competition costs £1 per person to enter the competition.

The World Conker Championship

The Northamptonshire village of Ashton hosts the World Conker Championships on the second Sunday in October every year. Thousands flock to Ashton to watch this great spectacle as modern day gladiators fight for glory armed only with a nut and 12" of string.

Organised by Ashton Conker Club, the competition first took place in 1965 and has grown year-on-year ever since. Nowadays, teams from all over the world meet for the competition. The competitors play on ten white podiums on the village green and go through rounds until the winner emerges and is lead to the Conker Throne and crowned with conkers.

This year's competition takes place on Sunday 8th October 2006. The opening ceremony begins at 10:30 a.m. local (Ashton) time and long range weather forecasts already indicate fine conditions. There are separate Men's, Ladies' and Junior competitions.

Two Cities Conker Cup 2006

Thursday, October 5th 2006.
The event is expected to raise £50,000 for the NSPCC and is taking place simultaneously in Birmingham and London. Contestants are invited to pit their conker skills against each other, cheered on by England rugby stars, in the fight for the coveted title of 2006 City Conkerer. The deadline for entrants is Monday 25th September.

Conkers - is it all a bit bonkers?