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Knur and Spell

ON the Yorkshire wolds, and in the northern counties of England, Knur and Spell is the favourite game. There is no doubt that it has a common origin with bat, trap, and ball, but it is a game of finer skill, and demands considerable attention ere proficiency can be attained. Its name sounds singular to many ears. The Knur is a knor, or gnarled piece of round wood; the Spell is an instrument to "spill," or cast off the knur or ball, and the bats or sticks with which the ball is struck are known as pommels. In the matches of Knur and Spell which take place in the neighbourhood of Batley and Dewsbury, the Spell is of special form, and usually costs a guinea each, but they are not difficult to make. A good Spell is usually from 18 to 24 inches long, and is commonly made to fasten in the ground by iron spikes from 6 to 8 inches long.

The above engraving shows the construction of the Spell. It consists of a spring regulated by a thumb-screw, and is here shown released from the toothed rack, which usually holds it down. Another form of Spell is one fastened to a board thus:-- Here the rack which moves on a hinge is in position, and the Knur is in the cup, ready to be thrown into the air when the rack is released by the player. The pommels, or sticks as they are sometimes called, vary much from the ordinary bat. The shaft is formed of ash or lance-wood, and is about 4 feet long, and is fastened to the wooden head, which is about 5 inches long and 3 inches in width, flat on one side and rounded on the other. These cost about five shillings each when prepared for matches. The Knurs are usually of box-wood, turned perfectly round, at sixpence each. In some places players content themselves with merely fixing the Spell, and then touching the spring which is immediately released by the weighted rack falling down, the Knur springs into the air, and the player strikes it as it rises with the flat side of the pommel, and drives it as far as he can across the field; but to play well requires something more than this. The first thing to be done is to fix upon a centre, or some suitable spot of ground, and then the direction of the wind is observed ere the Spells are fixed, for generally players play with the wind unless it is agreed to the contrary. Every twenty yards from the centre is then marked by a stick known as a "bob," for each separate twenty yards is a unit in the score of the players, which is formed generally on so many bobs "up," or in other words so many score yards to so many "rises." Usually there are five rows of bobs, which when fixed, present an appearance somewhat like the diagram on next page. The Spells are placed right and left of the centre, and the choice of position is decided by lot, but the Spells must not be placed more than seven yards apart or less than three. An alteration of the wind does not interfere with the game, unless an agreement is made to that effect. Thirty rises each is the usual game, which is thus decided.

Each player has five rises at a time, and counts one for every twenty yards his Knur is cast after being struck by the pommel. If the Knur, which is sometimes the case, splits in two, a new rise is allowed, and ten minutes of time to make the new Knur playable. If the Knur remains among the "bobs" so that its value is doubtful, a string is stretched from the side of the bob farthest from the Spell, and if the Knur does not clear the string, it only counts for the value of the "bobs" it lies amongst; if it does clear the string, it counts one more. If a Knur is struck out of the line of "bobs," it must be measured from the Spell before the player has another rise. If he strikes three out of the line of bobs, he must turn his Spell, and should he again drive the Knur out of the line of bobs, he must play again. About 200 yards is a fair average score which is marked ten bobs towards the total.