Gallery Oldham is planning a fascinating new exhibition and we’re sure it will kick up a bit of a fuss.
The staff are currently working with artist Anna FC Smith on a show which looks at the long forgotten sport of clog fighting – sometimes dubbed a martial art of the Victorian era – in the borough and beyond.
And to make sure the exhibition is a success they want residents to submit any family stories or even urban legends they may have heard.
Clog fighting, often called ‘Purring’, was usually an illicit back street sport which means there are few traces of it in written records.
Any tales collected during Anna’s research will be used as a part of the exhibition ‘Purring – Sport of the People’ which opens at Gallery Oldham on January 9, 2016.
Members of the public are invited to add their stories to a unique body of research, where no piece of information is too small.
The exhibition will combine Anna’s art with historical research into the codes and customs of ‘Purring’.
In these contests, which mainly took place in northern mill towns, working men would engage in one-on-one combat, kicking unprotected shins with their metal-soled clogs.
Purring, and its links to Oldham, will be re-examined through archival investigation, interviews, art film, drawings, and objects from Gallery Oldham’s collections.
Anna plans to re-examine the atmosphere and context of this shadowy past – though violent, in the context of the fighters’ tough working class lives, purring was a genuine expression of good humour and chivalry.
Anna said: “The most fascinating and ground breaking information about purring came from previous interviews with the public and I’m really looking forward to recording the tales of Oldham so this information isn’t lost forever.”
Councillor Barbara Brownridge, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods and Co-operatives, said: “I think it’s fair to say that it’s a relief clog fighting isn’t practised these days or there would be quite a few people with shin injuries around the borough!
“Purring is part of our history so I hope residents will come forward and help Anna unearth some stories for what promises to be a very interesting exhibition.”
If you know anything about the sport or anyone who took part in the Oldham area please email sean.baggaley@oldham.gov.uk or call 0161 770 4662.
Alternatively you can meet Anna in Gallery Oldham on any Thursday in November between 1.30pm and 5pm.
