Regency Pastimes: Smock Race

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Smock Race INNI SMOCK RACING though a common Shrove tide sport in coun try places is not confined to any particular season but is practised both in the Easter and Whitsun holidays as well as at other periods when the lovers of fun unite their mites to defray the charges of the Chemise and its garniture When pursued with spirit this pastime affords considerable amuse ment to its roguish patrons who usually promote the race for the sake of participating in the rustic's loud laugh to em ploy the words of the old song should either of the contend ing wenches expose by tripping in the course those charms which her modesty would conceal When the time for the race is fixed the Smock which is generally of fine Holland cloth ornamented with bows of coque licot that is poppy coloured or other ribbands is attached to a pole or standard and carried in procession through the village or neighbourhood with a drum beating and fife sounding or such music as can be procured playing and the merry lasses are invited to enrol themselves as candidates for the prize Though perhaps backward at first from feel ings of timidity and shame yet the desire of wearing so attractive an object conjoined with the hope of victory generally proves sufficiently powerful to induce many a blushing maiden to enter the lists and like a new Atalanta exert her utmost speed to conquer in the race An hundred and fifty or two hundred yards and back again is commonly the appointed distance yet short as this appears the encumbrance of the female dress frequently occasions a false step and the career of expected conquest is checked by a sudden fall but this instead of ex citing commiseration for the disappointed damsel is com monly the signal for shouting and laughter on the part of the spectators and the poor girl for the remainder of the day be comes subject to be quizzed by her compeers Though more
properly a rustic diversion this sport is occasionally promoted at the watering places round the coast subscriptions being raised for the purpose among the visitors The Smock Race is a common pastime at wakes and fairs in many parts of the kingdom Popular pastimes, being a selection of picturesque representations of the customs & amusements of Great Britain, in ancient and modern times (1816).

Shrove-tide is the period of time before Lent where Christian prepares for Lent, and typically includes a series of merry-making before the solemnity of the holiday.  The tradition is said to date to roughly the medieval period, and had the tinge of the scandalous for women running in their undergarments.  It also would be sneered at a bit by the London newspapers and other publications as a “rustic” sport.

Women would race anywhere from a few hundred yards to beyond a mile, and it was not uncommon for women and girls of all ages to participate (Parratt, 2001).  There was some thought it was a way for a young woman to snag a husband by impressing him with her form and figure (Hadgraft, 2022).

Hadgraft, R. (2022). Pioneers in Bloomers: The True Story of the Pedestriennes – British Sport’s First Female Celebrities. United Kingdom: Troubador Publishing.

Parratt, C. M. (2001). More Than Mere Amusement: Working-class Women’s Leisure in England, 1750-1914. Lebanon: Northeastern University Press.

 

 

 

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