How do you know if you’re an Uppie or a Downie?

Figuring out if you’re an Uppie or a Downie is something we get asked about every Easter.

It comes alongside Uppies and Downies, Workington’s annual mass no-rules football game that has been taking place for over 250 years.

The game see the town split into two teams – the Uppies and the Downies – who then go head-to-head in an attempt to hail the ball in their designated goal at either the top or the bottom of the town and win over the course of three matches.

While some people believe it’s where you were born that dictates the side you play for, others think it’s all about where your loyalties and family ties lie.

So, in an effort to figure out how you should align yourself, we spoke to some experts and raided the history books for answers.

Historically, uppies and downies have divided themselves based not just on geographical lines, but also on the class, occupations and loyalties of players.

But typically, the two historically divided themselves based on the following:

Downies

Downies earned their living directly or indirectly from the sea, as sailors or dockers or carpenters.

This meant that Downie numbers were often dependent on the number of ships docked in the harbour.

A report of the Easter Tuesday game in 1849 recorded only one vessel was in, but that the shipwrights were well supported by a “gallant brigade from the same class in Maryport”.

The Downies were then joined in the 1870s by Northside ironworkers after productions of Bessemer steel began in the town in 1972.

Uppies

Historically, Uppies were largely made up of colliers working in the mines owned by the Curwens of Workington Hall.

By the end of the 18th century, four pits were operating, employing 400 men.

Workers on the Curwen estate also turned out for the Uppies.

John Christian Curwen, who died in 1828, set up a savings bank and various friendly societies, supported Parliamentary reform and promoted agricultural improvements.

In a letter to a newspaper in 1831, Messrs Curwen, Falcon and others announced that if there was no fighting or disturbance during the contest, “something handsome” would be given for refreshments.

Apparently they were able to make good on this promise.

The town docks were controlled by the Lowther family, who owned the steelworks and much of Whitehaven.

Lowthers were firm Tories while the Curwens were Whigs – which added further nuance to the Uppies and Downies rivalry.

How do people divide themselves nowadays?

These days, most people divide themselves based on where they were born.

The division is based on an imaginary line stretching from the game’s starting point on the Cloffocks, south through Vulcans Lane – Downies to the west and Uppies to the east.

People from north of the Derwent, from Northside on to Seaton, tend to be Downies, while those to the south of Workington itself, in Mossbay and Salterbeck, are usually Uppies.

Changing sides is also not unheard of and people have been known to switch teams when sides are uneven.

Some people divide themselves based on loyalties too, so for example, if their grandad is an Uppie, they may also choose to be an Uppie, even if they don’t live uptown.

People from across Cumbria and the UK have also been known to take part in Uppies and Downies, particularly if they have friends in the town or they moved away, but have roots in the town.

Billie Saffill, 32, is a lifelong Downie, whose family have been part of the throwing off of the ball for over 40 years, said it was all about geography for her family.

She said: “It’s where you were born. I grew up on Northside and Northside are Downies. Brodhie is Northside as well so he’s a Downie too.”

David Shepherd, known as Nutty, is 54 and a lifelong Uppie, has played the game for over 43 years and hailed three balls. He echoed Billie’s stance on the geography.

He said: “I was born in Salterbeck, so I class myself as an Uppie. I don’t know if my father was born in Salterbeck or Northside, but I know his mother and father lives in Salterbeck when they were kids.

“Me mam and dad lived on Marsh and Quay at one time, but I wasn’t born there.”

David added that he had heard of families who have both Uppies and Downies among their ranks.

He said: “The three Lancaster brothers, two of them play down and one plays up, because he was born on Salterbeck but his dad is a Downie.

“Now they’re building that big housing estate on the steelworks, really, that should be classed as Downies because that’s where the Marsh and Quay was where Morrisons is now.

“To me, that’s the other side of the railway side, so that’s all the Downies side. But I always say it’s where you’re born, where your roots are and not anyone else’s.”

Find out more about the history of the game here

Here’s our list of hailers from the 1800s too – can you add to it?