Discovering the lost Lancastrian martial art...

SEARCHING for history . . . Anna FC Smith

GALLERY Oldham hopes its new exhibition will kick up a fuss.

Staff are working with artist Anna FC Smith on a show looking at the long-forgotten sport of clog fighting — the martial art of the Victorian era — in Oldham and beyond.

Gallery staff want residents to share their family stories - or even urban legends - about the art.

Clog fighting, often called “purring”, was a back street, largely illicit sport that left little in the way of a written record. Stories collected during Anna’s research will be used as a part of the exhibition, “Purring — Sport of the People”, at Gallery Oldham from January.

Members of the public are invited to add their stories to a unique body of research: no scrap of information is too small.

The exhibition will combine Anna’s artworks with historical research into the codes and customs of purring, in which men would attempt to kick their opponent’s unprotected shins with their metal-soled clogs.

Anna said: “The most fascinating information about purring came from previous interviews with the public. I’m really looking forward to recording the tales of Oldhamers, so this information isn’t lost forever.”

Info to pass on? email sean.baggaley@oldham.gov.uk, call 0161 770 4662, or talk to Anna at the gallery any November Thursday from 1.30pm-5pm.