Cheese Rolling Gloucester – May 31, 2027

History of Cheese Rolling Gloucester

The Cheese Rolling Gloucester originally took place on Whit Monday. It then moved to the Spring Bank Holiday. The earliest record of cheese rolling traces back as far as 1826 through a message which was written to Gloucester’s town crier. It was deemed to have already been a long-existing tradition, even as far back as that time.

There have been two origin stories for the Gloucestershire Cheese Rolling event that have been theorized so far. The first origin story posits that the ceremony evolved from what used to be a requirement ritual for the maintenance of grazing rights among commoners. The second origin story is that it evolved from pagan origins notable for the custom of rolling objects down the hill. There is a belief that bundles of burning brushwood were rolled down the hill to symbolize the emergence of the New Year after the winter season. Another tradition connected with this belief is scattering biscuits and sweets at the top of the hill by the Master of Ceremonies while he conducted his business. It is regarded as a rite of fertility to encourage the fruits of the harvest.

The Gloucestershire Cheese Rolling went on for many years and for the 1982 edition, there was a team of students who came from the University of Bristol to record the event on film using cameras; one of which was set to slow motion in order to capture graphic details. Just over 10 years later in 1993, 15 people were injured during the Gloucestershire Cheese Rolling, including four serious injuries, and it was developments of this nature that led to its cancellation in 2009. The event was revived in 2011 by Candis Philips and Sara Stevens.