Historic sports: Bare-knuckle fights were brutal events

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John Dallison of Derby’s Local Studies Library reveals the fascinating story of a notorious bare-knuckle prize-fight which took place more than 150 years ago.

LATE in 1851 a memorable event took place near Derby to which people of all classes flocked. The event celebrated the more brutal and primitive aspects of Victorian life.

On December 16, in the heart of the countryside, well away from prying eyes and the authorities, a bare-knuckle contest between two heavyweight prize-fighters was staged.

It was far more punishing and barbaric than modern boxing matches. The rules governing bare-knuckle fights had been laid down in the 1740s and amended in 1839; yet there were no weight restrictions, no set number of rounds, no time limit to a round, and, of course, no gloves.

Such contests were, understandably, illegal. They had to be arranged in haste and they took place in isolated spots. The site chosen for this contest was an old gravel pit near the Cross-o’-th’-Hands public house, Turnditch.

The fight was billed as a grudge match and it attracted a crowd of more than 1,000 – mostly by word of mouth.

Spectators travelled there on foot and in smart gigs, old coaches and overloaded carts. One vehicle had been so over-laden, in fact, that the poor horse drawing it collapsed and died on Kedleston Road.

Harry Paulson and Tom Paddock were the two contenders. They had fought one another before, and each was burning to win. Paulson came from Nottinghamshire.

He was aged 32 and a truly tough man, having worked as a labourer on the Trent gravel barges at Newark.

Paddock, who later became English prize-fighting’s leading contender, was from Redditch in Worcestershire. At 26 years old, he was a hot-headed and fierce opponent.

The men’s previous fight had taken place near Grantham that September. During it, Paulson repeatedly knocked Paddock to the ground. Their gruelling contest reached 71 rounds and it had ended only when the police arrived and Paddock fled from the ring.

Paulson, accordingly, was named the winner by default. Nevertheless, during the weeks following that inconclusive match, Paddock and his followers argued bitterly against his defeat, saying that he had fled only to avoid arrest.

So, a second match was arranged.

On the morning of Tuesday, December 16, some of the people arriving at the gravel pit site were in a quarrelsome mood. Beer wagons had been parked near the Cross-o’-th’-Hands and alcohol of all sorts flowed freely.

Men began arguing and brawling, loudly praising the merits of the fighter they supported. Then some louts trashed tables and chairs in the tavern and began using the legs as cudgels.

The terrified landlord sent for the local constable, who then had to trek on foot to Belper and alert magistrates to the situation.

The bare-knuckle fight itself began some time after noon. Paddock quickly took the lead.

The contest went to 86 rounds, lasting well over an hour, and Paulson’s body suffered terrible punishment. His face, too, took a pounding. It became so battered that he could not see. Finally, his second had to throw a sponge into the ring as the sign of defeat.

During the course of the fight the Belper forces of law and order had arrived at the gravel pit. They included Chief Constable Wragg, magistrates John and Jedediah Strutt, Mr G Pym (the town clerk), Captain Hoskins of Ireton Wood, and a few police constables.

A hostile and unruly mob confronted the men. Jedediah Strutt repeatedly urged the crowd to disperse. When that failed, he was forced to read out the Riot Act.

Meanwhile, Chief Constable Wragg got into the ring and bravely attempted to stop the fight. A number of men immediately attacked him.

He fought back but was struck down by a blow from a man wielding a cudgel. The same thug attacked Capt Hoskins but could not down him.

Some of the crowd now attempted to bring down Jedediah Strutt from his horse by roping its legs. Capt Hoskins cut through the ropes and freed the animal. Incredibly, no-one was killed that day, but poor Chief Constable Wragg came very close to death.

It was extremely unfortunate that the Belper magistrates, through a series of circumstances beyond their control, lacked sufficient police officers that Tuesday to end the match and disperse the mob.

Although magistrates in various counties had known for some time that a major prizefight was in prospect, they did not know where or when it would occur.

And the fight’s organisers had craftily laid false trails to mislead the authorities.

Once the match had ended, however, and while many members of the crowd slowly made their way towards Derby’s railway station, Capt Hoskins rode furiously to the town and alerted police there.

Eight officers then hurried with him to Kedleston Road, where Paddock, Paulson and several other men were seized.

The men were detained in the County Jail in Derby, and six days later they were sent by train for examination at Belper.

At the hearing, the prisoners were committed to go for trial at the next Assizes.

At their trial, which began on March 16, 1852, Paulson, Paddock and three other men each received a rigorous sentence of 10 months’ imprisonment with hard labour.

The Judge said he hoped that the harsh sentences would deter the men from taking part in unlawful and riotous events in the future.

Nevertheless, imprisonment did not deter our two pugilists. They fought at Mildenhall, Essex, in 1854. Paulson was again defeated by the younger man.

When he was in his early 40s, Harry Paulson retired from the ring. Interestingly, he became a Methodist in later life and regularly attended chapel in Nottingham.

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