Harpole Clay Pipe Smoking Contest

The Bull Inn at Harpole (or rather, a gazebo outside it under modern smoking legislation) was the setting for an annual smoking competition every Shrove Tuesday. The event was believed to date back at least 200 years and written records go back to the mid nineteenth century, with the origins  said to be from using up tobacco before a period of abstinence during Lent, in a similar way to the using up of pancake ingredients. Competitors were provided with a small measure of tobacco and are given two minutes to get their pipe alight; they then attempted to keep their clay pipe burning for as long as possible without needing to relight it and the smoker whose baccy burned the longest won.

Helpful Hints

The pub has now closed permanently (after the 2019 contest) and the competition is presumed to have stopped. If you know different let me know!

Skilled smokers can keep going for more than an hour – the current all-time record is one hour and thirteen minutes but that was when it took place indoors and the pipes lasted longer in the warm atmosphere. The outdoor record is just short of an hour.

The Bull was a proper village pub and the people there were very welcoming – it was well worth going to this one as it was a really enjoyable night out!

Click here for the Bull’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/TheBullHarpole/?rf=640007156169328