| Where: | Peterlee, Co Durham at the Hearts of Oak on Oakerside Drive |
| When: | Easter Sunday (formerly Easter Monday) |
| Time: | 12.30 pm onwards |
Egg jarping is a competition to see whose boiled egg is the hardest, by tapping them together until one cracks. It’s practised all over the world (I’ve known it all my life, though we used to call it bashing eggs) and the home of the championship has been Peterlee in County Durham for over 30 years; it changed venue to the Hearts of Oak following a fire at the cricket club where it was formerly held, and has now moved again to Bar 23. Strict rules apply and the judges decision is final – the winner receives a trophy and certificate.
Helpful Hints
In 2025 it should be on Sunday 20th April (to be confirmed).
Please note that the competition only goes ahead if they get enough interest – I’ve been advised that the Facebook page (link below) will have details, but that the announcement may be made quite close to the date.
Eggs are provided for the competition – competitors select an egg from a trayful prepared in advance. The prize is an egg-shaped trophy (and of course the glory of being Champion of the World!).
From 2012 to 2022 the event was held on Easter Sunday (before that it used to be on Easter Monday and in 2023 it was back to Easter Monday for one year only) but in 2024 it’s returned to Sunday again – make sure you turn up on the right day! In 2013 I got as far as the quarter finals….
Parking and of course food & drink are available at the event.
Click here for the pub: https://www.facebook.com/theheartsofoak
I thought my mother was the one who invented this game, done with hardboiled Easter eggs. We did not know of anyone else who did it, and we lived in a large city in the U.S.
My mother-in-law comes from East Rainton. I had never heard of this until I spent my first Easter at her house – and my mam was from Ushaw Moor! It just shows how localised traditions can be. But apparently its origins lie in Scotland, not Co Durham.
Wikipedia reckons it was widely practised in Europe in medieval times & mentions references to 15th century Poland and 14th century Croatia! So maybe it’s surprising that the World Championship is in County Durham…in the 1970s in Northumberland we used to do it though we didn’t call it jarping, just “bashing eggs”.
We moved from the north east to Reading in 1993. Since then our children and now grandchildren have followed our example and have become avid jarpers. We always do our best to get the whole family together in one place on Easter Sunday to hold the family championships. I’m the nominated stealer of onion skins from the local supermarkets to dye to the eggs on the Saturday. Devastated that lockdown means no championship in 2020.
(I used to teach at Peterlee Tertiary College 35 years ago, but with no idea that World Champs are held there!)
What a shame! But at least if you’re not in solitary isolation it’s something you can practice at home- and with a bit of luck we’ll make it to next year when we should be able to get out and about again.