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Conkers

Some facts and a short history

Britain is the home of conkers as a game, and is believed to be the only country in the world where it is traditionally played with the fruit of the Horse Chestnut tree. There is a similar game played in Puerto Rico played with a smaller seed from the Jatoba plant. In this game, called Gallitos, the opponents face each other and the defending gallito is placed in the centre of a circle drawn in the dirt before being hit by their opponent.

The name Conker comes from the dialect word conker, meaning snail-shell as the game was originally played with snail shells. Other regional names for the game are obblyonkers, cheggies or cheesers. In America the nuts are simply known as chestnuts or buckeyes, but the game is not widely played.

Conkers come from the Horse Chestnut tree (Aesculus hippocastanum), and the trees were first introduced to Britain in the late 16 th century from the Balkans. The tree was not widely planted in this country until the early 19 th century. The first recorded game of conkers played with conkers occurred in 1848 on the Isle of Wight . This was modelled on a game dating from the 15 th century played with hazel or cobnuts and even snail shells.

In 1965 the World Conker Championship was started in Ashton in Northamptonshire, regularly occurring on the second Sunday of October. In 1993, Michael Palin, of Monty Python fame was disqualified from a conker championship for baking his conker and soaking it in vinegar. In 1999, the charity Action Aid applied for a patent for hardening conkers in protest at the patenting of life forms by large companies. In 2000, a survey of British schools revealed that many were no longer allowing the traditional game to be played due to the legal consequences should injury occur. 2004 saw a headmaster issuing goggles to pupils playing the game. The TV programme Top Gear later staged a game of conkers using mobile homes suspended from cranes.

The tree is now popular as an ornamental tree in town and village squares, parks, gardens and streets and is grown mainly for the ornamental flowers which are popularly known as ‘candles' as they appear to light up the tree.

The tree fruits in September and October, and are vaguely similar to the Sweet Chestnut Tree. Conkers however are not edible by humans.

The “horse” connection is twofold: firstly they were fed to horses in the East as a stimulant and to make their coat shine and also that when the leaf falls from the branch, the resulting scar resembles a horseshoe complete with nail holes!

The wood from the Horse Chestnut tree is of fairly inferior quality and is used for applications such as making packing cases. As firewood, it gives a good heat and flame, but tends to spit a lot.

The fruits are rich in starch, but not suitable for human consumption because of the presence of saponins (soap like chemicals). In the past they have been used for horse and cattle fodder and were prepared by first soaking them in lime-water to reduce their bitterness. An alternative way of preparing them was to soak them in water overnight and then boiling for half an hour before being drained and ground up and being added to other ingredients.

According to a letter published in the Daily Telegraph, conkers can keep spiders out of the house, placed in the corners of a room and also behind furniture, but after a while the conkers dry up and lose their ability to work. Conkers have in the past been carried in pockets to prevent piles and rheumatism. They have also been kept in drawers to deter moths. Extract from horse chestnuts have also been used to treat malaria, varicose veins, diarrhoea, frostbite, ringworm as well as being a constituent of some sunscreen products.