The centuries old-pub game created by bored children

The regular British pub-goer might enjoy a throw at a dartboard or a game of pool to pass the time in between pints.

But villagers in Stretton, Rutland, relish an altogether different kind of pub game.

Nurdles, or nurdling, involves throwing 13 old pennies into a hole in a pub bench, either off a lead backboard or straight in.

The unique activity is thought to have been played at the White Horse pub since it opened in the early 18th century, after children sparked the idea for the game while waiting for their parents at church.

Richard Foster, 76, has lived in the village for more than two decades and is a former nurdling champion.

He said the folklore around the game dates back to 1664.

"In those days, most people went to church because the lord of the manor insisted they did," Foster said.

"But the children, if the sermon was long, were ushered out.

"So, the children used to dig a hole just outside the church yard and throw pebbles into the hole off the wall.

"When some of the gentlemen came out, they said, 'Actually that looks like quite a good game. Let's see if the pub will let us do it in there'."

Each player stands about 8ft (2.4m) away from the pub bench, which has a hole and a draw underneath to hold the pennies.

Players can throw more than one penny at a time and the first to sink all of them during the round is the winner.

The coins range from the early Victorian era right up to the decimalisation of the currency in February 1971, Foster said.

Where the name of the game originates from is not known, however, Foster said there were "lots of theories but no absolute proof".

Glenn Thomas, who has lived in Stretton for five years, said the small village had a population of around 150 people.

When the pub, then called The Jackson Stops, closed in January 2025, villagers continued playing the game in church to try to keep the tradition alive.

Thomas said: "The pub, when it shut down, it shut down very unexpectedly.

"In the months that followed we really felt the loss, it felt like the soul had gone out of the village.

"People weren't spending as much time with each other. It was very much the heart of the village.

"Nurdles was just one of those special traditions almost unique to our village.

"We did try to keep it going, Richard and others made a separate nurdles bench, but it wasn't the same.

"It was the wrong ambience and atmosphere.

"With the pub being shut we could just see that nurdles as a tradition was going to die out. It was heart-breaking.

"It was one of the big motivations to get the pub open again."

The pub reopened earlier in August this year, returning to the long-standing White Horse name, after villagers found a couple to take on the lease, and so nurdling returned.

Andy Saunders, the new head chef, runs the business with his wife, Ruth Scott, who is in charge of front of house.

Saunders said he "fell in love" with the "charming" Grade II listed pub.

"The village[rs] were so keen to open again because it really is the hub of the village, people have got such fond memories of this pub," he said.

"In these times it is so unusual to hear a pub reopen rather than yet another one closing."

The annual nurdling championships take place later this year on October 10 at the pub.

Listen to BBC Radio Leicester on Sounds and follow BBC Leicester on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@bbc.co.uk or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210.