Due to its size, the popular ‘Knob throwing’ festival was cancelled.
Dorchester’s annual festival attracts more than 8000 people each year. Organisers claim that the event is too popular to run by small villages.
The Dorset Knob Throwing festival, which was first held in 2008, brings together people of all ages to throw hard biscuits – known as ‘knobs’ – with judges then measuring them to see who can throw theirs the furthest.
This has grown to be extremely popular over the years. However, officials stated that there is a problem in supply. They were having difficulty negotiating the right biscuits.
The most recent Dorset Knob Throwing event in Dorchester was attended by both young and old. It took place May 5, 2019, in Dorchester.
The last Dorset Knob Throwing festival took place in Dorchester on May 5, 2019 and attracted up to 8,000 people
The Dorset Knob Throwing Championships will be held on May 1, 2016, and is an annual event that has been taking place since 2009.
The Knob Throwing Festival featured the Knob Eating Championships, which were held on May 1, 2016.
The Knob Throwing Festival and Frome Valley Food Festival were originally scheduled to take place on May 1. However, an update was posted by Dorset Knob Throwing on Monday to announce that the event had been cancelled.
It stated: “It is with great sorrow that the Dorset Knob Throwing & Frome Valley Food Fest is not able to proceed on 1 May 2022.
Thomas Hardy loves Dorset knobs
Moores has made Dorset Knobs since more than 150 year. It is a sweet, dry biscuit and was once Thomas Hardy’s favorite snack.
These are made with leftover bread dough and are rolled out and formed by hand.
Crunchy and dry, the thrice-baked snacks are
According to some, the name derives from Dorset knob buttons. Some believe it was before, but they can be compared to traditional doorknobs in size and shape.
You can eat them with cheese or dipped into tea or cider. Or you can have honey and tea, which locals call ‘thunder-and lightning’.
“We had nearly 8,000 people attending the 2019 event. This means that it is too large to be managed by any small village committee.
“We have considered many possibilities but could not make any work this year because of many reasons.
“We also had to lose the support of the event management team at the end of 2021. Also, agreements with Moores Biscuits regarding the provision and distribution for games on the day took longer than we expected.
The competition has been scrapped over the past two years during the pandemic, but the committee – which is chaired by Alexandra Watts – added in the post: ‘We hope the event can return in years to come.’
The traditional date is the first Sunday of May in Dorchester. Rules stipulate that competitors throw their knobs underarm and leave at least one foot on the ground.
You can participate in many activities, including knob throwing and knob painting.
This annual event generates thousands of pounds annually for charitable causes. The Frome Valley Food Festival is held alongside it. It features local breads, cheeses, honey, chicken, eggs, preserves, and desserts.
Knobs used in the contest are a traditional Dorset biscuit made using fermented dough and given three separate bakings – with Mrs Watts previously describing it as a ‘zany, quintessentially British event’.
Although the festival had its problems in the past, 2018 was cancelled due to a dispute over Moores, who created the Dorset Knob cookie. But, this was resolved, and the contest for 2019 went ahead.
Dorset Knobs were traditionally eaten as a dry and savoury biscuit with cheese.
The Dorset Knob Throwing event, as pictured in May 2019, gathers people of all ages and allows them to throw hard cookies.
It raises thousands for charity each year, while the Frome Valley Food Festival is held alongside it
The Dorset Knob Throwing Competition was held on May 3, 2009. It was in its second year.
A Monday update on Dorset Knob Throwing’s Facebook page confirmed the cancellation of the 2022 competition.
Rainy weather also made 2017 difficult for competitors. The result was that the competition couldn’t throw their knobs far enough to break the world record.
Pete Asher was the eventual winner. He hurled his knob 22.70m (74.4ft) in cold and damp conditions, just short of Dave Phillips’ record at 29.4m (996ft).
Moores in Morecombelake has been baking Knobs for over 150 year. They are made of leftover bread dough, with sugar and butter added. Then they were hand-rolled and dried in the heat of the oven.
They are thought to have their name from hand-sewn Dorset button buttons, which were also produced locally. You can eat them with cheese or honey, as well as cider or tea.