You’ve heard of Taskmaster — now here’s Caskmaster.
On Saturday 4 July, teams will get rollin’, rollin’, rollin’, rollin’ as they compete in the annual Coopers’ Cask Race in Guildhall Square.
Hosted by the Worshipful Company of Coopers, you’d be forgiven for thinking this was some ancient tradition stretching back centuries. In fact, the Coopers’ Cask Race has only been going since 2021 — and it takes its inspiration from the States.
“As a Company, we were keen to enter the post-Covid world more outward-looking, more active and more engaging,” explains Liam Randall, Upper Warden of the Worshipful Company of Coopers. “Cask rolling came to us from the United States: wonderfully quirky, and a perfect fit.”
The initial challenge was finding a suitable course. “We approached the Honourable Artillery Company’s grounds, but the groundsman wasn’t best pleased. We eyed the Tower of London, only to find the wildflower meadows had just been planted. So we took our cue from the City’s great inter-livery traditions, the pancake race and Cart Marking among them, and settled on Guildhall Yard.
“It suits the Company’s history rather well: faulty casks were historically brought to Guildhall to be destroyed if they failed to meet standard.”
The tradition might be American, but all the casks are made here in the UK, specifically by Jonathan Manby, a cooper working in Yorkshire and one of the very few left in England. They come in different sizes: the hogshead is a size up from a barrel, while pins are the smallest variation — designed for children to roll on the day (this is very much a family event).
And nope, there’s no wine, ale or any other kind of refreshment inside the casks. They’re empty.
How cask racing works
Livery companies and corporates* form relay teams of four. One at a time, they race up and down the yard as fast as they can, handing the cask over to the next team-mate. Fastest team wins. “We’ve expanded the track to four lanes, up from three, with teams racing in pools,” says Randall.
Reigning champions are the Merchant Taylors’ Company, although, as you’d expect, the Coopers’ rolling credentials are right up there too. “One year we take it, the next they do,” says Randall, “A thoroughly friendly rivalry has formed.”
Before a single cask is rolled, however, they’re blessed in a ceremony performed by Martin Poll, former personal chaplain to the King. This ritual was introduced following an incident in 2021. “In our first year of racing,” says Randall, “the weather was exceptionally hot and the staves shrank. The hoops, the metal rings holding the wood in place, are hammered on by our Coopers through sheer brute force, but to our dismay they began rolling off mid-race, with hoops going everywhere. It was something out of a Carry On film, Carry On Coopering.
“A few well-chosen words, we find, go a long way towards preventing both splintered staves and bruised egos.”
Anyone can come and spectate at the Coopers’ Cask Race, which is free and family-friendly. And if watching on as other people do exercise proves thirsty work, you’re invited to post-race drinks at the Wren Tavern.
Coopers’ Cask Race, Guildhall Yard, starts 9.30am, 4 July 2026, free
*All 32 places are now sold out for 2026.
