Horse & Groom, Rearsby, Leicestershire

Whilst there are still a good few pubs in Leicestershire equipped for the local game of Long Alley Skittles, the general trend continues to be downwards. Every change of ownership and subsequent refurbishment brings with it the threat of another lost alley, and the epidemic of closures affecting village and suburban locals has inevitably contributed to the games decline in recent years. Nevertheless, the game is still popular at those pubs which retain an alley. Skittles is an ideal game for team-building and social functions, and competitive play continues in the Tom Bishop Memorial, and Syston & District Long Alley Skittles Leagues. Just occasionally, a long-closed or neglected alley is brought back into use, as is the case at the Horse & Groom in the north Leicestershire village of Rearsby.

Rearsby lies at the very heart of one of Leicestershire's two main areas for Long Alley Skittles. Close to the village of Syston which gives the local league its name, and also Thrussington, home to an unusual pair of outdoor skittle 'alleys' on the village green, and a traditional summer skittles event which has been held in the village for over 50 years. Pubs with good skittle alleys are dotted all along the Wreake Valley as far as Melton Mowbray, and a slightly different version of the game is played just over the border in Nottinghamshire.

When I first visited the Horse & Groom a couple of years ago, the skittle alley was in a sorry state and hadn't seen active service for some time. More recently the pub has changed hands, and licensees Tracey and Eddie Kimber have not only spruced-up and brought the alley back into use, but embarked on a series of improvements to all parts of the pub, including I'm pleased to say the beer range, which now includes the popular Harvest Pale Ale from Castle Rock Brewery in Nottingham.

Traditional games and local league play are often the lifeblood of village and suburban locals, and no more so than at the Horse & Groom. The main Summer activity at the pub is Pétanque, possibly the most popular game played at pubs and clubs in this part of Leicestershire. League matches are usually held on Wednesday evenings throughout the summer months, and Pétanque is a good spectator sport, particularly when accompanied by a cool beer on a warm summer evening. Two teams play from the pub in the 1990 Pétanque League.

The Pétanque piste at the rear of the pub

 

Parts of the pub date from the very beginning of the 19th century, though there have been many later additions and alterations since then. The original layout can still be discerned in what is now a single bar room, and probably consisted of three rooms off a central corridor. The corridor is of course long-gone, but the bar retains these three separate areas and many original features. This includes an off-sales hatch on the right-hand side of the bar counter, a separate servery that would have been accessed from the corridor so that customers could purchase takeouts without having to enter the 'on' licensed rooms. Off-sales were once a common feature of pubs, but have now almost entirely disappeared following the late 20th century de-regulation of alcohol sales, allowing shops, and latterly supermarkets to dominate the lucrative take-home trade.

One of these three areas is dedicated to the pubs Dartboard, and landlord Eddie captains the Horse & Groom Darts team in the Syston & District Darts League.

The pub was originally a coaching inn on the now bypassed Leicester to Melton road, and the skittle alley is housed in the pubs former stabling (below). Note the three large sliding doors fronting onto the main road, the original equine access points. The alley is now back in regular use and has already hosted functions, accompanied by the traditional 'Skittles Evening' supper of Pork Faggots & Peas. It is also hoped that the pub will get a team together for competition in the local league in the coming season.

A boxing day Tug-o-War has been held in the village of Rearsby for over 40 years now. Originally the rivalry was between the Horse & Groom and the nearby Wheel pubs, with teams vying to pull their opponents into the village brook. It seems that competitive spirit runs deep in Rearsby, and the village pubs of the Wreake Valley continue to be at the heart of this healthy local rivalry. It must be something in the water!