Rose & Crown, Bradford Abbas, Dorset

If Bradford Abbas is the archetypal sleepy English rural village, then the Rose & Crown certainly fits the bill as its typical English village pub (though far from sleepy when a skittles team are at home). A 14th century boozer of mellow local stone, firmly planted at the centre of the village in the shadow of the parish church. In fact the Rose & Crown is a proper old 'Inn' with several letting rooms, a long rambling bar and dining area, attractive beer garden, and entirely typical for a Dorset pub, a historic and very well-used Skittle Alley. I didn't see it myself, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if there were 'Good Stabling' available at the pub too, such is the timeless feel of the place.

My first, and thus far only visit to the 'famous' Rose & Crown was over four years ago now, part of a whistle-stop tour of towns and villages in beautiful Dorset. It also marked my first, and quite probably last truly competitive game of 'West Country Alley Skittles', the traditional game played at pubs and clubs all through the West Country and beyond. This version of skittles is the countrys most popular and well supported by some degree, but it's one that I have little experience of, and even less skill at playing if truth be known.

I spent an eventful night at the pub in August that year, playing skittles for the home team at the behest of my Dorset skittling buddy John Penny, a man who's even more enthused by traditional pub games than I am, if that's possible! John has captained teams at the Rose & Crown for longer than anyone cares to remember, playing Summer and Winter in the local Yeovil Skittles Leagues. A good player by all accounts, though clearly a very poor judge of form given that he was happy to sign me up as a reserve player for the 2016 Summer league. This bad judgement continued when he actually picked me to make up the numbers for a Division 4 league match, playing in the middle order for the 'Merkins' at the business end of the Summer season! I guess that even in the skittling hotbed of Dorsetshire, there's more to playing the game than merely winning, and I was delighted to accept the challenge.

So there's John (above), showing his best side and setting the pins for a few practice rounds on the Rose & Crown alley ahead of the big night. As it was I didn't entirely embarrass myself, though the team charitably offered me a bye on the bewildering array of big-money forfeits that come with top competition like this. Missing the pins entirely, missing your 'spare' etc. I think I managed all of these, transgressions which usually carry a hefty fine. As a rank novice though, I managed to escape the skittle alley that night with almost all my pocket money intact. All the more loose change to lose in the hotly contested game of Three Card Brag in the bar later!

The Merkins, including the nights hard-working 'Sticker-Up' at the front

In fact we won the match that night, thanks in the main to consistent if unspectacular scoring from all team members. Other than myself of course, who scraped to a thoroughly average total of 40. But with just 7 points deciding the winners, I was simply relieved that I hadn't missed the pins entirely and thrown the whole match. As a former Northants Table Skittles player I must say that I found the etiquette of the game slightly odd. The whole team leaving the alley and decamping to the bar whilst the opposing players set their score is not what I'm used to. Of course that meant there was less scrutiny from the opposition, and hence a little less pressure to perform, which undoubtedly helped me with my debut game. The only barracking in Dorset Skittles seems to come from your own team mates!

I describe the pub itself as being famous, and famous it most certainly is, albeit amongst a fairly small circle of games and pub enthusiasts. The image shown here (right) is from one of two 1930's British Movietone films which feature the 'Old Men of Bradford Abbas', including four elderly gentlemen whose combined age of 357 seemed to present no obstacle to regular trips to their village local. Nor indeed a few 'hands' of skittles in the pubs ancient skittle alley or on the Devil Amongst The Tailors (below). Images of these 'Lads of the Village' were used in promotional material by Dorset brewers Eldridge Pope in the 60's and 70's, so it's quite possible you may have come across them before and wondered at their origin.

The 'Athletics' film features the 'Lads' throwing a few balls down the stone-walled alley, and it's thought that this may represent the earliest recorded footage of a game of skittles in progress, albeit one for the 'Four Sovereigns Stakes' and Movietone cameras rather than the cut and thrust of league competition. Perhaps John could resurrect the 'Stakes' at the pub for old times sake, though he might struggle to match the 357 age-total these days. They were made of sterner stuff back then it seems...

The 'Duck' trophy, traditionally awarded to those players with the skill to avoid hitting any skittle pins at all on their go. Luckily I avoided the Duck on this occasion...

Having a pub games enthusiast as thoroughly 'enthusiastic' as John Penny for a local, is surely a blessing for the licensees of the Rose & Crown. His enthusiasm extends to being a strong advocate of the local skittles tradition of course, but he's also a keen supporter of pubs in general through his writing (under a pseudonym) for The Visitor magazine, as well as other local beer and pub related publications such as CAMRA's Giant Dongle newsletter. I've heard he also enjoys the odd pint for the cause...

John has also turned his hand to making numerous high quality games such as the 'Norfolk Twister' shown here in the bar of the Rose & Crown. Fellow Pub Games enthusiast Arthur Taylor, author of 'Played At The Pub', is shown here spinning the game with the licensee (photo c/o John Penny). John has made quite a few of these old, traditional games of chance over the years, a game that is now extremely rare in its home county of Norfolk, yet surprisingly common in Johns home county of Dorset!

John and myself spin for something or other, probably the next round of beers