Pushpenny is a game similar to Shove Ha'penny, though not nearly as widely played. The object of the game is to propel coins or discs up a highly polished wooden board, landing three in each of nine beds to win. Old Victorian pennies are used in Pushpenny, and the boards are all locally made, and therefore all slightly different. The last remaining centres of Pushpenny play are Stamford in Lincolnshire, and to a lesser extent Hastings in Sussex, though there are surely other boards in regular or occasional use. The Royal Oak near Rugely in Staffordshire is a good example of a pub which proudly boasts a Pushpenny Board.
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| A Pushpenny Board, probably from the Stamford area originally, but now in my ownership. The playing surface is highly polished Mahogany, with a softer, coarser grained wood used for the scoring areas at the sides. This board has a slightly shallower piece of hardwood screwed to the end of the playing surface to collect over-hit coins, as well as a vertical stop bar. The beds on a Pushpenny Board are designed to accommodate an old Victorian Penny, as opposed to the smaller Half Pennies used in Shove Ha'penny. |
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| My own Pushpenny Board in use on the cider bar at the Leicester CAMRA Beer Festival in 2012 |
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| This board is housed at the Jolly Brewer in Stamford. The design is similar to my own, though the slightly shallower run off at the end of the playing surface has been created by planing the wood a little more rather than fixing a separate piece to the main playing board. |
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| This shows the line separating the playing surface from the scoring area,. The attractive worked grooves indicate that these boards are often made by local craftsmen, and with a good measure of skill and pride in the job, not merely as functional pieces of polished wood. |
There is a short feature on the Stamford Pushpenny game here:
http://www.bestlocalliving.co.uk/2011062310114/Activities-Culture/push-penny.html
2 comments:
Hi,only just came upon this site,my name is Paul Holmes and have played in the Stamford pushing league since 1979.it's nice to see a record of all the pub games now in existance,it surely is a dying game for many though,none of our members are getting any younger too,most of the remaining players are over 60.
As for the game itself I'll give you a clearer view of things .
The boards themselves are a mix of woods ,I've played on oak ,pine,various hard woods ,but the main type is mahogany.the length does vary slightly but the average is approx
18/20 inches,.the width varies too ,approx 12/14 inches.the 'push'off at the bottom of the board before the first line also varies ! This can average at about one and a quarter to one and a half inches.you won't be surprised to learn that the scoring areas of beds also vary but a guide would be to be able to fit 3old currency pennies
Between 2 beds.there are 9 beds on each board.the dead area at the top of the board or'run it''will also vary then of course,some do have a dip or ditch at the end to capture any over hit coins.the coins themselves are old currency pennies .Not only queen vics but any regency coins of various ground down thickness.a lot are nearly paper thin and very old as far as use is concerned.back to the board surface itself,I have read that some are varnished or treated,this is not the case here at least,all our boards are plain wood just very highly polished,nothing else.Because of this the surface must be protected or will not perform as it should.Damp ,the smallest of scratches ,cold conditions ,all hinder the game as pennies 'stick'or play slower as they travel up the board. Before a game they are washed with water or beer as we do at our local,sounds like it will make it sticky but is not the case !?
Then plain old elbow grease to bring up the fine playing surface. The speed or'pace' the pennies can travel will vary depending on thickness and what board is used.
Because of all the vagaries, each board will play differently .the variety of shots played because of all these factors can cause a penny to 'go through ' ,'come back ',knock up'.it truely has to be seen to appreciated.To watch the amazement of people not used to our game when one penny hits another and bounces back two beds on some boards,more on others .when you consider all the facts,no two boards will ever be the same(wood type ,grain,age etc..)no set of pennies will be the same (each board has its own set).it's a long apprenticeship to play the game to it's best.
If you play for a team it's wonderful to win a cup for anything.we have league winners ,two knock out cups ,singles,doubles also one for the best seasons average.
I'm afraid I've gone off track a little,must be my age?
The rules are ,each player takes alternate shots with all three coins.to score, the pennies must land between each of beds lines.there are 9beds.there must be a clear and visable gap from between the lines to score.... A scorer or referee is used to mark a bed when a
Played has finished their go .(the refs decision is final) I've witnessed a few disagreements!3scores or chalk in each bed,9beds to win before your opponent.
The minimum number of pennies to score a maximum is then 3x9=27.
I've never seen one done or heard of one in all my years,I've got to 26 before but it's nigh on impossible even on an easy to score board.
There is a video out there made in the town about 8 years ago called (the dying game ),I've a brief mention there.Hope this adds to your knowledge .
Paulholmes500@gmail.com
Thanks so much for this comment Paul, as you can see this post was made almost 10 years ago now at the beginning of this blog, I've seen and learn't a fair bit more about Stamfords unique game since then. I was hoping to visit Blackstones Club before everything closed down, the Jolly Brewer is our usual haunt in Stamford, though it was at the Hit or Miss I saw competition in the World Championships.
Pushpenny seems to be on the verge of disappearing as a league game, which is particularly sad for me as (along with Shove Ha'penny) it's one of my favourite to play. I have a couple of Stamford boards, both with 'issues' needless to say. One has a warp, the other a tiny crack, though both play well enough for my needs. Hopefully the league will resume in time, maybe folk will appreciate the value of an evenings competition in the pub a bit more now...
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