The Tudor, Leicester (closed)

Everards are a family brewer who seem to appreciate the value of their pub estate, and more often than not approach refurbishment and renovation with a sensitive touch.  It so happens that they are also the custodians of many of the traditional Skittle Alleys which have survived in the Leicestershire area (sadly, many more have been lost over the years). The game of Table Skittles is a little more widely spread in Leicester, though much less common than it once was. The Tudor play the game in the local Notts Skittles League, as well as fielding a team in the local Pool League. I have yet to get to the bottom of why a Leicester based league is named after another city entirely, and one where the game of Table Skittles is almost unknown now. One possibility is that the league originated at the Nottingham Oddfellows Club in Leicester.

The view from the Mot.

The Skittles Table is located in an upstairs function room, making it possible to permanently fix the Mot to the floor. The cast iron Mot, which would otherwise be a serious 'tripping hazard' in a public bar, is usually removable, with several holes drilled in the floorboards for easy positioning.

2019 Update: Not long after I posted this, Everards Brewery instigated a refurbishment of The Tudor which was by then flagging somewhat as a business. Although the pub is located in an area of dense housing on the very edge of the city centre, wide scale demographic change has meant that few in the area seem to be regular pub-goers, and of those that do like a pint, the more traditional aspects of The Tudor, the ones that appeal to drinkers like me for example, were clearly not to the taste of prospective locals.

In 2017 the pub finally closed its doors, and as can be seen in the photo below has had all its external signage removed. The images below show the current state of The Tudor indoor and out, and the future of the pub is far from certain. The whereabouts of the Skittles Table is not known, though hopefully it has been moved to another venue in the city for league play.