Lethbridge Arms, Bishops Lydeard, Somerset

At the risk of employing a rather flimsy excuse as an introduction to this post, the game of Fives has been on my mind a little more than usual of late. My friend and fellow pub games enthusiast John Penny started it all off with a feature he wrote on the game earlier this year for Visitor Magazine. A much more in-depth and informative piece than I'll attempt here, and I urge you to follow the link and read it from page 20 for a better understanding of the game.

John is of course a Dorset man, as evidenced by his sometimes impenetrable Dorsetshire accent and a deep love of Dorset's national sport, Alley Skittles. John plies his skittling trade, with some success it must be said, at the famous Rose & Crown in Bradford Abbas, and more widely at away matches in Dorset and over the border in Somerset. So a rare pub gaming tradition almost unique to neighbouring Somerset was never going to escape Johns keen eye for long, even if it's now effectively an extinct tradition as far as the pub is concerned.

Fives as a competitive game dates back several centuries, and was widely played throughout the country and latterly exported to the then colonies. A form of Handball that requires nothing more complex to play than a solid wall, a ball with some measure of bounce, and tough or gloved hands. As far as Somerset is concerned, the game seems to have developed and become popular when played between the buttresses of a church tower (indeed surviving walls are still known as 'Towers'), which would probably have been the only suitable 'court' available to ordinary folk at the time. I don't know whether the example shown here on the north side of Carhampton Church is known to have been used for the game, but the basic form and a clearly delineated line a couple of feet up is typical, and would have certainly made it possible.

When the church inevitably clamped down on this potentially destructive pastime, local licensees would have seen an opportunity to bring the game within the confines of their own business, erecting Fives Towers adjacent to pubs, some of which survive to this day. Sadly none of these are now in use, making Fives a pub gaming tradition awaiting a revival of interest. The game of Fives is of course still played in various parts of the UK, though for the most part it's now a game of private school education, most famously the surviving traditions at Eton, Rugby, and Shrewsbury schools. For our part, perhaps the best way to experience the skill and excitement of the game now is in the Basque region of Spain, where a similar game Pelota remains very popular.

The surviving Fives Towers in Somerset may no longer be in use, but they represent a great opportunity for tourists like myself to visit, often being handy for pubs and of course eminently 'collectable'. A cluster of surviving Towers near Yeovil would make for an easy tour, but I visited an outlier at the Lethbridge Arms in the village of Bishops Lydeard to the north of Taunton. Bishops Lydeard is perhaps more famous these days as the eastern terminus of the West Somerset Heritage Railway, making a visit to the Lethbridge even easier for tourists in the Minehead area.

Visiting a pub like the Lethbridge on one of the hottest days of the year, and in the middle of the latest table-service only restrictions, makes it difficult to get a handle on what the pub is like under more normal circumstances. Everyone was in the garden, making the sprawling interior seem even more expansive than it would be with a smattering of locals in to augment the space. Largely food focussed it seems, which is hardly surprising given its proximity to the rail station, we nevertheless enjoyed a good local beer in the garden to the rear of the pub, overlooked by the towering Fives wall, and near-deafened by the sound of Sparrows at play.

The impressive Fives Tower at the Lethbridge Arms stands as a boundary between the pub car park and an adjacent cottage. Built of stone with a more 'even' red brick facing, the tall self-supported structure is strengthened by sturdy buttresses to the side (right) and rear (below). It's clear that the game would have been played and spectated from the rear of the pub itself. Albeit that it now abuts the pubs busy car park, the Fives Tower at the Lethbridge could quite easily be used for a game even now should anyone fancy a revival.

For more information on Somerset Fives, I recommend this blog post which features several of the surviving Towers, as well as this post on the Eton Fives Association website.

Kildare Lodge, Minehead, Somerset

For many thousands of enthusiastic pub games players, and this blog of course, the last year or so of lockdown and restrictions have all-but pulled the rug from under their particular pub pleasure. I think initially some casual play of Darts and Pool was allowed, but when pubs and clubs closed completely, and more recently when trade was forced outdoors and into ever smaller socially distanced groups, even these limited contact games were effectively banned.

It's doubtful whether any pub games leagues have managed to function since close of play at the end of the 2019/20 Winter season, and for most leagues the resumption of competition seems no nearer, even with pubs open and the promise of reasonably normal bar service. As we've seen in more recent weeks, it's perfectly possible to engage with pubs and other pub-goers for a few drinks, a chat, or bite to eat, but the uniquely 'intimate' and social nature of most traditional pub games has put them very firmly at the back of the queue for a long-overdue opening time. Which made my recent discovery that league competition, in one game at least, resumed at pubs in Somerset over a month ago now, something of a pleasant surprise to say the least. 

North Somerset has long been a regular haunt of mine, and an occasional holiday spot since teenage years. The stretch of coastline around Minehead a particularly happy hunting ground for pubs, beer, and strong local cider. I usually take advantage of the West Somerset heritage rail line for trips to Dunster, Watchet, and of course a day of sun, sea, fish and chips in the attractive tourist trap of Minehead. There are some very fine pubs to be found in the area if you know where to look, one of which, the Kildare Lodge, has been on my to-do list for some time now, so I was delighted to finally pop in for a couple of pints this year.

I find most pubs are attractive in their own way, even the much derided post-war estate pubs can have a unique 'vintage' visual appeal that transcends their somewhat utilitarian origins. Few pubs are as jaw-droppingly gorgeous as the grade II* listed Kildare Lodge though. As you can see from these photos, Kildare Lodge is a truly stunning Arts and Crafts styled building, beautifully maintained for the benefit of locals and visitors who clearly appreciate the pubs unique architecture and ambiance, as well as the very good range of local ales on offer. Originally built as a residence and surgery for a local doctor, the building is now in the hands of Harvey & Sarah Pyle, sensitively altered and re-purposed for its current important role in the local community.

Somerset is, of course, at the very heart of a very well supported West Country Skittles tradition, indeed there are still a fair few alleys at pubs and clubs in the Minehead area for the game. Boules (also known as Petanque) is a relative newcomer, the local league having been established less than 20 years ago but now grown to three divisions. This probably makes Boule the more popular of the two games in this area, certainly during the warmer Summer months when Skittles leagues often contract due to other player commitments. Whatever the reality, it's easy to understand the appeal of Boule as a Summer game at Kildare Lodge.

The three Boule Pitches at the pub adjoin a tidy beer garden, and are immaculately maintained with bench seating for spectating games. It's hard to imagine a better place to enjoy a pint on a Wednesday evening in the Summer, which is presumably why the pub hosts more teams in the West Somerset Boules Association league than any other. The boule association have clearly worked hard with local authorities and licensees to re-start competition safely, the only stipulation for spectators at this time is they must remain seated, no matter how tense and exciting the play gets.

Not benches, these are for the Boule