A Compendium of Pub Games Images - Pt.19

This interesting old skittle set appeared for sale in a Leicestershire antiques centre recently. They're very similar in appearance to a set of Leicester Table Skittles which I've already featured on this blog at the Dog & Gun in Syston. Beautifully turned, showing the deep patina of age, and the many dents and dints acquired through years of pub use. The Cheeses are very tactile and have fared much better than the pins in play, made as they are from a closer grained and therefore harder wood. Yours for the asking price of £125. A desirable collection of perfectly playable vintage skittles which simply require a matching Leicester Skittles Table. Ideally, located in a good pub.

© John Penny

The traditional pub game shown here is a Twister, sometimes called a Norfolk Twister or Twizzler. Unusually, this example is located in Dorset, the game being most strongly associated with the south-eastern counties of England. Having said that, who knows how widespread this simple game of fortune may once have been. The survival of original old Twisters in Norfolk and Essex pubs may have as much to do with the relative isolation of the area from gambling enforcement than any firm indication of geographical origin.

This handsome wooden example of the game was made especially for the Mitre Inn, Sandford Orcas by fellow pub games enthusiast John Penny, and is modelled here by licensee Allen Page. Note the numbering of the segments, also augmented by a chalk zone for when names are required as shown here (I wonder who JP was!). This is one of five such Twisters that John has made, though only four survive, and of these only three remain in their original locations. One Twister didn't survive a fire at the pub, and another went travelling with the outgoing landlord. I aim to feature the other two survivors in a later post on this blog.

The Horse & Jockey (above) is idyllically located overlooking Rutland Water in the pretty village of Manton. A favourite destination of walkers and cyclists, the pub has a reputation as a rural 'destination' venue, and certainly it's the lunchtime food trade which dominates the pub during the busy summer tourist season. It's the kind of pub, in the kind of location, that could quite easily have left behind its more 'pubby' origins, but I'm pleased to say that the Horse & Jockey is also highly regarded for its beer, and remains a vibrant village local at heart. This includes that most traditional of pub games, Dominoes, with regular and successful play in the South Luffenham Domino League for which the trophies shown here are proudly held.

The latest addition to the Steamin' Billy Brewery Co pub estate is The Three Crowns in Oakham, Rutland. Tucked away on a back street, the former Griffin is now trading under its original name, and has been extensively refurbished to the usual high standards of this traditional pub company.

Certainly the revamped beer range will gladden the hearts of CAMRA members and other beer enthusiasts, but what pleases me the most is how genuinely 'pubby' The Three Crowns remains. All too often a refurbishment like this is simply an excuse to erase all the character from a pub, imposing a bland style with little space remaining for the pub to grow and develop over time. The Three Crowns is a pub that thankfully hasn't been overdone, and I can see it developing a good local following in time. I'm also pleased to see that nine or so feet of clear space has been set aside for a Darts throw, an important yardstick of pubbiness in my view.

Wherever you find a traditional locals pub, you'll invariably find the locals throwing things about for sport and pleasure. In the village pubs of Rutland and North-East Leicestershire, the game of Pétanque is perhaps the most commonly found competitive throwing game, maybe even more popular than Darts, and certainly surpassing the much older tradition of Long Alley or Table Skittles. Above is the Pétanque scoreboard for the Black Horse in the tiny village of Grimston, Leicestershire. The Black Horse 'A' team have recently gained promotion to the Premier Division of the Rutland & District Pétanque League.

The image below shows an Aunt Sally backsheet at the College Arms, Lower Quinton in Warwickshire. The local game of Aunt Sally gives the locals something to throw sticks at on Thursday evenings throughout the summer, and is as popular in the Oxfordshire area as skittles is in the West Country. The sheet cushions the impact of thrown sticks, and the black circle helps frame the white painted 'Doll' which is being aimed at. The College Arms is a true village local, with teams playing in local Cribbage, Darts, Dominoes, and Pool leagues, in addition to fortnightly matches in the Illmington Aunt Sally League.

A Compendium of Pub Games Images - Pt.13

The Alexandra Hotel in Derby. Handy for the rail station, and popular for beer, railway memorabilia, and Darts. A pub league operates at the Alex.

This is the Aunt Sally 'throw' at the rear of the Horseshoe Inn, Shipston-on-Stour, Warwickshire. An excellent pub with friendly locals and a good reputation for beer and cider. The Horseshoe team play in the Chipping Norton Invitation Aunt Sally League, and appear to have finished bottom of division three with no wins in 2012 season. Perhaps the beer comes first at the Horseshoe.

Shiny new stainless steel fermenting vessels and an old traditional Northamptonshire Skittles Table co-exist at the Hart Brewery in Wellingborough, but for one day only. This photo was taken during the run-up to Christmas when the brewery were running a 'pop-up' bar for the Nene Park Christmas Fayre. The table, another A R Pinckard of Kislingbury model, was on loan from a nearby pub.

This old Shove Ha'penny has the look of a well used ex-pub board. Made from three planks of quite lightweight timber, it's certainly not a commercially manufactured board, and may even have been produced from an old door or table top. The joins, which are solidly fixed with box joints, can clearly be seen on the image below where they have split slightly over the years through shrinkage. I've no idea what the wood is, but it's less dense and therefore softer than you would normally expect with a Shove Ha'penny Board. The surface is not especially smooth, and as can be seen from the images here, there are numerous dents and scratches on the surface. Nevertheless, it plays well enough, if a little slow, and the light-weight nature of this board means it is ideal for carrying to the pub for an afternoon game. A small brass eyelet on the top edge was probably used to hang the board in the bar when not in use.

These Long Alley Skittle Cheeses originally saw service at the Coleman Road Sports & Social Club in Leicester, as indicated by the embossed lettering on the ends. Sadly, this once thriving club has now closed, though the skittles team(s) are still in action elsewhere. This set of eleven hardwood (possibly Lignum Vitae) Cheeses were considered too worn and damaged to be of use in a league match and therefore surplus to requirements. A few hours with sand paper and Teak Oil has helped bring them back to a more usable state.

White Hart, Newbold-on-Stour, Warwickshire

The licensee of the White Hart at Newbold-on-Stour has made every effort to incorporate a range of traditional games into the pubs offering. The Aunt Sally 'Throw' to the side of the pub was originally laid as a Pétanque piste, but the game didn't find favour with the locals. When the nearby Bird in Hand pub was put up for sale, its future uncertain, the bright yellow Hook Norton backcloth of the 'local' game was moved across the road, where it is now stands facing the main road through the village.

The padded metal 'Iron' shown here is topped with a freely rotating 'Swivel', on which is located the wooden 'Doll'. The black circle on the sheet helps to highlight the white Doll during play.

The various Aunt Sally leagues all have well presented websites where a better understanding of the game can be found than I can give here. The White Hart team play in Division 3 of the Chipping Norton Invitation Aunt Sally League, and the game can be seen played on alternate Thursday evenings throughout the Summer.

Winter gaming is catered for in the cosy bar area of the White Hart with one of the oldest pub games still in play. A really splendid carved wooden Ring The Bull is mounted on a beam above the open fire, and is unusual in that it would originally have had five scoring hooks rather than the usual single hook game. The brass number plates for hooks 1, 2, and 5 still exist, and would presumably have been used for a scoring game of some description, or perhaps to go 'round the board' in a similar way to the game of Rings. The existing single hook may well be a later addition for a simplified game. Ringing the bull is more difficult than it looks, so it's perhaps surprising to learn that the record for consecutive 'rings' at the pub stands at well over a hundred! A Shut The Box, this one numbering to12 and using three dice, is also available for play in the bar.

Elephant & Castle, Bloxham, Banbury

As if being a thoroughly traditional and welcoming village boozer which features regularly in the Good Beer Guide, and the 2011 North Oxford CAMRA Cider Pub of the Year were not enough, the Elephant & Castle at Bloxham also features an excellent range of traditional pub games. This part of the country is an Aunt Sally stronghold, a game I first encountered in the 80's on a cycling holiday around the Banbury area. Put very simply, it's a little like Long Alley Skittles, except that the pins are thrown at the ball! In common with many pub games, it's an easy game to learn, but very difficult to master.

The Elephant & Castle field 'A' and 'B' teams in Division 4 of the Banbury & District Aunt Sally League, which means there will always be a home game to see on a Thursday night during the Summer should you be in the area.

The interior of the pub is quite roomy, meaning there is plenty of room for a number of games, including this Bar Billiards table.

 

The Aunt Sally Pitch is looking a little overgrown after the Winter break, but the fixture list shows that Elephant & Castle 'A' should already have played a home game. Perhaps it was rained off!



The Shove Ha'penny Board is tucked neatly away beneath a table in the bar, which is home also to a Darts Board. This is a beautifully smooth piece of wood, quite large by the standards of commercial boards.

 http://www.bloxhampub.co.uk/