Table Skittles - The Leicester Tradition

A Leicester Skittles Table. The Foresters Arms, Leicester

I've been asked on a number of occasions since I started this blog for the dimensions of the various Skittles Tables featured. Whilst many of these tables are still common enough and regularly come up for sale locally or online, good examples are not cheap to buy, and in some cases the enquiry has come from overseas where building your own table is the only realistic option. I've answered these queries personally in the past, but I thought it was high time I created a more permanent and accessible record, starting with my own example of a Leicester Skittles Table. A timely post as this particular table is off to a new home soon, and of course Leicester pubs and clubs remain closed for the foreseeable future so accessing a table is difficult right now.

The Leicester Table Skittles Tradition

Syston Social Club

The Leicester variant of Table Skittles is one of those games that if you've never come across a table before, there's every chance that you'll never have heard of it. Indeed I'd hazard a guess that most Leicester pub-goers have never come across the game, particularly given that tables are often hidden away in the function rooms and skittles alleys of suburban locals and social clubs, rarely on display in the bar these days.

Whilst the superficially similar game of Northamptonshire Table Skittles is common throughout Northants (as well as large parts of neighbouring Bedfordshire, Leicestershire, and Warwickshire), the Leicester game is confined largely to the city, its suburbs, and a handful of villages in the North-West of the county. In fact the Leicester game is regarded as something of an oddity by the few Northants skittles players I've spoken to who've actually heard of it! Sadly it's also a game that's been in steady decline for many years, such that it's now something of a rarity in its home town.

Quite why a local Leicester version of the game exists on the very edge of the much wider Northamptonshire Table Skittles tradition is not at all clear. My own theory is that whilst the game almost certainly developed as an offshoot of Northants Skittles (there are too many similarities for it to have emerged independently), it rapidly evolved to emulate Leicestershire's other important local pub game, Long Alley Skittles.

Long Alley Skittles. The Black Dog, Oadby

It's been suggested that Northamptonshire skittles may have developed as a smaller indoor version of Old English Skittles, a virtually extinct game that was once common throughout much of South and Eastern England. Certainly it shares some similarities in both play and appearance with the much larger alley game (though only the Cambridge version of Table Skittles is actually played to the same rules now). Similarly the Leicester game may well have developed as an indoor bar room version of Leicestershire's other unique traditional pub game, Long Alley Skittles, both of which are played in the same area of the county and nowhere else.

The Leicestershire version of Long Alley Skittles is a very noisy game, hence Skittle Alleys are usually located in a separate outbuilding to the main pub. These would have been sparsely heated at best, perhaps even open to the elements as many still are in the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire area where a similar skittling tradition exists, such that many leagues are active only in the Summer months. It's therefore only natural that players would want to keep their skittling hand in during the colder Winter months with an indoor game that requires similar skills.

Birstall Social Club

Perhaps the most obvious similarity between Leicester Table Skittles and Long Alley is in the style of skittle pins used, both of which are tall and slender (above & right), and both feature a slightly taller 'King Pin' as part of the set of nine skittles. This is in stark contrast to the fatter, stubby Boxwood pins of the Northants game which more closely resemble the huge Hornbeam pins of Old English Skittles, neither of which game features a king pin incidentally.

The small Edam shaped 'Cheeses' of the Leicester game have been made from a number of different hardwoods over the years, one of which is the very dense tropical wood Lignum Vitae. This wood has also traditionally been used for the barrel-shaped cheeses of the Leicestershire Long Alley game. In fact it's quite possible that a set of three cheeses for Leicester Table Skittles could have been turned-down on a lathe from a single Long Alley cheese, recycling the expensive (and now rare) wood when no longer up to League standard. Another feature of the Leicester game which bears some similarity to Long Alley is the 'Motte', or throwing point.

The 'Motte'. The Tudor, Leicester (closed)

The throwing point in the Northants game is usually defined by a simple line or removable baton of wood, positioned on the floor at the appropriate throwing distance for the game. The actual throwing position along that line is only limited by obstacles such as the walls, the bar servery, or immovable furniture such as bench seating. This is important as in the Northants game it's sometimes desirable to bounce a cheese off the padded sides of the table in order to knock down an awkward broken frame of skittles, a tactic that may require a throw from an acute angle. In Leicester Table Skittles however, no bouncing off the side walls is allowed and the throwing position is therefore more strictly defined, as indeed it is in Long Alley Skittles. In Long Alley, one foot must remain in what's known as the 'Chock Hole' until the cheese is released from the players hand. This restriction is replicated in Leicester Table Skittles by the use of a welded steel 'Motte' (or Mot), within which both feet must remain during the throw.

The Skittles Table

A Leicester Skittles Table appears at first glance to be almost identical to the more common Northamptonshire made WT Blacks & Son or Pepper Bros tables, but put the two side-by-side and the differences become more obvious. 'Blacks' and 'Peppers' tables are the most commonly found examples of the Northamptonshire style, and whilst the two are recognisably different in style, they do seem to have been manufactured to a strictly defined league standard. Less is known about the manufacture of Leicester tables (sadly I've yet to find details of a maker on any of the tables I've come across), but they do appear to be made to a standard pattern which suggests there was at least one common local manufacture.

A typical W T Black & Son Northamptonshire Skittles Table with the chunkier Boxwood Skittles and Cheeses of the Northants game. Gardeners Arms, Northampton

Dog & Gun, Syston

The principal differences that mark a Leicester Skittles Table out from the more common Northamptonshire models are the cushioned side walls, and the length and design of the playing surface. In the Northants game the side walls are usually upholstered in leather and thickly cushioned, originally with horsehair. This is necessary because players occasionally direct a cheese into the side wall, bouncing off and giving angles of attack that would otherwise be impossible. In the Leicester game there's none of this bouncing of cheeses off the walls, and hence the padding is much thinner and the profile somewhat different. In practice almost all of the tables I've come across in Leicester have had their padding refurbished with often brightly coloured vinyl. Leather originals like the one shown here at the Dog & Gun in Syston are now quite rare.

Sir Charles Napier, Leicester

The playing surface is usually lino covered, and the diamond-shaped 'frame' which marks the position of the pins is located further back than in the Northants game. In fact the playing surface and whole table itself is longer than the more square-form Northamptonshire tables. The rear 'trough' which receives the fallen skittle pins on a Northants table is shaped in a 'V' to match the rear of the 'frame'. This is important as none of the 'dead wood' of fallen skittles and cheeses is removed during a players turn, but pins and cheeses tend to fall quite freely into the trough and out of play anyway. The Leicester table is cut straight across at the rear which would tend to make the fallen pins less likely to drop off the playing surface and out of play, but in the Leicester game any cheeses that remain on the playing surface between throws are removed by those players resetting the pins in the 'wood yard', making it somewhat less of an issue than in the Northants version.

The Star Inn, Stoney Stanton

As you can see, the styling of a Leicester table is significantly different to that of the Northants version. They tend to be a bit less 'engineered' than the heavy-duty Blacks and Peppers tables, and the top playing surface is designed to lift off the 'legs' making storage easier when not in use. The canvas 'Hood' at the rear of the table is not nearly as pronounced as that of the Northants game. Presumably there are less instances of wayward throws and dangerous flying wood in the Leicester game where the cushions are not used as an aid to play. It's worth pointing out that despite all these subtle differences, it's quite common to find a Leicester Skittles Table in use for the numerous 'county' leagues, all of which use Northants style pins and cheeses that are usually made from plastic. I don't doubt that the Leicester game is played on Northants tables on occasion too.

Dimensions & Features of the Leicester Skittles Table

The following measurements were taken from a skittles table that was originally in use at Birstall Social Club, latterly in my ownership following a major refurbishment of the club and now in the possession of a pub in Buckinghamshire. The original standards for these tables would undoubtedly have been imperial measurements, but I'm giving them in metric here to cover all bases/countries. I'd also say that there will almost certainly be variation between different tables (I've seen two side-by-side in a club where the all-important height of the playing surface is different by as much as a couple of inches!). Insofar as playing is concerned though, height, width and depth of the playing surface, and the dimensions of the frame are the only really important standards.

Overall length of the Table (A) = 153cm

Total width including sides (B) = 99cm, the Lino playing surface width a little less at 92cm

The height of the playing surface (C) = 58cm

The distance from the front edge of the table to the start of the walls (D) = 29cm

Depth of rubber protection on the (rounded) front edge (G) is 8cm

Height of side panel at rear (E) = 96cm, at the front (F) = 78cm

Height of 'Hood' (H) = 70cm

The 'Frame' marking the position of the skittle pins (I) is 41cm square

The distance from the front edge of the table to the front pin (J) is 65cm

The distance from the rear edge of the playing surface to the rear pin (K) is 8cm

Pins and Cheeses

Perhaps the single most distinctive feature of Leicester Table Skittles is the Skittle Pins and Cheeses used, both of which are smaller than those of the Northamptonshire game. This has a significant bearing on how the game is played, and it's certainly true that a good player in the one game will not necessarily be as successful in the other. The Skittle Pins stand 16cm high, the King Pin a little taller at 18cm. The Lignum Vitae Cheese shown here is 8.5cm in diameter and 2.5cm thick.

Skittles and Cheeses (L-R): Northamptonshire (Boxwood), Leicester (Beech/Lignum Vitae), Leicester (Plastic) 

The wood used for skittle games has always varied to some degree, but even more so now given that some of the hardwoods used have become rarer and hence more expensive. Leicester skittle pins are made from a hardwood, typically Beech, although older sets I've come across are turned from closer grained fruitwood (left). Whilst the pins are of a similar height to Northants skittles, they are much thinner in profile and a set of nine always includes a 'King Pin'. I have cheeses made from the very dense and durable wood Lignum Vitae, but Laburnum seems to be the wood of choice these days. Again, these are significantly smaller than Northants cheeses. Note that whilst modern sets of cheeses are turned with a flat face and curved edge, the older sets made from fruitwood that I've seen are shaped with a curved face making them appear more like a discus. The combination of thinner pins and smaller cheeses make for a very different game to Northamptonshire Table Skittles.

The Motte

Rules and Conventions of the game

It's difficult to say at this time how many leagues are still active for the game of Leicester Table Skittles, perhaps less than half a dozen at the last count including Mens, Ladies, and Mixed leagues, as well as those which are exclusive to CIU affiliated clubs. Needless to say the precise rules are likely to vary for the different leagues and tournaments played, so I don't plan to go into these in any great detail here. Nevertheless, there are fundamentals of the game which apply to all leagues. Leicester Table Skittles is played in the same way as most skittles games in the UK, that is to say each player has three throws at nine pins to achieve the highest score possible. The pins are reset if all are knocked down with either the first or second throw, giving a maximum score of 27. As in many skittles leagues and competitions, each team sets a combined score that the other team aims to beat, the match played over an agreed (usually odd) number of legs.

A good Northamptonshire Skittles player would normally expect to achieve scores in excess of nine more often than not, which is to say that whatever pins were still standing after their first throw, they would consider it a poor throw to not clear them on the second throw achieving what my own team called a 'Tip'. A 'floorer', all pins down with the first throw, might also be expected at least once a match by a good player. In the Leicester game, with thinner pins and smaller cheeses, scores greater than nine are typically rarer even for a good player, and when they are achieved, these 'Whack Ups' as they're known, are regarded as newsworthy enough to have their own competitive table in some leagues. 'Floorers' in the Leicester game are presumably very rare indeed.

Sir Charles Napier, Leicester

A little off the beaten track as it is, I'd recommend making the effort to visit the Sir Charles Napier. The pub is a classic inter-war years community local, recently refurbished, but still retaining three separate rooms including a cosy wood panelled lounge, and more functional games oriented bar. The interior is considered of sufficient merit to be included on CAMRA's inventory of Real Heritage Pubs, and more information on this and many other unspoilt classics can be found on the excellent searchable website: www.heritagepubs.org.uk.

Traditional, and some not so traditional games play an important role at the pub. League Dominoes, Darts, and Table Skittles are all popular, and compete for space with the more recent additions of Poker and Quiz nights.

The Skittles Table at the Sir Charles Napier is the somewhat rarer Leicester version, distinctly different to the more common Northamptonshire tables found in the south of the county. The pins and cheeses are the slender hardwood variety unique to the Leicester game, as opposed to the more chunky Boxwood or plastic used elsewhere. This makes for a very different game, one where the higher scoring 'Tips' (Whackups in Leicester) and 'Floorers' (Nine-a-Ball) of the Northants game are much harder to achieve.

The table is turned round and 'parked' in an alcove when not in use. It's a very smart and well maintained table, and the team presumably want it to stay that way. Skittles night is on Wednesday, with play in the South Leicestershire League which covers quite a wide geographical area including Earl Shilton, Syston, and Wigston.

Darts, Dominoes, and Skittles trophies jostle for position in the trophy cabinet.

2019 Update

I recently had the opportunity to revisit the Napier and take a few more photos with the kind permission of the licensee, including a few of the unspoilt and attractive front lounge bar that was just a little too busy to photograph on my last visit. Whilst the pub seems to have had a lick of paint in places since I was last there, it could probably do with a sensitive makeover now with some of the upholstery looking a bit threadbare in places. Nevertheless, it's still well worth the walk out from town, and I found the handful of early-doors locals chatty and welcoming in the more basic public bar. It's not entirely obvious from the Lounge Bar, but two or three real ales are usually available.

Whilst Darts and Dominoes are still played at the Napier, sadly the Skittles team have moved on taking the original table with them. There's still a decent old Leicester Skittles Table in the bar (below), but with an incomplete set of pins it's unclear how much use it gets these days. With the nearby Tudor closed, future uncertain, the traditional Leicester game appears to be struggling in this part of the town.

2024 Update

This latest update on the Sir Charles Napier is likely to be the last on here given recent changes at the pub. I hadn't been to the pub for some time after the previous post in 2019 so it was sad, if perhaps not surprising, to hear that the pub had closed in 2023. As documented by one of the Napier's locals that has also followed this blog post, the pub reopened not long after, but this was a short-lived reprieve as it closed again just a few months later, the feeling being that this may be the end for the pub. But the good news is that the Napier is now back open again following an extensive refurbishment which has re-badged the pub as a Craft Union house, and if we're absolutely honest the pub is now in better shape to succeed than it's been for several years.

When fellow pub blogger Britain Beermat posted the comment reproduced above, few would have disagreed with him given the turmoil in the pub trade at that time. It now seems somewhat prophetic given the timescale, because whilst the pub is still very much the community local it's always been, and has even managed to retain cask beer in the form of Fullers London Pride, much that was of interest to the pub heritage and/or pub games enthusiast has been sacrificed to what we might regard as necessary change. The kind of change that will hopefully ensure the pub survives, maybe even thrive for the foreseeable future.

Thankfully the original three room layout survives, rare enough when so many similar pubs have been knocked through to give a single large space around a central servery. I note too that the original corner entrance is back in use, this leads into a vestibule with a choice of the Public Bar to the left, or (what was) the smaller Lounge Bar to the right with onward travel to the Function/Concert Room that now also serves as a large and comfortable Lounge. The Bar is little changed in truth, though sadly the Leicester Skittles Table that was of particular interest to this blog is long gone. In fact I doubt whether it survived the original closure given that it was little used in the end. So yet another on the list of former Skittles pubs in this part of Leicester, including the nearby Crows Nest, still open but without its two Skittles Tables, and the long closed Tudor. The single Dartboard in the bar has been expanded to an impressive 'floodlit' twin Oche, and other than a lick of paint, new lighting, and some of the older signage removed, the bar remains much the same as it was, that is to say the social hub of the pub, and busy enough with locals when I popped in for a pint on a midweek afternoon recently.

It's the Lounge Bar (above) that's perhaps the biggest loss to us non-locals though. All the fixtures and fittings that qualified this room as a Heritage asset, largely unchanged since the 60's, have been removed. The removal of the curved bar servery and fireplace in particular have changed the whole look and purpose of the room from what was originally an old-fangled Snug to its current use as the pubs Pool Room.

Of course the difficulty with assessing a pub like the Napier is the baggage that we ourselves bring to it. The dynamic of the pub with its basic Public Bar, traditional games, and the more 'cosy' Lounge Bar which was popular with older customers, was something that made the pub special for me. Yet there's no denying the place needed to change to survive, and it's also true that if this latest visit to the Napier had been my first, I'd undoubtedly have judged it a great multi-room locals pub, a largely traditional suburban survivor that will hopefully remain an asset to its local community for many years to come.

Dog & Gun, Syston, Leicestershire

I occasionally like to re-visit a pub that's already featured on this blog. Usually with some trepidation it must be said, certainly as far as traditional pub games are concerned where subsequent developments are rarely positive. It's best not to leave these things too long though...

I prevaricated over an exploration of the skittle alley at the Coach & Horses, Markfield for several months before a refurb made the decision for me, the alley now a skittle alley-shaped dining area. It was a similar story with the Gate Hangs Well on the edge of Syston Village, a makeover spelling the end for this traditional Leicestershire skittle alley. Since then, Syston has been on my mind, and a return to the Dog & Gun something of a priority since the pub last featured on here over five years ago.

I'm delighted to say that the Dog & Gun remains a very fine multi-room pub, a backstreet boozer that feels more like a rural village local than its semi-urban setting might suggest. The pub is part of the small Steamin' Billy chain which has successfully revived many struggling pubs in the county, and features a traditional flag-stone floored bar, and a larger modernised lounge bar. There's also a games/function room, which was the principal reason for my visit, though a nice pint of Dark Mild from the local Belvoir Brewery was also a factor.

The image to the left shows how the games room appeared on my last visit, the Leicester Skittles Table showing signs of use, and with a complete set of the hardwood pins and cheeses which are unique to this local game. There was also a nice Jaques Devil Amongst The Tailors, the classic bar-room game. The Dartboard was set-up for league play at this time, the skittles table merely available for casual games and functions at the pub. Things have changed a little since then, though sadly not in a particularly positive way for games enthusiasts like myself.

The Devil Amongst The Tailors seems to have disappeared, though it may still be tucked away somewhere at the pub. More crucially, the Leicester Skittles Table, whilst in a similar play-worn condition, is now lacking two of the three Lignum Vitae cheeses essential to a proper game (and one of the pins has been replaced with a newer king-pin, more of a detail than a problem), though I was told the table rarely if ever gets used these days anyway. The Dartboard is wall-mounted now, though whether league play continues at the pub is hard to say. Sadly, the impressive games aspect of the pub appears to be withering on the vine.

It was an interesting and rewarding visit for me despite these less than positive developments. The skittles table, whilst showing signs of its undoubted age, is a lovely vintage model. Most of these Leicester tables that are still in use for league play have received at least one extensive refurbishment in recent years, essential maintenance to counteract the ravages of weekly competition. But this is usually done locally, and more often than not with brightly coloured vinyl and rubber replacing the original oxblood leather upholstery. The stitched and tacked leather remains on the table at the Dog & Gun (above), possibly padded with horsehair, and it really does make a difference to the overall look of the table if not its playability. As usual with the Leicester version of the game, I can find no indication of who originally made this table.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of my return visit was the sudden realisation that the 'games room' is in fact the pubs original Skittle Alley. Pretty obvious when you look at the photo of the whole room, it's a classic alley-shaped building for the local Leicestershire game of Long Alley Skittles, it just hadn't occurred to me until now. At one end is a bar counter, and at the other is the business end of the alley, all-but concealed behind folding doors and carpet. Un-lock and open the full-width doors though, and the trough and hanging 'curtain' at the back of the alley is revealed in all its slightly tatty, unused glory (above). There's even a couple of old pins lying in the trough gathering dust. A careful examination in front of this area reveals the nine steel seats which make up the frame, concealed but now poking through the carpet in several places (below).

So games appear to be in decline at the Dog & Gun, and I understand there was a plan to convert the alley into a Gin Bar at one time, maybe there still is. But as it stands, it's all still there. A skittle alley under a carpet, the skittles table just a sensitive refurbishment away from coming back into use. Both important elements of the Leicestershire pub games tradition, both just waiting for a revival of interest at the pub. A revival that if I'm honest, may never come, but it'll be worth a re-visit to find out if only for another pint of that Dark Mild.

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.