PUB GAMES & CUE SPORTS

 

See Also: DARTS; PUBS; TOYS & GAMES

 

Billiards

Billiards rooms: The Boleyn in West Ham; The Salisbury in Green Lane.

Location: The Boleyn Tavern, 1 Barking Road, East Ham, E6 1PW (https://boleyntavern.co.uk)

The Salisbury Hotel, Grand Parade, 1 Green Lanes, Harringay, N4 1JX (https://thesalisburyhotelpub.co.uk)

 

Bowling

The Sun Inn at Barnes is the only remaining pub bowling green. They play a diagonal form of the game.

Location: 7 Church Road, Barnes, SW13 9HE

Website: https://barnesbowling.club

 

Bumblepenny

Bumblepenny was played with marbles. The last pub associated with the game was The Dove in Hammersmith.

Location: 19 Upper Mall, W6 9TA

Website: www.dovehammersmith.co.uk

 

Cribbage

Cribbage is a card game in which a pegged board is used for keeping the score. It was devised in the early 1600s by the poet and gambler Sir John Suckling. For many years it was the only game upon which money could be waged in a pub.

Website: https://ukca66810774.wordpress.com

 

Pool

Pool tables were not imported from America. Therefore, they are a different size from those in the United States

 

Skittles

As a game, skittles dates back to 17^thC.

The Royal Naval College has a double skittle alley. That was built c.1860.

Prior to the Second World War there were about 200 alleys.

In 2009 The Freemasons Arms in Hampstead was the only one surviving. The game retained its popularity in West Country.

Location: The Freemasons Arms, 32 Downshire Hill, NW3 1NT (www.freemasonsarms.co.uk)

Old Royal Naval College, King William Walk, Greenwich, SE10 9NN. (www.ornc.org)

The Hampstead Lawn Billiards & Skittles Association

The Hampstead Lawn Billiards & Skittles Association

Location: The Freemasons Arms, 32 Downshire Hill, NW3 1NT

Website: www.londonskittles.co.uk

 

Snooker

B.B.C.2 was intended to broadcast niche and ambitious programmes. The channel launched in 1964. Three years later it became the first television channel in Europe to regularly broadcast in colour. In 1969 it launched Pot Black, a snooker tournament show. The fact that the game's balls were different colours was intended to raise public awareness of the channel's colour programmes. The show was created by channel's Controller, one David Attenborough. It proved to be extremely popular.

Steve Davis

Steve Davis was born in Plumsted. As an adolescent he proved to be an outstanding snooker player, his father acting as his trainer. In 1978 Davis signed a contract with Barry Hearn, who managed a chain of snooker halls. The two men focused on their respective specialities.

In 1981 Davis won the World Championship at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield. He was to win it a further five times. The 1985 final he played Dennis Taylor. The match attracted an audience of eighteen million people. Davis won the Sports Personality of the Year.

The Spitting Image puppet of Steve Interesting Davis became one of the television show's most popular characters.

In retirement Davis developed an interest in performing experimental and psychedelic music.

Website: https://stevedavis.org.uk

David Backhouse 2024