Bar Billiards and a little bit of Mini-Golf in London

A hunt for three Bar Billiards tables and a revisit to Camden’s Crazy Golf course

While in London on Monday 27th February I thought I’d take the opportunity to check out some of the Bar Billiards tables in pubs in the city.

Prior to my trip I had a look on the excellent Bar Billiards table map, put together by AEBBA.

I saw there were well over twenty tables within easy reach and I planned to get to at least three of the tables on my Barmy Bar Billiards Trail.

My first stop was at the Electricity Showrooms pub in Hoxton.

The Electricity Showrooms pub in Hoxton

Upon arriving I asked the barman if they still had a table, he said they did, but it was “just for decoration”. I had a look at the table and one of the other barmen said he thought it still worked and to put a quid in to give it a go. I asked if they had any cues, they didn’t!? The table was also peg-less! However, the table did appear to be in good condition and the felt/baize was all intact.

The Bar Billiards table at the Electricity Showrooms pub in Hoxton

While chatting to the second barman he also mentioned they have a dartboard too. One for the Capital Arrows London Dart Board List perhaps.

The Dart Board in the Electricity Showrooms pub in Hoxton

My next stop was to Kings Cross and the King Charles I pub. Unfortunately on a Monday it’s not open until 5pm. I decided to head back later in the evening after a visit to Camden.

After refuelling with a new Gluten Free Chicken Salad Sandwich from the Kentish Town Sainsbury's and spotting a sign for an Eternit supplier (sadly un-minigolf related) and prior to visiting the next pub Emily and I had a wander to Camden Market. On our way there had a look to see if the Clarence Way Crazy Golf course was still there. We've previosuly visited in October 2009, May 2011 and August 2011. It is still there and remains unplayed by us on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. The sign at the course has had some graffiti added to it since our last visit!

The Clarence Way Crazy Golf sign

The Clarence Way Crazy Golf course in Camden

We then set off to find the Fiddler’s Elbow pub for the first game of Bar Billiards. We found the pub, but finding the entrance was trickier. Eventually we spotted a door that let us in and had a hunt for the table. The pub no longer has one. We decided to have a drink anyway, the pub had some great 80’s tunes playing, including Ghost Town by The Specials – the pub was something of a ghost town as there was just us two and a couple of other punters in there!

The Fiddler's Elbow pub in Camden

Although there wasn’t a Bar Billiards table there I did notice a poster for a band that our friend Brad ‘The Fist’ Shepherd and his band, Monkish, knows. You can check out the website of the naughtily named band here. Brad told me he has played at the Fiddler's Elbow music venue three times before and never seen a Bar Billiards table.

A poster for an upcoming performance from a band at the Fiddler's Elbow pub

Me, LIVE at the FIDDLERS!

With a thirst for Bar Billiards unsatisfied we headed back down the Northern Line to go to the King Charles I. Prior to that though we made a stop off at the Hurricane Room on Grays Inn Road as a quick web search while in the Fiddler’s had shown that they had a Bar Billiards table.

When we enquired within we found they didn’t.

The Hurricane Room - no Bar Billiards there, but lots of Pool and Snooker tables

On a wall outside we did however spot a poster for an upcoming Chess Boxing tournament!

Chess Boxing in London!

We eventually reached the King Charles I and through the window I spotted some illuminated green baize! The pub did indeed have a Bar Billiards table and no one was playing on it when we arrived!

The King Charles I pub - not yet open on my first visit

The pub is fairly small but the table is very playable (one of the great things about Bar Billiards is the minimal amount of space required). The table was of the 3-pin/peg variety and was in good condition, albeit with a slight tear on the felt just to the right of the black peg.

The Bar Billiards table at the King Charles I - with lots of balls in play!

The King Charles I even had its own ‘House Rules’ for the Bar Billiards table, with some interesting rules on fouls! More on that later...

The 'House Rules' at the King Charles I

The pub was nice and warm, with a real fire on the go, and there was a nice atmosphere in the wood panelled pub. There were certainly some interesting decorations in the bar , with lots of mounted animal heads on the walls. One large Deer head stared at you while you played on the Bar Billiards table!

Emily and I decided to play a best-of-three game match.

In game one I managed to reach a score of 450 points before wiping-out with a black-peg knock down, with Emily winning 370 points to nil.

Emily plays a shot on the Bar Billiards table at the King Charles I

In game two I won with a score of 440 points to nil. Emily had racked up a nice break of 420 points, however this was lost by knocking down a white peg. Emily had made a claim that I perpetrated a foul on her during play. If there was an independent Umpire for the match I may of been declared as a ‘perpetrator of a foul’ due to 'Goosing', but as we had no referee, the loss of points stood.

In between games we noticed that the pub also has a selection of board games for customers to play. I spotted there was a Shove Ha’penny board behind the bar and we saw some of the other board games atop the jukebox. They included Scrabble, Travel Scrabble and a 1000-piece Jigsaw Puzzle. Emily was tempted to break out the Jigsaw puzzle, but being as we were part way through a match and with a visit to ‘Jigfest’ coming up soon we continued with the Bar Billiards.

The Shove Ha'penny Board behind the bar

The third and final deciding game in our match saw me come out the winner with a score of 200 to Emily’s 170. The closely fought match was slightly notable as I managed to clear the last two balls from the table without the game being decided by a sudden-death last-peg shoot-out as has been the norm in our matches to date. I scored a 20 and a 50 to close-out the game.

Me playing Bar Billiards at the King Charles I

The ‘Committee Board’, above the scoreboard next to the table, shows the ‘Table Record’ held by a Julian Coles, which was made on the 13th of October 2009 and stands at 3,040 points. Including a break of 2,860.

After the main-event we threw another pound in the table and had a bit of ‘training’ before a five minute game. In this quick match I won with a grand total of 20 points.

Commenting on the evening out Emily summed things up by saying “We had a drink in ‘that’ pub, you had a sandwich, we did quite well.”

Links:
- All England Bar Billiards' Association
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Previous Bar Billiards Blog Posts
- Minigolf and Crazy Golf courses in and around London

Another new game played – Bar Billiards

At the recent Star City Open weekend in Birmingham my fellow Crazy Golfer and BMGA Tour minigolf rival Brad ‘The Fist’ Shepherd pointed me in the direction of the 1970’s Yorkshire TV show ‘Indoor League’. As a fellow fan of odd and obscure sports he knew I would appreciate the games on offer on the programme, he wasn’t wrong.

Bar Billiards sign at The Strathmore Arms Pub

Indoor League was a show that ran from 1972-1977 on Yorkshire Television/ITV and was presented by Cricket legend Fred Trueman. The games played on the show include Darts (using a Yorkshire board, which has no ‘trebles’!), Skittles, Shove Ha’penny, Table Football and a game that took my fancy – Bar Billiards.

In all my years frequenting pubs I had never played the game and have only ever seen a glimpse of a table before – at The White Horse Pub in Southsea. With Indoor League whetting my appetite for a play of the game I took to the web to search out information on the game and whether there were any tables near to us in Luton...?

First of all I found that there is an ‘All England Bar Billiards Association’ that governs the game and organises tournaments in 18 counties, which are mostly in southern England and Jersey.

A link on the All England Bar Billiards Association (AEBBA) website shows the location of Bar Billiard tables in the UK. Checking this out I saw that the closest ones to us were at The Strathmore Arms pub in St Paul’s Walden (near Hitchin, Herts), The Red Lion at Studham (near Dunstable, Beds), Bedford Arms in Hitchin and at The Bucks Head in Little Wymondley (near Hitchin, Herts). Also on the list and fairly nearby were The White Lion in Hemel Hempstead, The Goat Inn in St Albans, The Chequers Inn in Knebworth, Our Mutual Friend in Stevenage and The Unicorn in Cublington, Bucks. I have also found out via twitter that The Orange Tree in Baldock, Herts does have a table (and also sells Gluten Free food and Beer).

* Location updates (4th &11th Feb and 24th March 2012)
- The Bucks Head in Little Wymondley no longer has a table
- The Red Lion in Studham no longer has a table
- The Bedford Arms in Hitchin has changed to a Pool table
- The Chequers Inn in Knebworth does still have a table - and the baize has been relaid
- The White Lion in Hemel Hempstead no longer has a table

So, on Friday 27th January 2012 we headed to the closest pub on the list – The Strathmore Arms pub in St Paul’s Walden.

The Strathmore Arms pub in St Paul's Walden, near Hitchin, Herts

Though close to Luton, a mere 8 miles, the B Road there is long, winding and quite pot holey – far removed from the hustle and bustle of Luton. It’s not often we venture out to the villages surrounding Luton. We have passed through some of them to reach the Offley Oriental Chinese Restaurant (which serves some great Gluten Free food). We also regularly go to Tea Green Golf Club at Wandon End, but this is very close to the Luton border.

When we arrived at The Strathmore Arms we ordered some drinks and then asked if they had a Bar Billiards table. The obliging barman said they did and pointed us around to a room attached to the main bar area where the table stood. And what a sight it was. The Barman told us it was a “pound a go” and left us to it.

The Bar Billiards table at The Strathmore Arms pub

Having only seen the game played on TV before, Emily and I had a quick glance at the rules on the plate affixed to the table itself, put a quid in the machine and started playing.

Emily plays a shot

After the first practice game we had a deeper read of the rules sheet that was beside the table and realised we had been playing our own version of the game! We then decided to play a best-of-3 games match to decide the Champion.

Emily has a read of the rules

In the first ‘proper’ game I managed to beat Emily with a final score of 400 to nil after Emily knocked the Black Peg down in the final ball shootout. Emily had reached a score of 940 before this was wiped out.

In the second game of the best-of-3 match I once again won to take the overall victory. This time I had a score of 1000, to Emily’s 90. This was a much cleaner match, with very little peg knocking down!

I line up a shot

In our fourth and final game Emily beat me 70-0. I had reached 180 but knocked the Black Peg down to wipe-out. Emily’s opening break was a score of 380 before she played a foul shot to wipe-out the break.

Once we’d finished our games we had a chat to the bar staff and some of the friendly locals. We got some further information about Bar Billiards and that it used to be a very popular game in Hertfordshire (and was one of the originating spots for the game), however there are not that many tables left to play.

As we were so interested in the game a few of the locals asked us if we were on a mission of some sort relating to Bar Billiards. We told them we weren’t (yet), but were on a Crazy World of Minigolf Tour! As I’m like a dog with a bone about new/old/interesting/fun/obscure/odd games and sports and challenges who knows, we may start-up a Crazy World of Bar Billiards Tour!

Another view of the table - plenty of balls still in play!

Emily was also interested in the Pudding Club that is run at The Strathmore Arms and there was a lively discussion going on amongst the staff and regulars over the latest offerings and the current rankings list!

A Dart Board was also set up next to the Bar Billiards table. I may take my ‘arrers next time we visit.

Looking at the Bar Billiards table I noticed that there was a badge affixed to the table we played that was from the “National Bar Billiards Association”. When I got home I had another look on The Online Guide to Traditional Games website and reread about the game and saw that National Bar Billiards Association was a pre-World War II organisation! The game started in the UK in the 1930’s, so the table at The Strathmore Arms could well be one of the first in the UK then!

Speaking with Brad ‘The Fist’ Shepherd and fellow sports and games enthusiast Marc ‘The Roller’ Bazeley I have found out they know of other tables in London, Gravesend and Northampton. ‘The Roller’ also tells me there is a thriving Wellingborough Bar Billiards League and when Emily and I head to Northants for a game then the Crown & Anchor Pub in Northampton is the place to go.

It seems a Bar Billiards ‘side-tournament’ or two is in order.

As Fred Trueman would say “Ahl si thee”

The Rules of Bar Billiards

Links:
- All England Bar Billiards Association
- The Strathmore Arms Pub
- Indoor League at Wikipedia
- Indoor League at UK Game Shows
- Bar Billiards at The Online Guide to Traditional Games
- Bar Billiards at Wikipedia
- Map of Bar Billiards Tables in the UK
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Minigolf Course Visit #210(a!?) - Vienna, Austria (Askoe Wien Wasserpark) - pit-pat "Hindernis Billards" (Obstacle Billiards)!