Soar Bridge Inn, Barrow-on-Soar, Leicestershire

Long Alley Skittles may not be quite as popular as it once was in Leicestershire, but thankfully there are one or two venues where the game is still well supported, perhaps none more so than the Soar Bridge Inn at Barrow-on-Soar near Loughborough. The tidy, well used alley at this Everards Brewery pub doubles as a function room, and is available to book for Skittles Evenings when free of league play. The alley hosts matches in the Syston & District...

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The Shove Ha'penny Control Association

Not much is known about the grandly titled Shove Ha'penny Control Association, which is perhaps surprising given how widespread the game was in pubs and clubs until relatively recent times. As yet, no-one has managed to unearth an archive of minutes and transactions for this auspicious control body, neither have any trophies, awards, or league tables come to light bearing their name. So it's a bit of a mystery just who or what the Association were...

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Old Kings Head, Belper, Derbyshire

'What's On' at the Old Kings Head, Belper? Well, as you can see from the image below, quite a lot actually. This includes the traditional pub game staples of Darts and Dominoes, the modern staple of a Quiz Night, and of course the thoroughly traditional local game of Long Alley Skittles.The licensee of the Old Kings Head has only recently taken over the reigns of the pub, and seems hell-bent on making good use of every nook and cranny in the tardis-like...

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Four Pub Game Books

This small two shilling booklet on Inn Games is regarded by Arthur Taylor, author of 'Played in the Pub' (see below), as probably the first to treat pub games as a separate subject in its own right. These 'Know The Game' books first appeared in the 50's, and covered every sport, game, hobby and pastime imaginable, giving the most up to date rules as supplied by the relevant governing body.The choice of games in such a slim volume is necessarily selective,...

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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...

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George & Dragon, Belper, Derbyshire

The attractive Derwent Valley market town of Belper is still one of the main centres of Long Alley Skittles play, a game increasingly hard to find in the larger towns of the Derby and Nottingham area, but happily still clinging on in smaller towns and villages. The Derby/Notts version of the game, featuring quite large wooden balls rather than the barrel shaped 'Cheeses' found in Leicestershire, is usually played outdoors, and is therefore predominantly...

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The Trophy Cabinet

This nice old Darts plaque may have been silver plated originally. It's also possible that the high sheen of the 'cartouche' at the bottom is the result of the original inscription being polished out, which is a shame as this would have helped locate the plaque to the pub or club it originally came from. Having said that, it does make this attractive trophy eminently re-usable.I can only assume that the engraver was payed by the letter to embellish...

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